keep watch and ward, and to appre bend offenders 6. Surveyors of the highways are officers appointed annually in every parish; to remove annoyances in, and to direct the reparation of, the public roads 7. Overseers of the poor are officers appointed annually in every parish; to relieve such impotent, and employ such sturdy poor, as are settled in each parish, by birth;-by parentage-by marriage; or by forty days' residence, accompanied with, I. Notice. II. Renting a tenement of ten pounds annual value. III. Paying their assessed taxations. IV. Serving an annual office. V. Hiring and serving for a year. VI. Apprenticeship for seven years. VII. Having a sufficient estate in the parish CHAPTER X. Page 355 357 359-365 376 to 395 OF THE CLERGY 1. The people, whether aliens, denizens, or natives, are also either clergy, that is, all persons in holy orders, or in ecclesiastical offices; or laity, which comprehends the rest of the nation 2. The clerical part of the nation, thus defined, are, I. Archbishops and bishops; who are elected by their several chapters, at the nomination of the crown, and afterwards confirmed and consecrated by each other. II. Deans and chapters. III. Archdeacons. IV. Rural deans. V. Parsons, (under whom are included appropriators) and vicars; to whom there are generally requisite, holy orders, presentation, institution, and induction. VI. Curates. To which may be added, VII. Churchwardens. VIII. Parish clerks and sextons CHAPTER XII. OF THE CIVIL STATE 376 377-395 396 to 407 1. The laity are divisible into three states; civil, military, and maritime 396 2. The civil state, which includes ali the nation except the clergy, the army, and the navy; (and many individuals among them also); may be divided into the nobility, and the commonalty 3. The nobility are dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons. These had antiently duties annexed to their respective honours: they are created either by writ, that is, by summons to parliament; or by the king's letters patent, that is, by royal grant: and they enjoy many privileges, exclusive of their senatorial capacity 4. The commonalty consist of knights of the garter, knights bannerets, ba ronets, knights of the bath, knights bachelors, esquires, gentlemen, yeo. men, tradesmen, artificers, and la bourers. CHAPTER XIII. Page 306 306-402 403-407 OF THE MILITARY AND MARITIME STATES 408 to 417 1. The military state, by the standing constitutional law, consists of the militia of each county, raised from among the people by lot, officered by the principal landholders, and commanded by the lord lieutenant 2. The more disciplined occasional troops of the kingdom are kept on foot only from year to year, by parliament; and, during that period, are governed by martial law, or arbitrary articles of war, formed at the pleasure of the crown 3. The maritime state consists of the officers and mariners of the British navy; who are governed by express and permanent laws, or the articles of the navy, established by act of parliament 422 to 431 OF MASTER AND SERVANT 1. The private, œconomical, relations of persons are those of, I. Master and servant. II. Husband and wife. III. Parent and child. IV. Guardian and ward 2. The first relation may subsist between a master and four species of servants (for slavery is unknown to our laws): viz. I. Menial servants, who are hired. II. Apprentices, who are bound by indentures. III. Labourers, who are casually employed. IV. Stewards, bailiffs, and factors; who are rather in a ministerial state 433-440 2 Marriage is duly contracted between persons, 1. Consenting. II. Free from canonical impediments which make it voidable. III. Free also from the civil impediments, of prior marriage-of want of age;-of non-consent of parents or guardians, where requisite and of want of reason; either of which make it totally void. And it must be celebrated by a clergytan in due form and place 3 Marriage is dissolved, I. By death. .I. By divorce in the spiritual court; not a mensa et thoro only, but a vinculo matrimonii, for canonical cause existing previous to the contract. III. By act of parliament, as, for adultery 4. By marriage the husband and wife become one person in law; which unity is the principal foundation of their respective rights, duties, and disabili ties CHAPTER XVI. 440 442 446 to 459 OF PARENT AND CHILD 1. The third, and most universal private relation is that of parent and child 2. Children are, I. Legitimate; being those who are born in lawful wedlock, or within a competent time after. II. Bastards, being those who are not so 3. The duties of parents to legitimate children are, I. Maintenance. II. Protection. III. Education 4. The power of parents consists principally in correction, and consent to 'marriage. Both may, after death, be delegated by will to a guardian; and the former also, living the parent, to a tutor or master 5. The duties of legitimate children to parents are obedience, protection, and maintenance 6 The duty of parents to bastards is only that of maintenance 446 446 447 452 453 458 The rights of a bastard are such only as he can acquire; for he is incapable of inheriting any thing 459 II. Guardians for nurture, assigned by the ordinary. III. Guardians in socage, assigned by the common law, IV. Guardians by statute, assigned by the father's will. All subject to the superintendence of the Court of Chancery 3. Full age in male or female, for al purposes, is the age of twenty-one years (different ages being allowed for different purposes); till which age the person is an infant 4. An infant, in respect to his tender years, hath various privileges, and various disabilities in law; chiefly with regard to suits, crimes, estates, and contracts CHAPTER XVIII. OF CORPORATIONS Page 462 463 464 467 to 48-1 1. Bodies politic, or corporations, which are artificial persons, are established for preserving in perpetual succession certain rights; which, being conferred on natural persons only, would fail in process of time 467 469 2. Corporations are, I. Aggregate, con- 5. The powers incident to all corpora 8. Corporations may be dissolved, 1. By BOOK II.