792 HERA 
feeing in abeyance, even for centuries. Forthe.fonof 
Catharine, the eldeft daughter, may on his death leave 
iffue feveral daughters, and die in the lifetime of the 
eouotefs of Albemarle; and while fuch iffue, or any 
defendants from them, anfwering to the above general 
rule, the defendants of every other branch will be 
precluded from inheriting.' 
In page 692 of this volume, our readers will remark a 
cafe of abeyance in the barony of Zouche of Harring- 
worth, well deferving their attention, together with the 
refolution of the lords, on the claim-of fir Cecil Bifliopp. 
We have only to add that the barony of Zouche be¬ 
came in abeyance,, on the death of Edward lord Zouche, 
who died without male iffue upwards of two centuries 
ago. 
It is however neceffary to remark, in regard to the 
defcent of the crown, that although it in general cor- 
refponds with the feudal path of defcents, chalked out 
by the common law of fucceflion; yet there are one or 
two material exceptions, which we (hall briefly notice. 
Like eftates, the crown will defend lineally to the iffue 
of the reigning monarch, as it did from king John to 
Richard II. through a'regular pedigree of fix lineal 
generations. As in common defcents, the preference of 
males to females, and the right of primogeniture among 
the males, are ftridhly adhered to. Thus Edward V. 
fucceeded to the crown in preference to Richard his 
younger brother, and Elizabeth his eldeft filter. Like 
lands or tenements, the crown, on failure of the male 
line, defends to the iffue female, according to the 
ancient Britilh cuftom remarked by Tacitus, in vit. 
Agricola , “ folent faminarum duElu bellare, et fexurn in imperiis 
■non difcernere.” Thus Mary I. fucceeded to Edward VI. 
and the line of Margaret queen of Scots, the daughter 
of Henry VII. fucceeded on failure of the line of Henry 
VIII. his fon. But among the females the crown de¬ 
fends by right of primogeniture to the eldeft daughter 
only, and her iflue,_and not, as in common inheritances, 
to all the daughters at once, The evident neceftity of 
a foie fucceflion to the throne having occafioned the 
royal law of defcents to depart from the common law 
in this refpeft; and therefore queen Mary, on the 
death of her brother, fucceeded to the crown alone, and 
not in partnerlhip with her filter Elizabeth. Again; 
"the doftrine of repreferitation prevails in the defcent 
of the crown as it does in other inheritances, whereby 
the lineal defendants of any perfon dec'eafed ftand in 
the fame place as their anceftor, if living, would have 
done. Thus Richard II. fucceeded his grandfather 
Edward III. in right of his father Edward the Black 
Prince, to the exclufion of all his uncles, his grand¬ 
father’s younger children. Laftly, on failure of lineal 
defendants, the crown goes to the next collateral re¬ 
lations of the late king, provided they are lineally de- 
fcended from the blood royal, that is, fro.m that royal 
flock which originally acquired the throne. Thus 
Benry I. fucceeded to William II. John to Richard I. 
and James I. to Elizabeth, being all derived from the 
Conqueror, who was then the royal flock. But herein 
there is no objeftion (as in the cafe of common defcents) 
to the fucceflion of a brother, an uncle, or other colla¬ 
teral relation of the half blood ; that is, where the 
relationfliip proceeds not from the fame pair of anceftors, 
(which conftitutes a kinfman of the whole blood ;) but 
from a Angle anceftor only ; as when two perfons are 
derived from the fame father, and not from the fame 
mother, and vice verfa ; provided' only that the one 
anceftor from whom both are defended, be that, from 
whole veins the blood royal.is communicated to each. 
Thus Mary I. inherited to Edward VI. and Elizabeth 
inherited to Mary, all children of the fame father, but 
all by different mothers. 
