ENGLAND. 



717 



Statistics, of the state of landed property there ; with this, there- 

 """"Y""^ fore, we shall begin this division of our subject. 



In England, landed property is tolerably well defi- 

 ned, and protected by the laws of the land. Through 

 the various changes, however, that have taken place 

 in our laws and constitution, in consequence of the 

 conquests and revolutions to which the kingdom has 

 been exposed, its landed property at present is of va- 

 rious descriptions ; and the laws and regulations re- 

 specting it are almost without number. 



The kinds of property connected with the lands of 

 England may be divided under two heads, namely, in- 

 to jxissessory property, or the actual possession of the 

 lands and their appurtenances ; and into abstract rights 

 arising out of them. Those who are inclined to trace 

 the origin and decline of the ancient structure of Eng- 

 lish tenures, and to search for the fragments of them 

 that are still in force, may consult Blackstone's Com- 

 mentaries on the Laws and Constitution of England. 



The first division of the species of property relating 

 to the lands of England, or possessing property, .com- 

 prises the soil or land itself; the minerals and ftssils it 

 covers ; the waters annexed to it ; the wood and herb- 

 age it produces ; and the buildings, fences, &c. thereon 

 erected. The other division of the species of property 

 relating to the lands of England, or abstract rights, 

 comprises seignorial rights, as chief rents, &c. ; mano- 

 rial rights, as quit-rents, fines, &c. ; prescriptive, or 

 common rights ; predial rights, or tithes ; and paro- 

 chial rights, or taxes. To these, advouson and parlia- 

 mentary rights may be added, as they are not unfre- 

 quently attached to landed property. 



It will be evident, from the consideration of these 

 abstract rights, that possessory property in this coun- 

 try is further liable to analysis, and to more particular 

 distinctions. In case lands are held unconditionally, 

 and in full possession, without any other superior than 

 the laws and constitution of the country, they are term- 

 ed freehold. This term again admits of still further 

 distinctions. 



If the lands are liable to regular and fixed 'annual 

 payments, which payments are beneath their annual 

 value, and without being liable to fine, heriot, or for- 

 feiture, they are fee-farm hold, or are comprised under 

 the denomination of other inferior holding. When they 

 are held of a superior, as part of a royalty, honour, or 

 manor, and are liable to fines, on account of deaths, 

 transfers, or other circumstances, they are copyfio/d. 

 Copyhold property is subject to the customs of the 

 royalty, manor, or honour, of which it is a part. 



Leasehold property is also of various descriptions 

 and value in England ; long leasehold, as for a thou- 

 sand years ; life leasehold, with a fine certain or un- 

 der certain limitations on a renewal ; life leasehold, 

 with an uncertain fine, which is payable to the proprie- 

 tor or other superior ; in this case, he reserves merely 

 a conventional rent ; the tenant having paid down a 

 sum of money to obtain the lease, and the right of alie- 

 nation : this practice is common in the west of Eng- 

 land. The conventional rents are reserved and exact- 

 ed in these cases, in order that the proprietor of the 

 lands may have the right of convening the tenants to 

 his court or audit, as well as to know which of his te- 

 nants are still alive, in order that no fraud or over- 

 holding may take place. There is also another kind of 

 life leasehold with an uncertain fine : this fine is pay- 

 able to the proprietor, who receives the full rent of the 

 land at the time of granting the lease ; the lessor ha- 

 ving a power of alienation ; this is a common practice 



Freehold. 



Fee-farm 

 hold. 



Copyhold. 



Leasehold. 



in Wales and in some parts of England. The last dis- Statistic* 

 tinction of leasehold property, which exists in Eng- VN ~ ">" 

 land, is leasehold for an ordinary term, with the power 

 of alienation. These various rights of possession are 

 syled tenures. Where a lease is granted, without the 

 power of alienation or transfer, it is a species of hold- 

 big, which merely gives the right of occupancy. 



Legal possession of landed property is gained, by 

 grant, as from the crown; by prescription, or long 

 usage ; by descent, as from an ancestor ; by deed of 

 gift or settlement ; by the testament of the deceased 

 owner ; by forfeiture, as to a mortgage ; and by pur- 

 chase, either entered on a court roll, or ratified by a 

 deed of conveyance. 



In most parts of England, the tenures are nearly of Singular 

 the same kind ; and landed property descends in the tenures, 

 same manner ; but nearly in the whole of Kent, and in 

 some small portions of other counties, gavel-kind, or 

 the equal distribution of landed property among all the 

 sons of a family, prevails. In some parts also, another 

 species of tenure prevails, which is that of borough 

 English, by which the younger son succeeds to the land 

 on the death of his father, to the exclusion of his eldest 

 and other brothers. 



Landed property varies in size and value very much Size of 

 in different parts of England ; perhaps the largest in- estates. 

 come derived from land may amount to nearly L. 100,000 

 per annum ; but the general annual income arising 

 from this kind of property is probably not more than one 

 or two thousand a year. In some counties, particularly 

 in the west of England, landed property is much di- 

 vided : this is also the case in other parts of the king- 

 dom ; while in some counties, nearly the whole of the 

 landed property is in the hands of a very few indi- 

 viduals. In Cheshire, the estates are perhaps more 

 nearly of a size than in most other counties, running 

 from L.3000 to L. 1 5,000 a year. In the manufacturing 

 districts, the small landed proprietors of L.200 or L.300 

 a year, have been driven away by the introduction of 

 manufactures, and the high price of the necessaries of 

 life, or have been induced to dispose of their property, 

 by the great rise in the value of land in these parts. 



The management of landed property in England is Manage- 

 generally in the hands of stewards ; in some cases, ment - 

 these are men practically conversant with- the manage- 

 ment and improvement of estates, but too often they 

 are men bred to the law, who are better acquainted 

 with the legal language and formalities of a lease, than 

 with the value of land, or the mode in which, for the 

 advantage of the tenant, the landlord, and the commu- 

 nity, it ought to be cultivated. 



The size of farms varies very much, not only in dif- Size of 

 ferent parts of the kingdom, but even in the same coun- farms. 

 ty. Farms of the extent of 500 to 1500 acres are 

 deemed large farms. Those that are under 100 acres 

 are considered small ones. The largest farms in Eng- 

 land are to be met with in the northern parts of North- 

 umberland, in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, and Dor- 

 setshire ; a few also occur in other counties : and in ge- 

 neral it may be remarked, that farms are larger in the 

 north, eastern, and south-eastern counties, than in the 

 south-western, western, or north-western counties of 

 England. In Wales, farms are for the most part very 

 small. 



The practice of letting land on lease is by no means Leases, 

 common in England ; and it is certainly on the decline. 

 Where leases are granted, they are generally for 7 or 

 1 4 years ; seldom for 2 1 years, or a longer period. \ 



Leases are most usual ill those counties where farms 



