Difference between revisions of "Treatise of Equity"

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[[File:BallowTreatiseOfEquity1737TitlePage.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Title Page from [https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/2949652 ''A Treatise of Equity''], George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary]]
 
[[File:BallowTreatiseOfEquity1737TitlePage.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Title Page from [https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/2949652 ''A Treatise of Equity''], George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary]]
  
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Henry Ballow (1704-1782) was an English legal writer and deputy chamberlain of the exchequer who was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1721 and called to the bar in 1728.<ref>N. G. Jones, [http://www.oxforddnb.com.proxy.wm.edu/view/article/1242 "Ballow, Henry (1704?–1782)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 20 April 2013.</ref> According to Holdsworth, ''A Treatise of Equity'' "can be taken as a good starting point for the history of the development of many of the principles and rules of modern equity."<ref>William Holdsworth, ''A History of English Law'', (London: Methuen & Co., Sweet and Maxwell, 1938), 12:191.</ref>
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Henry Ballow [Bellewe] (1704?-1782), legal writer, was admitted to Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1720 and admitted to Lincoln’s Inn the following year. <ref>N.G. Jones [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/1242 "Ballow, Henry (b. 1704?, d. 1782"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed March 20, 2014.</ref> He was called to bar in 1728 and became deputy chamberlain in 1731, a position he received through his close relationship with the elite Townshend family or through the influence of his father, who may have held the position at one time.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Ballow never married and died suddenly in 1782.<ref>Ibid.</ref>
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Ballow had a reputation as a very scholarly man, despite the critiques of his contemporaries, who described him as “a little deformed man” with “vulgar manners.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> He was known for his proficiency with the Greek language and was considered a master of the “old philosophy.” <ref>William Holdsworth, ''A History of English Law'', (London: Methuen & Co., Sweet and Maxwell, 1938), 12:192</ref> Unsurprisingly, this great mind produced one of the most influential treatises on equity: ''A Treatise of Equity.'' Although first published in 1737, it went into a fifth edition in 1820.<ref>Ibid. 193</ref> This was no small feat as the field of equity in this period was marked by rapid change.<ref>Ibid. 192</ref> 
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Although ''A Treatise of Equity'' was published anonymously, scholars are fairly confident about its authorship. They cite the assertion of two separate contemporaries as support for this claim. <ref>Ibid. 191</ref>  However, the fact that it was written only ten years into Ballow’s legal career and reveals the influence of Roman law training upon the author lends some doubt to this hypothesis.<ref>N.G. Jones, "Ballow, Henry"</ref> Nevertheless, the written evidence strongly supports the assertion that Ballow was the author.<ref>Holdsworth, ‘’A History of English Law,’’ 191</ref>
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The work, in six volumes, was the best of its time concerning the rapidly developing field of equity.<ref>Ibid. 192</ref> It is generally regarded as well written; however, Ballow cites few authorities and does not include references for cases.<ref>Ibid.</ref> For those familiar with the case law at the time, Ballow evidently included enough detail that the cases would be readily known.<ref>Ibid.</ref> However, for those unfamiliar with the law of equity, this would have greatly diminished the work’s value.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Because of the need for authorities, John Fonblanque sought to update Ballow’s work.<ref>Ibid. 193</ref> His commentaries, published in 1793, not only brought the work up to date with the ever-changing contours of equity law, but added the omitted citations.<ref>Ibid.</ref>  Amended, the work maintained its prominence and went into a fifth edition in 1820.<ref>Ibid.</ref>
  
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<blockquote>The work was published anonymously in 1737 ... appeared in 1793–4 with references and substantial notes by John Fonblanque, and reached its fifth edition in 1820. The treatise provided, in six short books, a systematic explanation of equity in terms of contract theory. The author regarded the specific enforcement of contracts as the core of equity, and his work represents for later generations the state of equity in the period between the times of the great lord chancellors Lord Nottingham and Lord Hardwicke. The treatise was founded upon the cases, the results of which it stated accurately, though the author cited very few authorities and gave no references to the cases, which rendered the book less valuable to the student than it might have been. Ballow's authorship, though generally accepted, is not certain. Fonblanque pointed out that if Ballow were the author he had produced the work while still of less than ten years' standing at the bar. Further doubt may arise from the apparent influence of Roman law training upon the book's method. However, Francis Hargrave's copy contains a note by Hargrave that the book was written by Mr Bellewe, and one of the manuscripts which passed to Lord Camden as Ballow's literary executor contained a large portion of the work, revised and corrected apparently for publication.<ref>N. G. Jones, ‘Ballow, Henry’.</ref></blockquote>''A Treatise of Equity'' was the standard treatise on equity before Story's ''Commentaries on Equity Jurisprudence'' (1836).
 