Wehaveftated, at page 417 of this volume, the gene¬ 
ral privileges of the peerage; and we fhall conclude 
with a principal incident attending the nobility. A 
peer cannot lofe his nobility but by death or attainder, 
though there'was an inftance in the reign of Edward IV, 
L D R Y. 
of the degradation of George Neville, duke of Bedford, 
by aft of parliament, (4 Int. 355.) on account of his 
poverty, which rendered him unable to fupport his 
dignity. The preamble of the aft is remarkable; 
“ Forafmuch as oftentimes it is feen, that when any 
lord is called to high eftate, and hath not convenient 
livelyhood to fupport the fame dignity, it induceth 
great poverty, an indigence, and caufeth oftentimes 
great extortion, embracery, and maintainance to be 
had, to the great trouble of all fuch countries where 
fuch eftates fhall happen to be.” The aft then pro¬ 
ceeds, &c. This is a Angular inftance, but which 
ferves at the fame time, by having happened, to ftiow 
the power of parliament; and having happened but 
once, to ftiow how tender parliament hath been in 
exerting To high a power. It hath been faid indeed, 
(Moor 675,) that if a baron waftes his eftates, fo that 
he is not able to fupport the degree, the king may 
degrade him; but by later authorities, (12 Rep. 107, 
12 Mod. 56,) it is exprefsly held, that a peer cannot be 
degraded but by aft of parliament. 
We fit all now confider the nature and effeft of attainder, 
which operates as a corruption of the blood of a criminal 
capitally condemned. See the article Attainder in 
our fecond volume. The attainted perfon cannot either 
inherit lands or hereditable honours from his anceftors, 
or,tranfmit them by defcent to any heir; it therefore 
neceflarily follows,, that immediately.on the attainder, 
the honours become forfeited, and this will ever extend 
to all,cafes wherein a title to fuch hereditable honours 
*is derived from a remote anceftor. 
The cafes of forfeited honours are very numerous, but 
the general principles and arguments, to elucidate this 
intricate confideration, may be found very fully collected 
in the cafe of the earldom of Weftmoreland, reported by 
lord Coke; Co. Rep. 5,3 p. 7 fo. 33, and C. Rep. 5, 2 
p. 4 p. 124. which as it may tend to explain a part of 
our Genealogical Tables, we fhall date the outlines, and 
refer our readers to the above-mentioned reports. Ralph, 
lord Raby of Neville, in the reign of Richard II. was 
created earl of Weftmoreland to him and the heirs male 
of his body, and died 4 Henry VI. By "his firft wife he 
left iffue John, whofe fon Ralph afterwards, fucceeded 
as fecond earl of Weftmoreland. Ralph died without 
iffue, and was fucceeded b.y his brother John’s fon Ralph, 
who died 1523, and was fucceeded by his grandlon 
Ralph, and who diedjn 3 Edward VI. leaving iffue 
feveral fons. Charles, the eldeft fon of Henry, the 
eldeft fon of the peer, who died in the time of Edward VI. 
was attainted, and all his poffeflions confifcated, and 
on his death left no iffue male. This peerage was 
afterwards revived in the family of the Fanes. Vide 
Genealogical Table. 
And prefuming the Vafe of felony, “He fhall lofe 
his blood'as to his anceftry; for he is a fon of the earth, 
without any anceftor; and as to his pofterity alfo, for 
his blood is corrupt, and he has neither heir nor pofte¬ 
rity.” Lord Coke, Rep. 5. His children cannot be 
heirs to any anceftor, in refpeft of any thing they ought 
to claim through him.-, and, if he is a nobleman, they are 
rendered ignoble/as to. the nobility they might have 
claimed by him.” 1 Inft. 745, and Terms de la Ley, 198. 
By the attainder the ijfue are rendered incapable to 
inherit the barony.; the forfeiture by way of efcheat 
incurred by the attainder is of fuch lands, tenements, 
and hereditaments, wherein the offender was feized of, 
or intitled unto, an eftate of inheritance in fee Ample. 
Lilly cont. of a Practical Regifter, vol. i. p. 463. And 
the eftate in his barony, being an eftate in tail male, con- 
fequently could not be forfeited, but muft pafs to the 
perfon next in fucceflion, as if he had been dead without 
iflue. 
The Genealogical Tables exhibited on the annexed 
engravings, will enable our readers to obferve feveral 
real cafes of defcents, as well of baronies in fee, as 
baronies’created by letters patent, with limitations to 
the heirs male of the party ennobled; and we fhall pro¬ 
ceed 
