717 



WARRANT. 



WARRANTY. 



718 



earths, so that it is not readily separated from them. It is neithei 

 like clay nor sand, but something between the two, soft to the touch, 

 but not hardening into lumps when dry : neither very porous nor 

 very retentive of moisture. The principal earth is silica, in a very 

 fine state. It generally contains a portion of calcareous matter, 

 probably from comminuted shells. It produces beans, oats, potatoes, 

 and wheat in abundance, without any manure. It is admirably adapted 

 to the growth of flax, especially when the warp is of a good depth. 



The principal expense in warping is the sluice, and the canal through 

 which the water is conducted over the land ; the longer this latter is, 

 the slower the process, as much warp is deposited in the canal, which 

 lias sometimes to be dug out. Accurate levels must be taken, or 

 much expense may be incurred uselessly, if the water will not cover 

 the surface to a sufficient depth. 



It in of little consequence what the soil was originally ; for a new 

 soil is deposited over it. It should, however, not be too wet nor marshy : 

 a porous soil is best, as this becomes the subsoil. All the inequalities 

 which existed before, are obliterated by the warping, which fills 

 up all cavities, and leaves a perfectly level surface. The fertility of 

 warped land naturally leads to the conclusion that silica, in a very 

 comminuted state, becomes best adapted for the roots of plants to 

 shoot in, and to supply them regularly with the moisture necessary to 

 their vegetation, and that their chief nourishment is derived from the 

 atmosphere, since very little organic matter can be detected in warp, 

 and few mineral substances besides the earths. 



WARRANT. A warrant is a delegation by A, who has power or 

 authority to do some act of that power or authority to B. Thus, a 

 man having, of course, power to act in and manage his own concerns, 

 may give a warrant of attorney to another to act or manage on his 

 behalf. A sheriff who has power to arrest, &c., may give a warrant to 

 his bailiff to act for him, A landlord who has power to make a distress 

 upon his tenant, may give a warrant of distress to another for that 

 purpose. A magistrate who has power to bring before him persons 

 who are within his jurisdiction, and reasonably suspected of having 

 committed certain offences, may make a warrant to others to do that 

 act. A warrant, which should be in writing, ought to show the 

 authority of the person who makes it, the act which is authorised to 

 be done, the name or distinct description of the party authorised to 

 execute it, and of the party against whom it is made ; and in criminal 

 cases the grounds upon which it is made. The sense in which the 

 word " warrant " is more generally known relates to criminal matters. 

 A justice of the peace has power within his own jurisdiction to appre- 

 hend a person whom he has seen commit an offence over which he has 

 jurisdiction. He may also verbally direct, that is, give a verbal warrant 

 to others to arrest such person in his own presence. He may also give 

 a warrant in writing to apprehend in his absence such person, or any 

 person against whom he has reasonable cause of suspicion from the 

 information of others. The warrant should always be under the hand 

 and seal of the justice. It should be addressed to the constable or 

 constables, or to some private person by name, and the constable or 

 the private person acting within the justice's jurisdiction will not be 

 liable for any of the consequences of obeying a proper warrant. The 

 warrant should name the person against whom it is directed. A war- 

 rant to apprehend all persons suspected, or all persons guilty, &c., is 

 illegal ; for the discretion as to pointing out the individual person to 

 be apprehended is vested in the justice, not in the officer. The law as 

 to this was expressly laid down by Lord Mansfield in the case of Money 

 r. Leach, 3 Bur. 1742, where the warrant, being of the form called a 

 general warrant, and which had been hi use since the Revolution down 

 to that time, directing the officers to apprehend the " authors, printers, 

 and publishers " of the famous No. 45 of the ' North Briton,' was held 

 to be illegal and void. The warrant should also set forth the time ami 

 place of making it, and the cause for which it is made. A warranl 

 may be to bring the party before the justice granting it, or before any 

 justice of the same county. A warrant of a justice of one county 

 cannot be executed in another until it has been backed, that is, signec 

 by some justice in that other county, and the same provision has been 

 also enacted with respect to warrants granted in any one of the three 

 kingdoms, and requiring to be executed in any other. But a warrant 

 granted by one of the judges of the Court of Queen's Bench is testec 

 in Kiigland, and may be executed in any part of the kingdom. A 

 warrant is in force until it has been executed, if the justice granting ii 

 be still alive. An officer to whom it is addressed is indictable if he 

 neglects or refuses to act upon it. He is justified in apprehending the 

 party at any time, and in breaking open the doors of a house, but he 

 ought first to make known to those within the cause of his coming 

 his authority, and lo request their assistance. After the party is 

 apprehended, the officer ought forthwith to carry him wherever ho is 

 directed by the warrant authorising the apprehension. Much of wha 

 has been said as to a warrant of apprehension is equally applicable to a 

 Warrant of Commitment, which is the document by which a justict 

 authorises a commitment of a party to prison, either to suffer a sum 

 mary punishment or to await his trial. The same matters are essentia 

 as to showing the authority,, the parties, the cause, and the purpose o 

 the warrant, and these latter should appear distinctly, be lawful, am 

 nut be in the disjunctive. A Search Warrant is a document whicl 

 authorises a search to be made for stolen goods. 



A Warrant of Attorney is an authority by which a man authorise 



another to do an act for him, on his behalf, or as his agent or deputy. 

