VAN and it is owing to the disgust which his ignorance occasioned 1o Valin, that wcliavehis Commentary, which is quite as wonderful as the Ordon- nance itself. What Lord Coke accomplished for the Tenures of Little- ton, Valin did for the Ordonnance, and his Commentary is of equal authority with the text. He collected, with great judgment, from all sources, both ancient and modern, foreign and domestic, whatever would illustrate the Ordonnance, and added his own observations, distinguished for their comprehensiveness, learning and thought. Valin is constantly quoted in the Admiralty Courts of both England and America, and Cases have been repeatedly decided upon his authority. Foreign Ordinances in both countries, 7ion habent vim legis, sed ratioins, and as Chief Justice Tilghman says, " when they are contradicted by judicial decisions they are not to be regarded ; but on points which have not been decided, they are worthy of great consideration." A modern French edition of the Ordonnance, will be found in Pardessus' Collection, and English trans- lations in the Sea Laws, and as an Appendix to Peters' Mmirally Decisions ; besides which, there is a French edition by Becanne, with references to the Code de Commerce. Red. Mar. Com, 345, 354, 428, 445; 3 Kent's Com, 17, 154 n, 347; 1 Kent, 19; Abbott's Ship, Pref. ; 1 Alauz. des Ins. 100; Duer's Ins. 43; 7 N. A. Rev. 340; 1 Bell's Com. 500 ; Man. L. N. 38 ; Boulay, P., Cour. droit Com. 95; 1 A. J. 29; (18)486; 2 Bur. 882; 1 W. Bl. 190; 2 Dnpin's Camus, 441; Poth. Mar. Com. 162. VAN HEYTHUYSEN, F. M. The Equity Draftsman ; being a Collection of Precedents drawn by some of the leading Men at the Equity Bar; arranged so as to form a Companion to Mitford's Pleadings. 2d ed.. Revised and enlarged, with numerous addi- tional Forms and practical Notes. By E. Hughes. 2 vols. 8vo. London. 1828. 3d American ed. Svo. New York. 1842. . An Essay upon Marine Evidence in the Courts of Law and Equity, in which is considered the competency of a Marine Witness, the Legal Title to British Ships, the Proof and Construction of a Ship's Policy, and the Evidence necessary to establish a variety of Nautical Subjects ; to which is added a Glossary of Sea Terms, which frequenly occur in Marine Plead- ing. 8vo. London. 1819. • . Rudiments of the Laws of England, designed as a Preparatory Study for Persons entering the Profession, as a Com- dendium to strengthen the Memory of those who have studied Law, and to convey a General Idea of Jurisprudence to all Classes of People. 8vo. London. 1812. 45 705