-OF THE RIGHTS OF THINGS. CHAPTER I. Page 2 to 14 Or PROPERTY, IN GENERAL 1. All dominion over external objects has its original from the gift of the Creator to man in general The substance of things was, at first, common to all mankind; yet a temporary property in the use of them might even then be acquired and continued by occupancy 1 In process of time a permanent property was established in the substance, as well as the use of things; which was also originally acquired by Occupancy only 4. Lest this property should determine by the owner's dereliction, or death, whereby the thing would again become common, societies have established conveyances, wills, and heirships, in order to continue the property of the first occupant: and, where by accident such property becomes discontinued or unknown, the thing usually results to the sovereign of the state, by virtue of the municipal law 6. But of some things, which are incapable of permanent substantial dominion, there still subsists only the same transient usufructuary property, which originally subsisted in all things CHAPTER II. OF REAL PROPERTY, AND, 2 3 4,5 9-11 14 1st, OF CORPOREAL HEREDITAMENTS 16 to 18 1. In this property, or exclusive domiConsist the rights of things; which are, I. Things real. II. Things nion, personal 2. In things real may be considered, I. Their several kinds. II. The tenures by which they may be holden. III. The estates which may be acquired therein. IV. Their title, or the means 3. All the several kinds of things real of acquiring and losing them are reducible to one of these three, viz. lands, tenements, or hereditaments; whereof the second includes the first, and the third includes the first and second 1. Hereditaments, therefore, or whatever may come to be inherited (being the most comprehensive denomination of things real), are either corporeal or incorporeal 6. Corporeal hereditaments consist wholly of lands, in their largest legal sense; wherein they include not only the face of the earth, but every other object of sense adjoining thereto, and subsisting 16 16 16 17 either above or beneath it 17, 18 2. Incorporeal hereditaments are, 1. Advowsons. 11. Tithes. III. Commons. IV. Ways. V. Offices. VI. Dignities. VII. Franchises. VIII. Corodies or pensions. IX. Annuities. X. Rents 21 41 3. An advowson is a right of presentation to an ecclesiastical benefice; either appendant, or in gross. This may be, 1. Presentative. II. Colla tive. III. Donative 4. Tithes are the tenth part of the increase yearly arising from the profits and stock of lands, and the personal industry of mankind. These, by the antient and positive law of the land, are due of common right to the parson, or (by endowment) to the vicar; unless specially discharged, I. By real composition. II. By prescription, either de modo decimandi, or de non decimando 1. The doctrine of tenures is derived from the feodal law; which was planted in Europe by its northern conquerors, at the dissolution of the Roman empire 2. Pure and proper feuds were parcels of land allotted by a chief to his followers; to be held on the condition of personally rendering due military service to their lord 3. These were granted by investiture; were held under the bond of fealty; were inheritable only by descendants; 4-5 45 aids, primer seisin, and fines for 4. Pure villenage was a precarious and 58 5. From hence, by tacit consent or en- 48-53 62 2. The most universal antient tenure was that in chivalry, or by knightservice; in which the tenant of every knight's fee was bound, if called upon, to attend his lord to the wars. This was granted by livery, and perfected by homage and fealty; which usually drew after them suit of court 3 The other fruits and consequences of the tenure by knight-service were, I. Aid. II. Relief. III. Primer seisin. IV. Wardship. V. Marriage. VI. Fines upon alienation. VII. Escheat 63-72 4. Grand serjeanty differed from chivalry principally in its render, or service; and not in its fruits and consequences 5. The personal service in chivalry was at length gradually changed into pecuniary assessments, which were called scutage or escuage 6. These military tenures (except the services of grand serjeanty) were, at the restoration of King Charles, totally abolished, and reduced to free socage, by act of parliament CHAPTER VI. 73 . 6. These are subject, like socage lands, to services, relief, and escheat; and also to heriots, wardship, and fines upon descent and alienation 7. Privileged villenage, or villein socage, is an exalted species of copyhold tenure, upon base but certain, services; subsisting only in the antient de mesnes of the crown; whence the tenure is denominated the tenure in antient demesne 8. These copyholds, of antient demesne, I have divers immunities annexed to their tenure; but are still held by copy of court roll, according to the custom of the manor, though not at the will of the lord 9. Frankalmoign is a tenure by spiritual services at large; whereby many ecclesiastical and eleemosynary corpora tions now hold their lands and tenements: being of a nature distinct from tenure by divine service in certain CHAPTER VII. rago 86-89 OF FREEHOLD ESTATES OF INHERIT103 to 117 ANCE 1. Estates in lands, tenements, and he reditaments, are such interest as the tenant hath therein; to ascertain which, may be considered, 1. The quantity of interest. II. The time of enjoyment. III. The number and connexions of the tenants 103 to 119 74 2. Estates, with respect to their quantity of interest, or duration, are either freehold, or less than freehold 77 OF THE MODERN ENGLISH TENURES 78 to 101 1. Free socage is a tenure by any free, certain, and determinate service 2. This tenure, the relic of Saxon liberty, includes petit serjeanty, tenure in burgage, and gavel-kind 3. Free socage lands partake strongly of the feodal nature, as well as those in chivalry being holden; subject to some service, at the least, to fealty and suit of court; subject to relief, to wardship, and to escheat, but not to marriage; subject also formerly to 78 81 3. A freehoid estate, in lands, is such as is created by livery of seisin at com. mon law; or, in tenements of an incorporeal nature, by what is equiva lent thereto 4. Freehold estates are either estates of inheritance, or not of inheritance, viz. for life only and inheritances are, I. Absolute, or fee-simple. II. Limited fees 5. Tenant in fee-simple is he that hath lands, tenements, or hereditaments, to hold to him and his heirs for ever 6. Limited fees are, I Qualified, or base, fees. 11. Fees conditional at the common law 104 104 104 104 109 7. Qualified, or base, fees are those which, having a qualification subjoined thereto. are liable to be defeated when that qualification is at an end 109 |