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<h1>An Experimental Essay Touching the Reformation of the Lawes of England (1648)</h1>

<p><em>An Experimental Essay Touching the Reformation of the Lawes of England</em>. London: Printed by Matthew Simmons, 1648</p>

<p>In only six printed pages, this essay from the second part of the English Civil War proposes substantial reforms to the common law of the seventeenth century. The author argues for a survey of the laws of other nations in order to identify the best laws and the strongest foundation for a legal system. Once compared, English common law "might easily be mended" and "[t]he maine of these things may be settled in quarter of a yeare, without any great trouble to any Body."</p>

<h2>Usage Rights:</h2>

<p>Digital exhibit content is made available under CC BY-NC-SA.</p>

<h2>Files available for download:</h2>

<p><a href="https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/context/british-colonial-antecedents/article/1042/type/native/viewcontent">Title page, An Experimental Essay</a></p>