INSTITUTIONS, GOVERNMENT AND LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 430 



coroner to have come to a violent or untimely death within his jurisdic- 

 tion, he shall hold an inquest upon the body Avith the aid of a jury of 

 fourteen men of the county, and all jDersons subject to jury duty in the 

 Circuit Court are liable to serve on a coroner's jury. The coroner can 

 arrest and bind over for trial any person appearing to be concerned in 

 such death, and also material witnesses to the facts. As already stated, 

 the punishment of whipping is not permitted by the laws of South 

 Carolina. 



Law OF Property. There are, of course, many details of property 

 law which can only be learned by consulting a lawyer, but a few general 

 principles and important provisions may be noted here. Any man or 

 woman of legal age, owning real estate in fee simple, may freely dispose 

 of it by will, or sell and convey the same by deed, executed in the pres- 

 ence of two or more witnesses, and dul}' recorded. If the deed be by a 

 married man, the wife must renounce her dower in a formal manner, 

 provided by statute. A married woman may hold property separately 

 from her husband and may dispose of the same as if she were unmarried. 

 All deeds of conveyance or mortgage, trust deeds, marriage settlements, 

 &c., leases between landlord and tenant for a longer period than twelve 

 months, liens on crops and mechanics' liens, and liens on ships and 

 vessels, must be recorded in the office of the Register of Mesne Convey- 

 ances for the county where the property is situated, in the case of real 

 estate, and in the case of personal property, for the county where the 

 owner resides, within forty days from the time of execution or delivery, 

 in order to affect the rights of subsequent creditors or purchasers without 

 notice. No person having a lawful wife or children can give to any 

 illegitimate children or concubine, by conveyance, gift or legacy, a greater 

 proi)ortion of the value of his estate than one-fourth thereof. Every 

 conveyance for the purpose of defrauding creditors is void. So, also, are 

 conveyances to deceive purchasers. Upon the payment of a debt secured 

 by mortgage, the mortgagor may compel the mortgagee to enter satisfac- 

 tion on the mortgage. No parol lease is valid for more than one year, 

 and every written lease shall terminate at the period therein stated, with- 

 out its being obligatory on either party to give notice. The landlord 

 may distrain for rent in arrear. Tenants in common and' joint tenants 

 are compellable to make partition. Liens on real estate are of no force 

 after the lapse of twenty years, unless kept alive by some payment or ac- 

 knowledgment of indebtedness, except in the cases of judgments provided 

 for in the Code of Procedure. Wills in South Carolina nuist be signed 

 and acknowledged by the testator in the presence of three witnesses, who 

 must sign in the presence of the testator and of each other. Aliens can 

 hold and dispose of real and personal property in the same way as 



