Paterson, James, 1823-1894.
Paterson's Compendium of English and Scotch Law : English Law, Scottish Law
Paterson was an acknowledged British authority who wrote extensively, and was well known for his eloquent treatises on the freedom of the press, of public worship, and of the crown's subjects.
He was quite frank in his preface, acknowledging that the English and Scottish people knew nothing about one another's laws. While each country felt the same "main elements of rational liberty," Scottish jurisprudence was drawn largely from Roman law as opposed to Common law, in its principles and nomenclature, so the two legal systems often differed widely. He summarized the growth of the parallel systems: "Each code speaking a barbarous language to the other -- ignoring and being ignored -- has groped its way alone; working out the problem of justice by peculiar and circuitous methods, yet often unconsciously gravitating towards the same conclusions." England, and especially English lawyers, Paterson claimed, often glory in their ignorance of Scottish law with an insular pride, while Scottish lawyers tended to adapt English reforms and parade them as their own, under new names.
It was truly ambitious to attempt to compare the laws of "rival nationalities" England and Scotland in their technical language, commenting on their differences without indulging "in occasional comments of the superiority, or supposed superiority, of the law of the one country to the law of the other." But this was Paterson's goal: "What is obviously wanted, therefore, is some work, which will enable a person, who has by habit become tolerably familiar with his legal bearings in one country to ascertain with some precision his latitude, when occupying an analogous position in the other."
Paterson accomplished his work first by recognizing that a dictionary of parallel terms was required; this dictionary makes up a large portion of the work and also serves as a useful index. The dictionary contains a collection of nearly every technical term and significant phrases used in both countries. Then, Paterson briefly stated the differences between the two laws. Readers are to assume that the laws of the two countries were the same unless a difference was here expressly stated. He arranged his material by subject, stating the English law prominently, with a section at the bottom of each page entitled "In Scotland," where he noted variances between the laws.
Editions: Edinburgh: 1860, 1865.
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