A conveyance by devise of

capite lands to

and the third the lord by wardship, and the heir by descent is to hold.

And if a man that hath three acres of land holden in capite by knight's service, do make a the wife for her jointure to his wife of one, and convey another to jointure, etc. void for a third any of his children, or to friends, to take the profits, part, by 32 H. and to pay his debts, or legacies, or daughters por

VIII.

But a conveyance by act executed in the

but if the heir

tions, then the third acre or any part thereof he cannot give by will, but must suffer it to descend to the heir, and that must satisfy wardship.

Yet a man having three acres as before, may convey all to his wife, or children, by conveyance life-time of the in his life-time, as by feoffment, fine, recovery, party of such lands to such bargain and sale, or covenant to stand seised to uses is not void: uses, and disinherit the heir. But if the heir be within age when his father dieth, the King or other shall have lord shall have that heir in ward, and shall have one of the three acres during the wardship, and to sue livery and seisin. But at full age the heir shall have no part of it, but it shall go according to the conveyance made by the father.

be within age,.

one third to be in ward. Entailed lands part of the

thirds.

It hath been debated how the thirds shall be set forth. For it is the use, that all lands which the father leaveth to descend to the heir, being feesimple, or in tail, must be part of the thirds: and The King nor if it be a full third, then the King, nor heir, nor lord, can intermeddle with the rest; if it be not a full third part full third, yet they must take it so much as it is, and have a supply out of the rest.

lord cannot in

termeddle if a

be left to descend to the

heir.

The manner of

of the heir is

This supply is to be taken thus; if it be the making supply, King's ward, then by a commission out of the court when the part of wards, whereupon a jury by oath must set forth not a full third. So much as shall make up the thirds, except the officers of the court of wards can otherwise agree with the parties. If there be no wardship due to the King, then the other lord is to have this supply by a commission out of the chancery, and jury thereupon.

The statutes

But in all those cases, the statutes do give power give power to to him that maketh the will, to set forth and apthe testator to point of himself which lands shall go for thirds, and

neither King nor lord can refuse it. And if it be set out the third not enough, yet they must take that in part, and himself, etc. only have a supply in manner as before is mention

ceive his cre

By gift, the property of goods may be passed by A deed of gift word or writing; but if there be a general deed of of goods to degift made of all his goods, this is suspicious to be ditors is void done upon fraud, to deceive the creditors.

nistrators, or

against them, but good And if a man who is in debt make a deed of gift against the exeof all his goods to protect the taking of them in cutors, admiexecution for his debt, this deed of gift is void, as vendee of the against those to whom he stood indebted; but as party himself. against himself, his own executors or administrators, or any man to whom afterwards he shall sell or convey them, it is good.

II. By sale.

what not,

vation of trust

Property in goods by sale. By sale, any man may What is a sale convey his own goods to another; and although he bona fide and may fear execution for debts, yet he may sell them where there is out-right for money at any time before the execution a private reserserved; so that there be no reservation of trust be- between the tween them, that, repaying the money, he shall have the goods again; for that trust, in such case, doth prove plainly a fraud, to prevent the creditors from taking the goods in execution.

parties.

By the stat, of

West. 1. made

Entails of lands began by a statute made in in Ed. I's time, Ed. I.'s time, by which also they are so much estates in tail strengthened, as that the tenant in tail could not strengthened, put away the land from the heir by any act of connot forfeitable veyance or attainder; nor let it, nor incumber it, by any attain- longer than his own life.

were so

that they were

der. The great inconvenience that ensued thereof.

But the inconvenience thereof was great, for by that means the land being so sure tied upon the heir as that his father could not put it from him, it made the son to be disobedient, negligent, and wasteful, often marrying without the father's consent, and to grow insolent in vice, knowing that there could be no check of disinheriting him. It also made the owners of the land less fearful to commit murders, felonies, treasons, and manslaughters; for that they knew none of these acts could hurt the heir of his inheritance. It hindred men that had entailed lands, that they could not make the best of their lands by fine and improvement, for that none, upon so uncertain an estate as for term of his own life, would give him a fine of any value, nor lay any great stock upon the land, that might yield rent improved.

The prejudice Lastly, those entails did defraud the crown, and the crown received thereby, many subjects of their debts; for that the land was not liable longer than in his own life-time; which caused that the King could not safely commit any office of account to such whose lands were entailed, nor other men trust them with loan of money.

The stat. 4 H.

