The critical doctor reviews a new book on the application of the rule of law in various British colonies over at Law & Liberty.

And though Ford never appears to notice it, the irony is that, its original defects notwithstanding, Australia developed within a few decades into one of the best countries in the world in which to live, to which millions would have liked to emigrate. The same is true of Canada. How did this come about? Was it a coincidence that had nothing whatever to do with the colonial foundations? The author does not even consider the question.