F R E 
F R E 
7/3 FRA 
the silver frank was a third of the gold one : 
this coin is long out of use, though the term 
is still retained is the name of a money of ac- 
count; in which sense it is equivalent to the 
li /re,. or 20 sols. 
!• RAN KENIA, sca-hea'li, or sea-chick- 
’■i 'rd, a genus ot the hexandria monogynia 
c sss ot plants, the flower of which consists 
o. live. petals, with a plain limb : the fruit is 
an oval, unilocular capsule, covered by the 
cup, and containing a great many ovated 
v ry small seeds. There are three species of 
this weed. 
F HA FERN! I’Y, in the Roman catholic 
c luntries, signifies a society for the improve- 
ment of devotion. 
Fraternity, in a civil sense, a company 
or guild of certain artificers or traders. 
i ( RA l R 1C ELLI, little brothers, in church 
history, a sect of heretics who appeared in 
Italy about the year 1298, and afterwards 
spread all over Europe. They wore the ha- 
bit ot the Franciscan order, and pretended 
that ecclesiastics ought to have no posses- 
sions of their own. 
I* RA 1 R1AGL, the partition among bro- 
thers or coheirs, coming to the same inheri- 
tance or succession. It more particularly 
signifies a younger brother’s inheritance ; or 
whatever the younger sons possess of the fa- 
ther’s estate, which, in our antient law, they 
are said to enjoy ratione fratriagii ; and were 
to do homage for the same to the elder bro- 
ther, lie being bound to do homage to the 
superior lord for the w hole. 
FRAUD, in law. All deceitful practices 
in defrauding or endeavouring to defraud an- 
other of his own right, bv means of some 
artful device, contrary to the plain rules of 
common honesty, are condemned by the 
common law, and punishable according to 
the heinousness of the offence. Co. Lit. b. 3. 
1 he distinction laid dow n as proper to be 
attended to in all cases of this kind, is this, 
that in such impositions or deceits, where 
common prudence might guard persons from 
the offence, it is not indictable, but the party 
is left to his civil remedy ; but where false 
weights or measures are used, or false tokens 
produced, or such measures taken to defraud 
or deceive, as people cannot by any ordinary 
care or prudence be guarded against, there it 
is an offence indictable. Burr. 1 120. 
Persons convicted of obtaining money or 
goods by false pretences, or .sending threaten- 
ing letters to extort money or goods, may be 
punished. by fine and imprisonment, or bv pil- 
lory, whipping, or transportation. 30 G. II. 
c. 24. 
A fraudulent conveyance of lands or goods 
to deceive creditors, as to creditors is void in 
law, And a fraudulent conveyance in order 
to defraud purchasers, is also to such pur- 
chasers void ; and the persons justifying or 
putting otf such grants as . good, shall forfeit 
a year’s value of the lands, and the full value 
of the goods and chattels, and likewise shall 
be imprisoned. When, however, convey- 
ances are fraudulently made, thev are not 
void to all persons, but only to those that af- 
terwards come to the land as purchasers on 
good consideration. A general gift made of 
ali the goods of a person may be reasonably 
su pected to be by fraud, even though a true 
de >t is owing to the party to whom made; | 
and it is void against other creditors of the j 
donor. Here the several piarks of fraud in 
a gift or grant of goods, are as follow", viz. 
I . If it is general, w ithout any exception of 
some things of necessity. 2. If the donor 
continues to possess and use the goods. 3. 
If the deed is made in secret. 4. If there is 
a trust between the parties; or, 5. If made 
whilst the action is depending. Where a 
person is party to a fraud, all that follows 
thereupon will be intended to be done by 
him, though fraud shall not be presumed or 
adjudged to be so, until found by jury. 
By the statute of frauds, 29 Car. 11. agree- 
ments for the sale of lands, leases, & c. are 
required to be in writing. See 3 and 4 Will, 
and Mary, c. 14. 
FRAXJNUS, the ash, a genus of the dine- 
cia order, in the polygamia class of plants, 
and in the natural method ranking under the 
44th order, sepiariax There is no Herma- 
phrodite calyx, or it is quadripartite; and 
there is either no corolla, or it is tetrapeta- 
lous ; there are two stamina, one pistil, one 
lanceolated seed, and the pistil of the female 
is lanceolated. There are four species, of 
which the most useful is the common ash, 
which is so well known that it needs no de- 
scription. If a wood of these trees is rightly 
managed, it will turn greatly to the advan- 
tage of the owner : for by the underwood, 
which will he tit to cut every eight or ten 
years, there w ill be a continual income, more 
than sufficient to pay the rent of the ground 
and all other charges ; and still there will be 
a stock preserved for timber, which in 23 
years will he w r orth 1 l4h per acre. This tree 
flourishes best in groves, but grows very well 
in rich soil in open fields. It bears trans- 
planting and lopping. In the north of Lan- 
cashire they lop the tops of these trees to feed 
the cattle in autumn when the grass is on the 
decline, the cattle peeling off the bark as 
food. The wood lias the singular property 
of being nearly as good when young as when 
old. It is hard and tough, and is much used 
to make the tools employed in husbandry. 