VIII. to bar

These inconveniencies were all remedied by acts VII. and 32 H. of parliament; as namely, by acts of parliament estates tail by later than the act of entails, made 4 H. VII. 32 H. VIII. a tenant in tail may disinherit his son by a fine with proclamation, and may by that means also make it subject to his debts and sales.

fine.

26 H. VIII. 32 H. VIII.

By a statute made 26 H. VIII. a tenant in tail doth forfeit his lands for treason; and by another act of parliament, 32 H. VIII. he may make leases good against his heir for one and twenty years, or three lives; so that it be not of his chief houses,

lands, or demesne, or any lease in reversion, nor less rent reserved than the tenants have paid most part of one and twenty years before, nor have any manner of discharge for doing wastes and spoils : by a statute made 33 H. VIII. tenants of entailed 33 H. VIII. lands are liable to the King's debts by extent; and 13 et 39 Eliz. Entails twopriby statutes made 13 and 39 Eliz. they are saleable vileges; 1. Not for the arrearages upon his account for his office; felony. 2. Not so that now it resteth, that entailed lands have two extendable for privileges only, which be these: First, not to be forfeited for felonies. Secondly, not to be extended death: proviso, for debts after the party's death, except the entails be cut off by fine and recovery.

forfeitable for

the debts of the

party after his

not to exclude

his next heir.

If he do, to forfeit his estate,

Of a perpetu

entail with an

cies of estates

But it is to be noted, that since these notable and the next statutes, and remedies provided by statutes, to dock hirmust enter. entails, there is started up a devise called perpe-ity, which is an tuity, which is an entail with an addition of a pro- addition. These viso conditional, tied to his estate, not to put away perpetuities the land from his next heir; and if he do, to forfeit all the former would bring in his own estate. Which perpetuities, if they should inconvenienstand, would bring in all the former inconveniencies tail. subject to entails, that were cut off by the former mentioned statutes, and far greater; for by the perpetuity, if he that is in possession start away never so little, as in making a lease, or selling a little quillet, forgetting after two or three descents, as often they do, how they are tied; the next heir must enter, who peradventure is his son, his brother, uncle, or kinsman: and this raiseth unkind suits, The inconvesetting all the kindred at jars, some taking one those perpepart, some another, and the principal parties wast-tuities. ing their time and money in suits of law; so that in the end they are both constrained by necessity to join in a sale of the land, or a great part of it, to pay their debts, occasioned through their suits. And if the chief of the family, for any good purpose of well seating himself, by selling that which lieth far off, to buy that which is near, or for the advancement of his daughters or younger sons, should have reasonable cause to sell, this perpetuity, if it should hold good, restraineth him. And more than

niencies of

Query, Whether it be better

enations, or to

doing of houses

that, where many are owners of inheritance of land not entailed, may, during the minority of his eldest son, appoint the profits to go to the advancement of the younger sons and daughters, and pay debts; but by entails and perpetuities, the owners of these lands cannot do it, but they must suffer the whole to descend to the eldest son, and so to come to the crown by wardship all the time of his infancy.

Wherefore, seeing the dangerous times and unto restrain men towardly heirs, they might prevent those mischiefs by these perpe- of undoing their houses, by conveying the land from tuities from ali- such heirs, if they were not tied to the stake by those hazard the un- perpetuities, and restrained from forfeiting to the by unthrifty crown, and disposing it to their own, or to their childrens good; therefore it is worthy of consideration, whether it be better for the subject and sovereign to have the lands secured to mens names and bloods by perpetuities, with all the inconveniencies above-mentioned, or to be in hazard of undoing his house by unthrifty posterity.

posterity.

The last and

in land is feesimple.

cannot be li

mited upon an estate in feesimple.

4. The last and greatest estate of lands is feegreatest estate simple, and beyond this there is none of the former for lives, years, or entails; but beyond them is feesimple. For it is the greatest, last, and uttermost degree of estates in land; therefore he that maketh a lease for life, or a gift in tail, may appoint a reA remainder mainder when he maketh another for life or in tail, or to a third in fee-simple; but after a fee-simple he can limit no other estate. And if a man do not dispose of the fee-simple by way of remainder, when he maketh the gift in tail, or for lives, then the feesimple resteth in himself as a reversion. The dif ference between a reversion and a remainder is this. The difference The remainder is always a succeeding estate, apmainder and a pointed upon the gifts of a precedent estate at the time when the precedent is appointed. But the reversion is an estate left in the giver, after a particular estate made by him for years, life, or entail. Where the remainder is made with the particular estates, then it must be done by deeds in writing, with livery and seisin, and cannot be by words; and if the

between a re

reversion.

A reversion cannot be

granted by word.