No. 4.] KURAL LAW. 163 



pigs. But this did not satisfy the defendant. He thought, 

 whatever his own offence might have ])een in taking pos- 

 session of the pigs, that his neighbor was more deeply cul- 

 pable, in that he had stolen the summons of the court. So 

 he rejected Mr. Mason's offer, and applied to the Legislature 

 to remedy his grievance. Without any notice to the adverse 

 party, the Legislature passed an act commanding the justice 

 of the peace to cite the plaintiff into court, set aside the 

 default, try the action and allow cither party an appeal. 

 Mr. Mason appeared before the justice and denied the right 

 of the Legislature to pass such an act, claiming that it was 

 unconstitutional, in that it was an encroachment upon the 

 prerogative of the judiciary. The justice had been an offi- 

 cer in the continental army, was rather a pompous citizen, 

 and so readily accepted Mr. Mason's views, declared the 

 act of the Legislature utterly void, declined to open the 

 case and refused to allow any appeal. The next winter 

 the plaintiff went back to the Legislature and procured the 

 passage of a second act, directing the court of common pleas 

 to allow an appeal ; but in that court the same result fol- 

 lowed. Mr. Mason defeated the attempt to open the case 

 on the ground that it was unconstitutional, and the court 

 refused to have anything to do with the matter. And thus 

 it happened that the expressions "pig actions" and "pig 

 acts " became terms of common import throughout the State. 

 The more the subject was talked about, the more ridiculous 

 it seemed, until finally it drifted into contempt ; and since 

 that day the Legislature of New Hampshire has never at- 

 tempted to interfere with the prerogatives of the judges. 

 Thus we see how efficient a smart lawyer and a litigious 

 farmer may be in promoting law suits on the very small 

 capital of two pigs, valued at one dollar. 



Real. Property. 

 At first thought it seems an easy thing to determine 

 what real property is, but there are some difficulties about 

 it. It is hard to give an exact and concise definition. Per- 

 haps an old fashioned one will do as well as any other. 

 "Real estate consists of land, and of all the rights and 

 profits rising from and annexed to land, which arc of a 



