5797. NECESSITY, Law of.—
A strict
observance of the written law is * * *
one of the high duties of a good citizen, but
it is not the highest. The laws of necessity,
of self-preservation, of saving our country
when in danger, are of higher obligation.
To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence
to written law, would be to lose the
law itself, with life, liberty, property, and all
those who are enjoying them with us; thus
absurdly sacrificing the end to the means.—
To J. B. Colvin. Washington ed. v, 542.
Ford ed., ix, 279.
(M.
1810)
