CHE 



CHE 



and that of his son, Henry III. the ri- 

 gours of the feudal tenures and the for- 

 est laws were so warmly maintained, that 

 they occasioned many insurrect'ons of 

 the barons or principal feudatories, 

 which at last produced this effect, that 

 first King John, and afterwards his son, 

 consented to the two famous charters of 

 English liberties, Magna Carta, and Car- 

 ta de Foresta. The latter, in particular, 

 was well calculated to redress many 

 grievances and encroachments of the 

 crown, in the execution of forest law. This 

 charter, as well as the other, was estab- 

 lished, confirmed, and settled, in the 

 reign of Edward I. 



CHARTER governments of the British colo- 

 nies, are in the nature of civil corpora- 

 tions, with the power of making by-laws 

 for their own interior regulation, not con- 

 trary to the laws of England ; and with 

 such rights and authorities as are special- 

 ly given them in their several charters of 

 incorporation. The form of government 

 is borrowed from that of England. They 

 have a governor named by the King, (or 

 in some proprietary colonies by the pro- 

 prietor,) who is his representative or de- 

 puty. They have courts of justice of 

 their own, from whose decision an appeal 

 (as some say, in the nature of a reference 

 by way of arbitration) lies to the King in 

 council in England. Their general As- 

 semblies, which are their House of Com- 

 mons, together with their Council of 

 State, being their Upper House, with the 

 concurrence of the King, or his represen- 

 tative the Governor, make laws suited to 

 their own emergencies. But it is parti- 

 cularly declared, by stat. T and 8 William 

 III. c. 22. that all laws, by-laws, usages, 

 and customs, which shall be in practice 

 in any of the plantations, repugnant to 

 any law made, or to be made, in the king- 

 dom of Great Britain, relative to the said 

 plantations, shall be utterly void and of 

 none effect. 



CHEAT, in law, is one who defrauds, 

 or endeavours to defraud another of his 

 known right, by means of some artful 

 device, contrary to the plain rules of com- 

 mon honesty. By the 30 Geo. II. all per- 

 sons, who, knowingly or designedly, by 

 false pretence or pretences, shall obtain 

 from any person, money, goods, wares, 

 or merchandises, with intent to cheat or 

 defraud any person of the same, or shall 

 knowingly tender or deliverany letter or 

 writing, with or without a name sub- 

 scribed thereto, or signed with a fictitious 

 name, threatening to accuse any person 

 of a crime punishable by law with death, 



transportation, pillory, or other infamous 

 punishment, with 'intent to extort from 

 him any money, or other goods, shall be 

 deemed offenders against, law and the 

 public peace ; and the court,before whom 

 any such offender shall be tried, shall, on 

 conviction, order him to be fined and im- 

 prisoned, or be put in the pillory, or pub- 

 licly whipped, or to be transported for se- 

 ven years. 



CHECK, or CHECK roll, a roll or book, 

 wherein is contained the names of such 

 persons as are attendants and in pay to 

 the King, or other great personages, as 

 their household servants. 



CHECKS, or drafts on bankers, are in- 

 struments, by means of which a creditor 

 may assign to a third person, not, origi- 

 nally party to the contract, the legal as 

 well as equitable interest in a debt raised 

 by it, so as to vest in such an assignee a 

 right cf action against the original debtor. 

 These instruments are uniformly made 

 payable to bearer, which constitutes a 

 characteristic difference between them 

 and bills of exchange ; and the legislature 

 has considered them in amore favourable 

 point of vie w,by exempting them from the 

 stamp duties. They are equally nego- 

 tiable with bills. When given in pay- 

 ment, they are considered as cash ; and, 

 it is said, may be declared upon as a bill 

 of exchange ; and the moment this re- 

 semblance begins, thev are governed by 

 the same principles of law as bills of ex- 

 change. Checks payable on demand, or 

 when no time of payment is expressed, 

 are payable on presentment, without any 

 indulgence or clays of grace; but the pre- 

 sentment should be made within a rea- 

 sonable time after the receipt, otherwise 

 the party upon whom the check is drawn 

 will not be responsible, and the person 

 from whom the holder received it will be 

 discharged. Therefore, where circum- 

 stances will allow of it, it is advisable for 

 the holder of a check to present it on the 

 same day it is received. 



CHECKY, in heraldry, is when the 

 shield, or a part thereof, as a bordure, 

 &c. is chequered, or divided into che- 

 quers or squares, in the manner of a 

 chess-board. 



CHEEK, in anatomy, that part of the 

 face situated below the eyes, on each side. 

 See AXATOMY. 



CHEEKS, among mechanics, are a'most 

 all those pieces of their machines ?n.f ,n- 

 struments that are double, and perfectly 

 alike ; as the cheeks of a mortur uh'ch 

 are made of strong' wooden phi ikSj of 

 a semicircular form, bound with ihick 



