ady made. They inquired into the fact, the deed
done, the law, and applied the general law to the special fact, made
their decree and executed it. Thus extemporaneous Making of law for
the particular case, gradually passed away, and was succeeded by the
extemporaneous Declaration of the law previously made, and its
Application to the matter in hand.

3. By and by it was found inconvenient for a multitude to assemble and
make the laws, so a body of select men took a more special charge of
that function. Sometimes a chief, or king, usurped this for himself;
or men were chosen by the people, and took an oath for the faithful
discharge of their trust. Thus came popular law-making by sworn
delegates, representatives of the people, who had a certain special
power of attorney, authorizing them to make laws. These might be
Priests--as at the beginning; or Nobles of priestly stock, as at the
next stage; or Military Chiefs--as in all times of violence; or
powerful Private men,--summoned from the nation, of their own accord
undertaking the task, or chosen by the various neighborhoods,--the
whole process seems to have been irregular and uncertain, as indeed it
must be amongst rude people.

So at that time there were two sources of law-making.

(1.) The unorganized People--the primary source, whose unconscious
life flows in certain channels and establishes certain customs, rules
of conduct, obeyed before they are decreed, without any formal
enactment. These were laws _de facto_.

(2.) The organized Delegates--priestly, kingly, nobilitary, or
warlike--the secondary source. These made statute laws. As this was a
self-conscious and organized body, having an object distinctly set
before its mind and devising means for its purposes, it easily
appropriated to itself the chief part of the business of law-making.
Statute laws became more and more numerous and important; they were
the principal--the customs were only subsidiary, laws _de Jure_,
enacted before they are obeyed by the People. Still new customs
continued to flow from the primitive source of legislation, the
People, and of course took new forms to suit the conditions of
national life.

4. Still the people came together to apply the laws--customary or
enacted,--to the special cases which occurred. There were fixed
periods when they assembled without notice given,--"regular law-days;"
and if an emergency occurred, they were summoned on "extraordinary
law-days." Here wrongs b