413 LEASE. 
tereft granted them, not determinable at the will of the 
lord ;' and yet they were rather confidered as the bailiffs 
or fervants of the lord, who were to receive and account 
for the profits at a fettled price, than as having any pro¬ 
perty of their own ; and, therefore, they were not allowed 
to have a freehold eftate; but their intereft (fuch as i* 
was) veiled after their deaths in their executors. The 
leflee’s ellate might alfo, by the ancient law, be at any 
time defeated' by a common recovery fuffered by the te¬ 
nant of the freehold, which annihilated all leafes for years 
then fublifting : unlefs afterwards renewed by the reco- 
verer, whofe title was fuppofed fuperior to his by whom 
thofe leafes were granted. Co. Lit. 46. 
While eftates for years were thus precarious, it is no 
wonder that they were ufually very fhort, like the modern 
leafes upon rack-rent; and indeed, we are told, that by 
the ancient law no leafes for more than forty years were 
allowable ; but leafes for long terms, for three hundred or 
one thoufand years, were certainly in ufe in the time of 
Edward III. and probably of Edward L But when, by 
the flat. 21 Hen. VIII. c. 5, the termor (that is, he who 
is entitled to the term of years) was protected againft: fic¬ 
titious recoveries, and his intereft rendered fecureand per¬ 
manent, long terms began to be more frequent than be¬ 
fore; and were afterwards extenfively introduced; conti¬ 
nuing fubjeft however to the fame rules of fucceflion, and 
with the fame inferiority to freeholds, as when they were 
little better than tenancies at the will of the landlord. 
2 Comm. c. 9. 
The law reckons an eftate for years inferior in intereft, 
as compared to an ellate for life, or an inheritance ; an 
eftate for life, even if it be pur auter vie, is a freehold ; but 
an ellate for a thoufand years is only a chattel, and rec¬ 
koned part of the perfonal ellate. Co. Lit. 45. Hence it 
follows, that a leafe for years may be made to commence 
infuturo, though a leafe for life cannot. For no eftate of 
freehold can commence in futuro, becaufe it cannot be 
created at common-law without livery of feifin, or cor¬ 
poral pofteftion of the land ; and corporal pofteftion can¬ 
not be given of an ellate now, which is not to commence 
now, but hereafter. 5 Rep. 94. And, becaufe no livery 
of feiftn is neceflary to a leafe for years, fuch leffee is not 
faid to be feifed, or to have true legal feifin of the lands. 
Nor indeed does the bare leafe veil any efb.te in the leftee; 
but only gives him a right of entry on the tenement, 
which right is called, as has been already remarked, his 
interefl in the term ; but, when he has actually lo entered, 
and thereby accepted the grant, the ellate is then and not 
before veiled in him, and he is pojfcjfed, not properly of the 
land, but of the term of years ; the pofteftion or feifin of 
the land remaining Hill in him who hath the freehold. 
Co. Lit. 46. Thus the word term does not merely fignify 
the time fpecified in the leafe, but the eftate alfo and in¬ 
tereft: that pafles by that leafe ; and therefore the term may 
expire during the continuance of the time, as by furren¬ 
der, forfeiture, and the like. Co. Lit. 45. 
To the making of a good leafe feveral things neceffarily 
concur. There mult be a leffor not reftrained from making 
a leafe; a leftee not difabled to receive; a thing demifed 
which is demifable, and a fufficient defcription of the thing 
demifed, See. If it be for years, it mult have a certain 
commencement and determination; it is to have ail the 
ufual ceremonies, as fealing, delivery, &c. and there mull 
be an acceptance of the thing demifed. Lit. § 56. 1 Inf. 46. 
P/owd. 273, 523. Whether any rent be referred upon a 
leafe for life, years, or at will, or not, is not material, ex¬ 
cept only in the cafes of leafes made by tenant in tail, 
hulband and wife, and ecclelialtical perfons under flat. 32 
Hen. VIII. c. 28. 