 LETTER or POWER OF ATTORNEY.] But the term is most commonly 

 pplied to cases where a party executes an instrument of that name 

 uthorising another to confess judgment against him in an action for a 

 ertain amount named in the warrant of attorney. It is generally 

 iven as a security by one who is, or is about to become, the debtor 

 )f another. The advantage of it is, that, by putting it into effect, the 

 reditor obtains a judgment against his debtor at once, and has all 

 he advantages of a judgment creditor, without the risk, delay, and 

 expense of an action. There is frequently a condition attached, that 

 t shall be defeated and become void upon the making of certain pay- 

 ments, or the doing of certain acts. In all such cases it is necessary 

 ,hat the defeasance, or condition, shall be written on the same paper 

 or parchment as the warrant of attorney, and a copy of the whole 

 iled in the Court of Queen's Bench within twenty-one days after the 

 execution. Otherwise, in case of bankruptcy or insolvency of the 

 >arty making the warrant of attorney, it will be void as against his 

 assignees. 



WARRANT OFFICERS are a class of important subordinate officers 

 n the Royal Navy. They are divided into three grades, gunners, 

 loatswains, and carpenters and each grade into three classes. We 

 lave already explained the duties of a gunner [GUNNER, NAVAL], and 

 of a boatswain [BOATSWAIN]. The duties of a carpenter are multifa- 

 rious and onerous. He has the general charge of the ship's hull and 

 spars, &c., and is supposed to be an able shipwright, and a well-informed 

 mechanic. The heaving down and repairing (by shifting part of the 

 teel) of H.M.S. Formidable of 80 guns at Malta, some years since, 

 under the suggestion and directions of a carpenter's mate, which 

 elicited the special thanks of the Board of Admiralty, may be quoted as 

 an instance of the nature of what is at times required of those who 

 aear the inappropriate designation of ship-carpenter, as well as of the 

 talent and resources to be found amongst them. 



WARRANTY. 1. The doctrine of warranty of lands was formerly 

 one of the most important parts of legal learning, but the effect of 

 warranties having been gradually reduced within very small compass, 

 ;he subject has now become of little practical use ; still it is necessary 

 Eor those who would properly understand the English law of real pro- 

 perty to pay some attention to this difficult subject. 



Warranty existed in the civil law, and was defined to be the obliga- 

 tion of the seller to put a stop to the eviction and other troubles which 

 the buyer may sustain in the property purchased. By eviction is 

 meant the loss of either the whole or a part of the property by reason 

 of the right which another has to it. The other troubles referred to 

 are those which, without affecting the property of the thing sold, 

 diminish the beneficial interest of the purchaser, such as a claim to a 

 usufruct, or a rent issuing out of the lands. This warranty was either 

 in late, being that security which every seller is bound to give to a 

 purchaser for the maintenance of his title to the property sold, though 

 no stipulation to that effect was made at the time of the sale ; or in 

 deed, being that kind of particular warranty on which the seller and 

 buyer agree. (Domat., 1. 1, t. 2. s. 10.) 



Warranty of lands in the English law is of feudal origin, and is 

 derived from the obligation of the lord to defend his tenant's title 

 against all claimants. If the tenant was evicted, the lord was bound 

 to make him a recompense by giving him other lands of equal value. 

 Every tenant holding of his lord time out of mind, by what was termed 

 homage anceitral, was entitled to this warranty. The statute of the 

 ISth of Edward I., commonly called the statute of Quia Emptores, 

 which prohibited the practice of subinfeudation, and authorised the 

 free alienation of property, put an end to the homage ancestral, and 

 consequently to the implied warranty annexed to it. To avoid the 

 effect of this, when the lord aliened, the tenants, before they attorned 

 to the new lord, required a new warranty from him ; and when tho 

 tenant aliened, it was with an express clause of warranty from himself. 

 These express warranties were introduced even prior to the statute of 

 Quia Emptores, in order to evade the strictness of the feudal law as to 

 non-alienation without the consent of the heir ; for though he might, 

 on the death of his ancestor, have entered upon any lands aliened 

 without his consent, the covenant of warranty descending upon the 

 hen- operated as a confirmation of the title of the grantee by obliging 

 the heir who evicted him to yield the grantee a recompense in lands of 

 equal value. This doctrine, it is said, was founded on the supposition 

 that the ancestor would not wantonly disinherit his heir, who therefore 

 was presumed to have received a recompense either in land or money 

 which had purchased land, and that this equivalent descended to tho 

 heir, together with the ancestor's warranty. 



This doctrine of warranty was the foundation of the assurance by 

 way of common recovery [RECOVERY] ; but the use of warranties in 

 conveyances had long been superseded in practice before they were 

 practically abolished by the statute 3 & 4 Wm. IV., c. 27 & 74. 



All the learning upon this subject will be found in ' Coke upon 

 Littleton,' with Hargrave and Butler's notes. 



2. Warranty of tliinys personal. By the civil law an implied warranty 

 as to the vendor's title was annexed to every sale, and in our law also 

 a purchaser of goods and chattels may have satisfaction from the seller, 

 who sells them as his oien and whose title proves deficient. But the 

 vendor is not bound to answer for the quality of the wares purchased 

 (except in the case of articles of food, for human consumption), unless 



