DEB 



DEE 



and sides in such a manner, as to disguise 

 the ship, and represent her either much 

 smaller and of inferior force, or as a 

 friend to the hostile vessel which she 

 endeavours to ensnare, by assuming the 

 emblems and ornaments of the nation 

 to which the stranger is supposed to 

 belong. 



DECREE, in the civil law, is a deter- 

 mination that the emperor pronounces 

 upon hearing a particular cause between 

 plaintiff and defendant. 



DECREE, is a sentence pronounced by 

 the Lord Chancellor in the Court of 

 Chancery, and is equally binding upon 

 the parties as a judgment in a court of 

 law. By the laws of England, a decree 

 (notwithstanding any contempts thereof) 

 shall not bind the goods or moveables, 

 but only charge the person. If a decree 

 be obtained and inrolled, so that the 

 cause cannot be reheard, then there is no 

 remedy but by bill of review, which 

 must be on error appearing on the face 

 of the decree, or on matters subsequent 

 thereto, as a release or a receipt disco- 

 vered since. 



DKCRKES of councils are the laws made 

 by them, to regulate the doctrine and 

 policy of the church. 



DECREPITATION, in chemistry, a 

 term applied to the crackling noise of 

 salts exposed to heat, by which they are 

 quickly split. It takes place in those salts 

 that have little water of crystallization, 

 the increased temperature converting 

 that small quantity into vapour, by which 

 the crystals are suddenly burst. Common 

 salt affords a good example of decrepita- 

 tion, and when used as a flux should be 

 previously decrepitated. 



DECUMARIA, in botany, a genus of 

 the Dodecandria Monogynia class and 

 order. Natural order of Myrti. Essen- 

 tial character : calyx eight to twelve- 

 leaved, superior ; petals eight to twelve ; 

 capsule eight-celled, with many seeds. 

 There is but one species, viz. D. bar- 

 bara, climbing decumaria, a native of Ca- 

 rolina. 



DECUSSATE, in natural history, cros- 

 sed at right angles. 



DEDICATION, in matters of litera- 

 ture, the inscribing a book, poem, play, 

 or the like, to some person of distinc- 

 tion, serving both as a protection to the 

 piece, and a mark of the author's respect 

 tor the person to whom he dedicates his 

 work. 



DEED, is a written contract, sealed and 

 delivered. It must be written before the 

 sealing and delivery, otherwise it is no 

 deed ; and after it is once formally exe- 



cuted by the parties, nothing can be add- 

 ed or interlined ; and therefore, if a 

 deed be sealed and delivered with a 

 blank left for the sum, which the obligee 

 fills up after sealing and delivery, this 

 will make the deed void. A deed must 

 be made by parties capable of contract- 

 ing, and upon a good consideration ; and 

 the subject matter must be legally and 

 formally set out. The formal parts of a 

 deed are, the premises, containing the 

 number, names, additions, and titles of 

 the parties. The covenants, which are 

 clauses of agreement contained in the 

 deed, whereby the contracting parties 

 stipulate for the truth of certain facts, or 

 bind themselves to the performance of 

 some specific acts. The conclusion, 

 which mentions the execution and date 

 of the deed, or the time of its bein? 



. _ o 



given or executed, either expressly, or 

 with reference to some day and year be- 

 fore mentioned. 



A deed is the most solemn act of law 

 which a man can perform with respect to 

 the disposition of his property, and 

 therefore no person shall be permitted 

 to aver or prove any thing against his 

 own deed. All the parts of a deed in- 

 dented constitute in la\v but one entire 

 deed ; but every part has the same ope- 

 rative force as all the parts taken to- 

 gether, and they are deemed the mutual 

 or reciprocal acts of either of the parties, 

 who may be bound by either part of the 

 same, and the words of the indenture 

 may be considered as the words of either 

 party. If the name of baptism or sur- 

 name of a party to a deed be mistaken, 

 as John for Thomas, &c. this has been 

 held to be dangerous. But any mistake, 

 as spelling, &c. not deviating from the 

 substance of the deed, will not render it 

 void. If a man get another name in com- 

 mon esteem than his right name, any 

 deed made to him under such name will 

 be valid. Every deed must be founded 

 upon good and sufficient consideration ; 

 not upon an usurious contract, nor upon 

 fraud or collusion, either to deceive 

 bnna fide purchasers, or just and lawful 

 creditors; any of which considerations 

 will vacate the deed, and subject the 

 parties to forfeiture, and in some cases to 

 imprisonment. A deed also without any 

 consideration is void. A deed must be 

 written upon the proper stamps prescrib- 

 ed by the legislature, otherwise it cannot 

 be given in evidence. 



The force and effect which the law of 

 England gives to a deed under seal, can- 

 not exist, unless such deed be executed 

 by the party himself, or by another for 