A paper containing words of prefent contrafl, with an 
agreement that the leftee ftiould take pofteftion immedi¬ 
ately, and that a leafe ftiould be executed in future, ope¬ 
rates only as an agreement for a leafe, and not as a leafe it- 
felf. 1 Term. Rep. 735. An inftrument on an agreement- 
itamp, reciting that A, in cafe lie Ihould be entitled to cer¬ 
tain copyhold premifes on the death of B. would imme¬ 
diately demife the fame to C. declaring that he did there¬ 
by agree to demife and let the fame, with a fubfequent 
covenant to procure a licence to let, from the lord, ope¬ 
rates as an agreement for a leafe, and not as an abfolute 
demife. 2 Term. Rep. 739. Words in an agreement that 
A (hall hold and enjoy, &c. if notaccompanied with redlin¬ 
ing words, operate as words of prefent demife; otherwife, 
if they be followed by others, which iliow that the parties 
intended that there ftiould be a leafe in future. The 
whole mull depend on the intention of the parties. 5 Term 
Rep. 163. Tliefe words in an inftrument, “ Be it remem¬ 
bered, that I. B. hath let, and by thefe prefents doth de¬ 
mife, See." are held to operate as a prefent demife, although 
the inllrument contained a further covenant for a future 
leafe. 
By various acts of parliament, and alfo by private fet- 
tlements, a power is granted of making leafes in poffeffon, 
but not in reverfion, for a certain time; the object being 
that the ellate may not be incumbered, by the aft of the 
party, beyond a fpecific time. Yet perfons who had this 
limited power of making in pofteftion only, frequently de¬ 
mifed premifes to hold from the day of the date ; and the 
courts in feveral inftances determined, that the words 
“from the day of the date” excluded the day of making 
the deed ; and that in confequence thefe were leafes in re¬ 
verfion, and void ; but, this queftion having been brought 
again before the court of K. B. it was determined, that 
the words “from the day” might either be inclufive or 
excluftve ; and therefore that they ought to be conltrued 
fo as to effedluate thefe important deeds, and not to de- 
ftroi' them. Comp. 714. 
Of all kinds of powers the mod frequent is that to make 
leafes. In the making fuch leafes, all the requifites parti¬ 
cularly fpecified in the power mult be Urielly obferved ; 
and fuch leafes mud contain all fuch beneficial claules 
and refervations as ought to be, for the benefit of the re¬ 
mainder-man ; the principle being, that the ellate mult 
come to him in as beneficial a manner as the ancient 
owners held it. See Power. If a man hath power to 
leafe for ten years, and he leafeth for twenty, the leafe (hall 
be good in equity for ten years. 
If a leftee for a term of twenty years accepts of a leafe 
of the fame land for ten years, by the leffee’s acceptance of 
the new leafe, the term of twenty j r ears is determined in 
law. 2 Roll. Ahr. 469. 
Cafe. —Leafe for years to R. B. rendering rent; the next 
year a leafe was made of the fame lands to lady P. for 
ninety-nine years; the next year the fame lands were de¬ 
mifed to the faid R. B. for forty-one years, who accepted 
the leafe, but that did not extinguifti his firit leafe; be¬ 
caufe the leffor by making the intermediate leafe to lady 
P. had only a reverfion, and could not afterwards give 
any intereft: to R. B. But, if it had not been for this in¬ 
termediate leafe, then the acceptance of the fecond leafe 
for forty-one years had been a furrender of the firit. 
Hutt. 104. 
If a man hath a leafe for years, which is good in law, 
and afterwards accepts a new leafe of the fame lands, 
which is void in law, this is no furrender in law of the 
good leafe. Hutt. 105. Baker v. Willoughby. Mills v. White- 
wood. 
A man, in consideration of a marriage to be had with 
M. R. made an eftate to her for life of certain lands in 
full fatisfaftion of her dower; afterwards they married, 
and the hulband died, and the widow brought a writ of 
dower againft: the heir, who pleaded in bar the acceptance 
of the ellate for life; adjudged no good plea; for fuch ac¬ 
ceptance did not bar her of her dower at the common-law, 
becaufe lhe had no title of dower when the acceptance 
was made; and befides no collateral acceptance can bar 
any right of inheritance or freehold. See 4 Rep. i. Ver¬ 
non's cafe. See alfo the article Dower, vol. vi. 
A man made a leafe of a manor for thirty years, ex¬ 
cepting the wood, Si c. and afterwards made a leafe of the 
woods 
