The Courts And The Colonies

The Courts and the Colonies offers a detailed account of a protracted dispute arising within a Hutterite colony in Manitoba, when the Schmiedeleut leaders attempted to force the departure of a group that had been excommunicated but would not leave. This resulted in about a dozen lawsuits in both Canada and the United States between various Hutterite factions and colonies, and placed the issues of shunning, excommunication, legitimacy of leadership, and communal property rights before the secular courts. What is the story behind this extraordinary development in Hutterite history? How did the courts respond, and how did that outside (state) law relate to the traditional inside law of the Hutterites? Utilizing voluminous court records, Esau provides a detailed and fascinating narrative of the prolonged disputes and litigation history of Hutterite colonies at Lakeside, Oak Bluff, Rock Lake, and Huron. He considers whether the legal action was consistent with the historic non-resistance of Hutterites or whether it signaled a fundamental change in norms of Anabaptist perspectives on litigation. He examines the past history of Hutterite litigation, and how the roots of the schism related to controversy over the Schmiedeleut leadership and its alliance with the Bruderhof, a group of Christian communalists, living mainly in the Eastern United States. At stake is the nature of freedom of religion in Canada and the extent to which our pluralistic society is prepared to accommodate the existence of groups that have an illiberal legal system that may not cohere with the outside legal system of the host society. While this book will be of particular interest to scholars of law and religion, it will also appeal to anyone in Anabaptist studies, sociology, anthropology, political theory, and conflict resolution.

Excerpt from A Summary of Colonial Law, the Practice of the Court of Appeals From the Plantations, and of the Laws and Their Administration in All the Colonies: With Charters of Justice, Orders in Council, Etc As, I believe, it is generally known in the legal profession that one of its most learned and able members had begun a work upon the subject of the Laws of the Colonies, and that the materials he had prepared were handed over to me, it is but justice to the high and well-earned reputation of that learned person clearly to explain the nature of the transfer, in order that he may not be held responsible for any defects in the work that ought rather to be charged upon me. Mr. Serjeant Stephen, on putting into my hands the matter he had collected for the early portion of this volume, declared that he considered himself no longer to have any connection with it; and feeling, as I did, the perfect propriety of such a declaration, I have never since ventured to trouble him upon the subject. I have freely exercised the uncontrolled authority given me over the materials thus furnished, and as the work now stands I alone am answerable for its defects. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This book serves as an informative guide to the legal systems of the world, with a particular emphasis on colonial laws and courts. William Burge draws parallels between different legal systems and outlines the factors that shape them. He also provides readers with an overview of the British Privy Council, which served as the highest court of appeal for British Colonies. Burge's insights are invaluable in understanding how legal systems developed in different parts of the world. This book is recommended for law students, lawyers, and anyone interested in the history of the legal profession. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.