depending entirely on the will and pleasure of the person who granted it.

But although feuds were thus granted originally by kings and princes only, yet in process of time, the great lords to whom such grants had been made allotted a portion of their own extensive demesnes to their inferiors, as benefices, or feuds.

These were all at first precarious, the proprietas, or absolute property, was still in those who had made the grant, while the dominium utile, or right of using it, for some definite period only, was in the tenant. The lords might resume the land at their plea

sure.

In course of time, however, it became customary to grant lands for a year, afterwards for life, till at length it was unusual to reject the heir of the last tenant, if he was able to perform the services; and ultimately feuds became hereditary, and descended to the posterity of the vassal. Still the vassal. could not alien without the lord's consent, nor mortgage it, nor make it subject to debts. This consent of the lord was seldom given without a present, whence the custom of

paying the lord a fine or alienation. If the vassal aliened the feud, or did any act by which its value was considerably diminished, he forfeited it.

In the case of private individuals any person might formerly by a grant of land, have created a tenancy as of his person, or as of any honor or manor of which he was seized. If no tenure was reserved, the feoffee would have held of the feoffor, by the same services of which the feoffor held over. This doctrine having been found to be attended with several inconveniences was altered in the reign of Edward I., by the statute Quia Emptores Terrarum,* which directs that upon all sales and feoffments of lands or tenements, the feoffee shall hold the same, not of his immediate feoffor, but of the chief lord of the fee, of which such feoffor himself held, and by such service and custom as his feoffor held before.

The variety of ancient tenures, and the incidents to them, are enumerated in “Blackstone's Commentary,"† together with their

*18 Edward I., c. 1.

+ Vol. ii., c. 5.

oppressive consequences, and at page 77, it is observed, "that at length the military tenures, with all their heavy appendages, (having during the usurpation been discontinued,) were destroyed at one blow by 12 Car. II., c. 24, a statute which was of a greater acquisition to the civil property of this kingdom, than even Magna Charta itself, since that only pruned the luxuriances that had grown out of military tenures, and thereby preserved them in vigour; but the statute of King Charles extirpated the whole, and demolished both root and branches."

That statute enacted that the court of wards and liveries, and all wardships, liveries, primer, seizin, and ousterlemains, values, and forfeiture of marriages, by reason of any tenure of the king's, or others, be totally taken away. And that all fines for alienations, tenures by homage, knight service, and escuage, and also aids for marrying the daughter, or knighting the son, and all tenures of the king, in capite, be likewise taken away, and that all sorts of tenures held of the king or others, be turned into free and

common socage, save only tenures in frank almoign, copyholds, and the honorary services (without the slavish parts), of grand sergeanty.

CHAPTER II.

NATURE AND CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY.

Property, its origin and nature, classification of, definition of, popular meaning of the term, division of, by Law of England, Real, Personal, Mixed-Corporeal-Lands-Tenements -Hereditaments-Money considered in Equity as Land-Incorporeal, definition of, various kinds, 1. Advowsons, 2. Tithes, 3. Commons, 4. Ways, 5. Offices, 6. Dignities, 7. Franchises, 8. Corodies, 9. Annuities, 10. Rents.

IT is not intended here to enter upon a lengthened disquisition as to the origin of property, laws, and government; a few general observations will, however, be given, by way of introduction to the more practical portion of the work.

It would seem probable that those things which were originally in common, became the property of the party first appropriating them; occupancy gave the right to the tem