The aslies of the wood afford very good pot- 
ash. The hark is used in tanning calf-skin. 
A slight infusion of it appears of a pale-yel- 
lowish colour, when viewed betwixt the eye 
and the light; but when looked down 
upon, or placed betwixt the eye and an 
Opaque object, appears blue. This blue- 
ness is destroyed by the addition of an 
acid, but recovered by alkalies. The seeds 
are acrid and bitter. In the church-yard of 
Lochabar in Scotland, Dr. Walker measured 
the trunk of a dead ash-tree, which, at live 
leet from the surface of the ground was 38 
feet in circumference. 
FREE, among seamen. 7’he pump is said 
to free the ship, when it throws out more w a- 
ter than leaks into her. To free the boat, is 
baling or lading out the water therein. 
Free-bench, signifies that estate in co- 
pyhold w hich the wife, being espoused a vir- 
gin, has after the decease of her husband for 
her dower,’ according to the custom of the 
manor. In regard to this free-bench, dif- 
ferent manors have different customs, and in 
the manor of east and west Enbourne in the 
county of Berks, and in other parts of Eng- 
land, there is a custom, that when a copy- 
hold tenant dies, the widow" shall have her 
tree-bench in all the deceased husband’s 
lands, dum sola et casta fuerit, while she 
lives single and chaste ; but if she is found to 
be guilty of incontiuency, she shall forfeit her 
estate. Nevertheless, upon her coming into 
the court ot the manor riding backwards on a 
black rani, with his tail in her hand, re- 
hearsing a certain form of words, the stew- 
ard is bound by custom to restore her to her 
free bench. 
FREEDOM of a corporation, the 
right of enjoying all the privileges and immu- 
nities belonging to it. 
The freedom of cities, and oilier corpora- 
tions, is regularly obtained by serving an ap- 
prenticeship of seven years ; but it is afro 
sometimes purchased with money, and -some- 
times conferred by way of compliment. 
, FREEHOLD, may be in deed or in law. 
A freehold in deed is actual seisin of lands or 
tenements in fee -simple, fee-tail, or for life. 
A freehold in law is a right to such lands or 
tenements before entry or seizure. 
So there is a seisin in deed, and a seisin in 
law. A seisin in deed is when a corporal 
possession is taken ; and a seisin in law is 
where lands descend before entry, or where 
something is done which amounts in law to an 
actual seisin. 1 Inst. 31. 
Tenant in fee-simple, or fee-tail for life, is 
said to have a freehold, so called because jt 
distinguishes it from terms of years, chattels 
upon uncertain interests, lands in villenage, 
or customary or copyhold lands. 1 Inst. 43. 
A freehold cannot be conveyed to pass in 
future ; for then there would be want of a 
tenant against whom to bring a pnveipe ; and 
therefore, notwithstanding such conveyance, 
the freehold continues in the vendor: but if 
livery of seisin is afterwards given, the free- 
hold thence passes to the vendee. 2 Vv 11s. 
165. 
A man is said to be seised of freehold, but 
to be possessed of other estates, as of copy- 
hold lands, leases for years, or goods and 
chattels. See Estate and Fee simple. 
FREEHOLDERS, such as hold any free- 
hold estate. 
FREESTONE, a whitish stone dug up in 
many parts of England, that works like ala- 
baster, but is more hard and durable, being 
of excellent use in building, &c. It is a vd-j 
riety of the gritstone, but finer sanded, and a 
smoother stone, and is called free, from its 
being of such a constitution as to cut freely in 
any direction : such is the Portland-stone, 
and the freestone’ of Kent. 
FREEZE, or Frieze, in commerce, a 
coarse kind of woollen stuff, or cloth, for 
winter w T ear ; so called as being freezed or 
naped on one side. 
Freezing, in philosophy, the same with 
congelation, or the fixing a fluid body into a 
firm or solid mass by the action of cold. See 
Cold. 
In general cold contracts most bodies, and 
heat expands them : though there are some 
instances to the contrary, especially in the 
extreme cases or states of these qualities of 
bodies. Thus, though iron, in common with 
other bodies, expands with heat, yet, when 
melted, it is always found to expand in cool- 
ing again. So also, though water always is 
found to expand gradually as it is heated, 
and to contract as it cools, yet in the act of 
freezing it suddenly expands again, and that 
with a most enormous force, capable of rend- 
ing rocks, or bursting very thick shells of 
metal, &c. A computation of the force of 
freezing water has been made by the F loren- 
tine academicians, from the bursting, of a 
