Exclusive Privileges

Exclusive privileges are the last division of real rights. Among these is the right of inheritance. This is not a creature of the civil law, but arises from nature.

The heir has a privilege of demanding what belonged to the deceased. After he is admitted heir, it is his real property. If a person starts to chase a wild beast, he has an exclusive privilege of pursuing it. Whoever comes in on the chase can be punished because he breaks the exclusive privilege.

In 1701, an English man-of-war attacked a French merchant ship which was just about to fall into their hands, when a Scotch privateer came and carried off the prize. A lawsuit commenced and the Scotch privateer was declared guilty of breach of property. But upon strict inquiry, we shall find that it was only a breach of privilege.

Though these and some other exclusive privileges arise from nature, they are generally the creatures of the civil law. Examples are monopolies and all privileges of corporations. They might have been conducive to the country’s interest. However, they are now prejudicial to it.

The riches of a country consist in the plenty and cheapness of provisions. But the effect of monopolies is the opposite–to make everything dear. When a number of butchers have the sole privilege of selling meat, they might agree on a monopoly price which we must accept. Even this privilege is not of advantage to the butchers themselves, because the other trades are also formed into corporations. If they sell beef dear, they must buy bread dear.

But the great loss is to the public, to whom=

• all things will be dear, and
• all sorts of work are worse done

This will reduce the population in towns and increase that of the suburbs.

However, the privilege of selling a new book or a new machine for 14 years does not have so bad a tendency. It is a proper and adequate reward for merit.

A right to servitudes and exclusive privileges may be acquired by prescription. Those are the different kinds of real rights.