Chap. VI.]

OBSERVANCE OF CONTRACTS.

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maintain an action upon his contract,” because, the considerationof the contract, though in itself good, was, in the case in question,tainted with turpitude, which destroyed the whole merit of it.“ Other cases,” continues he, “ where the means of transgressinga law are furnished, with the knowledge, that they are intended tobe used for that purpose, will differ in shade more or less fromthis strong case ; but the body of the color is the same in all.Upon the principles of the common law, the consideration ofevery valid contract must be meritorious. No man ought to fur-nish another with the means of transgressing the law, knowingthat he intended to make that use of them.” Every good manmust unite with Mr. Justice Story, in commending “ the soundsense, sound morals, and enlarged policy of this doctrine.” It is,as he well says, “almost irresistible to the judgment.” Again,on another occasion, in the Court of King’s Bench,' Lord Ellen-borough said, “ If a person sell goods with a knowledge, and infurtherance of the buyer’s intention to convey them upon a smug-gling adventure, he is not permitted by the policy of the law torecover such a sale.’’ In this opinion the other members of thecourt concurred. One of them added, “ If a principal sell arti-cles in order to enable the vendee to use them for illegal pur-poses, he cannot recover the price.” The latest English decisionhas firmly sustained the same doctrine. #

(6.) It may be well to illustrate this subject still further, byadverting “ to the nature and extent of the relief which will begranted to persons, who are parties to agreements or other tran-sactions against public policy, and, therefore, are to be deemedparticipes criminis “ The old cases often gave relief both atlaw and in equity, where, without such relief, the party wouldderive an advantage from his iniquity.” But in the more modernadministration of justice, a more severely just, and probably poli-tic and moral rule, has been generally, though not universally,adopted ; which is, to leave the parties where it finds them, givingno relief, and no countenance, to claims made under illegal con-tracts and other illegal transactions. “ But, in cases where theagreements or other transactions are repudiated, on account of

* Story’s “ Commentaries on the Conflict of Laws,” pp. 200, 210.

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