612 



I- A W. 



T.w of one, die interest remains to the sun i\r>r or sun i 

 .11 KniglanJ. p v , v | 1;! t t . V( . r nicans the jointure ceat.cs or is severed, 

 "" Y " ' by either of its four constituent unities being destroy- 

 ed, the right of survivorship, or jus accrescendi, the same 

 instant ceases with it. 



Coparcena- 39. An estate in coparcenary, is where an estate of 

 *y- inheritance descends from the ancestor to two or more 



persons, who are then called parceners, and they all 

 together make one heir. The properties of parceners 

 are in most respects like those of joint tenants ; they 

 may be compelled to divide their estate by any of the 

 parceners sueing out a writ of partition, or obtaining 

 a decree in a court of equity. 



Estate in 40. An estate in common, is where two or more per- 



common. sons hold lands by distinct titles, but have a unity in 



the possession; as one may hold in fee simple, the 



other in tail. Persons thus holding lands, are styled 



tenants in common. 



CHAP. II. Of the Title to Real Estates. By Descent, 

 Purchase, Escheat, Occupancy, Prescription, Forfei- 

 ture. 



Mere pos- 

 session, its 

 consequen- 

 ces if unmo 

 Icsted. 



Title by 

 descent. 



By pur. 



chase. 



By etcheat 



1. There are several stages or degrees requisite to 

 form a complete title to lands and tenements ; the low- 

 est is the mere naked possession without a shadow of 

 right. This may happen where one forcibly, or by 

 surprise, turns another out of the occupation : which in 

 law is termed an actual disseisin. In all such cases 

 the rightful owner may repossess by a variety of reme- 

 dies ; but if neglected by him who has the legal 

 right, this actual possession may ripen into a perfect 

 and indefeasible title ; and, at all events, without such 

 actual possession, no title can be completely good. A 

 man having an actual right of possession, may exert it 

 whenever he pleases, by turning the disseisor out. 



2. Descent is the descending of an estate from an 

 ancestor dying actually seised of the estate, to the heir- 

 at-law, which shall descend ad infinitum, but never 

 lineally ascend. The rules of which are, I. The males 

 are admitted before the females. 2. Where there are 

 two or more males, the eldes shall inherit, but the fe- 

 males all together. 3. The lineal descendants, in infi- 

 nitum, of any person deceased, shall represent their an- 

 cestor, or stand in the same place as the person himself 

 would have done, had he been living. 4. On failure 

 of lineal descendents, or issue of the person last seised, 

 the inheritance shall descend to his next collateral kin- 

 dred, being of the blood of the first purchaser, subject 

 to the three last and the next succeeding rules. 5. And 

 this collateral heir of the person last seized must be the 

 next kinsman of the whole blood. 6. In collateral in- 

 heritances, the male stock shall be preferred, or kinsmen 

 descending from the blood of the male ancestor shall be 

 admitted before those from the blood of the female, 

 unless where the lands did in fact descend from a fe- 

 male. 



3. If a man becomes possessed of lands in any other 

 form than they would have descended to him by act of 

 law, he is said to take them by purchase; so where 

 lands are devised to an heir at law saddled with the 

 smallest limitation, he is said to take them by pur- 

 chase ; the consequence is, they are descendible to the 

 owner's blood in general, and not to the blood of any 

 particular ancestor. 



4. Lands held by escheat, are such as revert to the 

 lord upon the blood of the person last seized becoming 

 extinct ; upon a bastard dying intstate and without is- 



sue ; and upon a iiir>ii Ir-nving no other heirs but aliens. 

 Escheat is a subordinate species of forfeiture. 



5. Occupancy is the taking possession of those things 

 which had before no owners. The law recognises oc- 

 cupancy only in the case of a tenant pour autre vie, 

 (lying during the life of cestui que vie, or him for 

 whose life any lands or tenements are granted. For 

 where heirs are mentioned in the limitation, the heir 

 shall take possession as a special occupant, and it shall 

 be assets in his hands. Where there is no special occu- 

 pant in whom the estate may vest, the tenant pour au. 

 tre vie may devise it by will, but it shall be subject to 

 the testator's debts ; and in the case of intestacy, it 

 shall go to the executors as a chattel interest. An 

 island rising in any part of a river shall be the property 

 of him who owns die piscary, and has the freehold of 

 the soil. If a river suddenly changes its course, and 

 thereby inundates a man's ground, he may claim what 

 the river has left ; but if this happens by gradual de- 

 grees, the one who loses his soil has no remedy against 

 him who . has the dereliction in his favour. Islands 

 rising in the sea vest in the crown, as also land left 

 suddenly dry ; but if by small and almost impercepti- 

 ble degrees, it shall belong to the owner of the adjacent 

 land. 



6. Prescription is a personal immemorial usage of 

 enjoying such a right as may be created by grant, as 

 right of way or common, the law supposing a grant to 

 have existed. Custom is a local usage, and is establish- 

 ed by being " used so long that the memory of man 

 runneth not to the contrary." Custom binds particular 

 places, persons, and things concerned therein; as in 

 the case of gavel kind lands, and borough- English. 



7. Forfeiture is a punishment annexed by law to 

 some illegal act or negligence in the owner of things 

 real. Forfeitures are occasioned, (1.) By crimes. 

 (2.) By alienations contrary to law. (3.) By disclaim- 

 er. (4.) By lapse. (5.) By simony. (6.) By waste. 

 (1.) Forfeiture^ for crimes or misdemeanours are, 

 1. For high treason. 2. Misprision of treason. 3. Pe- 

 tit treason, or felony. 4. Assaulting a judge, or striking 

 any one in the presence of the king's principal courts 

 of justice. 5. Praemunire. 6. Popish recusancy. (2.) 

 Alienations, or conveyances which induce a forfeiture, 

 are, 1 . Those in mortmain, made to corporations ; where- 

 by lands become inherent in one dead hand, contrary 

 to the statute law, unless those corporations have a li- 

 cense to hold in mortmain. 2. Alienations made to 

 aliens. 3. Those made by particular tenants, when 

 larger than their estates will warrant, and thereby put- 

 ting the remainder in jeopardy ; here the remainder- 

 man is entitled to enter. (3.) Disc/aimer, is where a 

 man holding of a lord, and neglecting to render him due 

 services ; and upon an action being brought to recover 

 them, and he disclaiming to hold'of .his lord, he incurs a 

 forfeiture. Copyhold lands are liable to a variety of for- 

 feitures, regulated according to the customs of the differ- 

 ent manors. (4.) Lapse, is a forfeiture of the right of 

 presentation to a vacant church, by neglect of the patron 

 to present within six calendar months from the vacancy. 

 (5.) Simony, is the corrupt presentation to an ecclesias- 

 tical benefice, whereby the presentation becomes for- 

 feited. (6.) Waste, is a spoil, or destruction, in any cor- 

 poreal hereditament, to the prejudice of him that has 

 the inheritance : such as removing things once fixed to 

 the freehold of a house ; reducing the number of crea- 

 tures in ponds, dove-houses, warrens, &c. cutting down 

 timber-like trees, as oak, ash, elms. 



Law 



of Englm 



* Y** 

 By occu- 

 pancy. 



By pre- 

 scription, 



By forfei- 

 ture. 