  
 
==Bibliographic Information==
 
==Bibliographic Information==

Revision as of 15:32, 20 March 2014

by Henry Ballow

Title Page from A Treatise of Equity, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary

Henry Ballow [Bellewe] (1704?-1782), legal writer, was admitted to Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1720 and admitted to Lincoln’s Inn the following year. [1] He was called to bar in 1728 and became deputy chamberlain in 1731, a position he received through his close relationship with the elite Townshend family or through the influence of his father, who may have held the position at one time.[2] Ballow never married and died suddenly in 1782.[3]


Ballow had a reputation as a very scholarly man, despite the critiques of his contemporaries, who described him as “a little deformed man” with “vulgar manners.”[4] He was known for his proficiency with the Greek language and was considered a master of the “old philosophy.” [5] Unsurprisingly, this great mind produced one of the most influential treatises on equity: A Treatise of Equity. Although first published in 1737, it went into a fifth edition in 1820.[6] This was no small feat as the field of equity in this period was marked by rapid change.[7]


Although A Treatise of Equity was published anonymously, scholars are fairly confident about its authorship. They cite the assertion of two separate contemporaries as support for this claim. [8] However, the fact that it was written only ten years into Ballow’s legal career and reveals the influence of Roman law training upon the author lends some doubt to this hypothesis.[9] Nevertheless, the written evidence strongly supports the assertion that Ballow was the author.[10]


The work, in six volumes, was the best of its time concerning the rapidly developing field of equity.[11] It is generally regarded as well written; however, Ballow cites few authorities and does not include references for cases.[12] For those familiar with the case law at the time, Ballow evidently included enough detail that the cases would be readily known.[13] However, for those unfamiliar with the law of equity, this would have greatly diminished the work’s value.[14] Because of the need for authorities, John Fonblanque sought to update Ballow’s work.[15] His commentaries, published in 1793, not only brought the work up to date with the ever-changing contours of equity law, but added the omitted citations.[16] Amended, the work maintained its prominence and went into a fifth edition in 1820.[17]


Bibliographic Information

Author: Henry Ballow, (1704?-1782)

Title: A Treatise of Equity.

Publication Info: London, in the Savoy: Printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, (assigns of Edward Sayer) for D. Browne, at the Black Swan without Temple-Bar; and J. Shuckburgh, at the Sun next the Inner Temple gate in Fleetstreet, 1737.

Edition: First edition.

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Listed in the Jefferson Inventory of Wythe's Library as "Treatise on Equity, fol." and given by Thomas Jefferson to Dabney Carr. The first edition is the only folio edition of this work.[18] Both the Brown Bibliography[19] and George Wythe's Library[20] on LibraryThing include this edition of this title.

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

The copy is bound in contemporary calf with blind rules to the boards and blind fillets along the joints. The spine features raised raised bands and a lettering piece. The library purchased this title from the Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.

View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.

References

  1. ↑ N.G. Jones "Ballow, Henry (b. 1704?, d. 1782", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed March 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ Ibid.
  3. ↑ Ibid.
  4. ↑ Ibid.
  5. ↑ William Holdsworth, A History of English Law, (London: Methuen & Co., Sweet and Maxwell, 1938), 12:192
  6. ↑ Ibid. 193
  7. ↑ Ibid. 192
  8. ↑ Ibid. 191
  9. ↑ N.G. Jones, "Ballow, Henry"
  10. ↑ Holdsworth, ‘’A History of English Law,’’ 191
  11. ↑ Ibid. 192
  12. ↑ Ibid.
  13. ↑ Ibid.
  14. ↑ Ibid.
  15. ↑ Ibid. 193
  16. ↑ Ibid.
  17. ↑ Ibid.
  18. ↑ English Short Title Catalog, http://estc.bl.uk, search of "Treatise of Equity" reveals only one folio edition.
  19. ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433
  20. ↑ LibraryThing, s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on April 21, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe
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