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THE RELATIVE DUTIES OF MANKIND. [Part III.

ever the divine law, or positive law, or the common law, pro-hibits the doing of certain acts, or enjoins the discharge of cer-tain duties, any agreement to do such acts, or not to dischargesuch duties, is against the dearest interests of society, and, there-fore, is held void ; for otherwise the law would be open to thejust reproach of winking at crimes or omissions, or toleratingin one form, what it affected to reprobate in another.” Hence,all contracts (including bonds and other securities) for theprinting and circulation of irreligious and obscene publications;contracts to promote or reward the commission of crimes ; con-tracts to corrupt or evade the due administration of justice ;contracts to defraud the public agents, or to defeat the publicrights ; all gaming contracts ; and, in short, all contracts which intheir nature are founded in moral turpitude, and are inconsistentwith the good order and interests of society, are invalid, andincapable of confirmation and enforcement.*

, (2.) In like manner, agreements which are founded upon

violations of public trust or confidence, or the rules adopted bycourts in furtherance of the administration of public justice, areheld void. Thus, an agreement made for a remuneration tocommissioners, appointed to take testimony, and bound to se-crecy by the nature of their appointment, upon their disclosureof the testimony so taken, is void. So, an assignment of thehalf-pay of a retired officer of the army is void ; for it operatesas a fraud upon the public bounty. Agreements, founded uponthe suppression of criminal prosecutions, fall under the sameconsideration ; for they have a manifest tendency to subvert pub-lic justice. So, wager contracts, which are contrary to soundmorals, or injurious to the feelings or interests of third persons,or against the principles of public policy or duty, are void.f(3.) Contracts for the buying, selling, or procuring of pub-lic offices are inconsistent with the principles of sound policy,and are, therefore, illegal and void. It is obvious, that all suchcontracts must have a material influence to diminish the respect-ability, responsibility, and purity of public officers, and to intro-duce a system of official patronage, corruption, and deceit,

* Story’s Equity Jurisprudence, Vol. I. p. 293, 294.

t Idem, p. 291.