rous state of society, which existed at their introduction by the Danes. When the tenant dies, his best beast, or best chattel, is to be seized by the lord, the lord being entitled to enter the house or land, and appropriate to himself the object of his choice. In this case the benefit conferred by the right, is not nearly equivalent to the prejudice done to those against whom it is exercised. It leads, not only to ill-will and strife between neighbours, but to constant fraud and evasion. To defeat the claim of the lord, the legal estate is placed in the name of a person whose residence will prevent the lord from exercising his right. When a yeoman is supposed to be in extremis, his family sell his cattle at a sacrifice, or drive them out of the manor. The steward, on the other hand, makes irregular entries on the roll, and procures irregular presentments by the homage, of heriots being due on the death of tenants, and of payment being excused or compromised, with a view to make evidence to extend the lord's claim on some future occasion (c). Customary Customary freeholds exist in many parts of the Freehold. kingdom, especially in Cumberland, Westmoreland, a part of Lancashire called Oversands, and the south-western parts of the counties of Durham and Northumberland, and the northern border of Yorkshire. Some very valuable information respecting this tenure is to be found in a communication from Sir James Graham to the Real Property Commissioners, and inserted in the Appendix to their Third Report. It appears to be a base tenure, partaking, to a considerable degree, of the nature of copyhold; but (c) Third Report of Real Property Commissioners, p. 19. the holding is, generally, declared to be according to the custom of the manor, without being at the will of the lord; and, not unfrequently, instead of a surrender in court by the tenant in person, or by attorney, alienation is allowed by a commonlaw conveyance, which is presented at the lord's court, and inrolled, whereupon the grantee is admitted, and becomes the tenant on the roll; but it is in the tenant on the roll, or his heir, that the legal estate always resides. The customs in these manors vary considerably. Generally, the fine upon admittance is certain. Among females of equal degree, the whole estate sometimes descends to the eldest, instead of being divided in coparcenary. As it may be found useful to trace how far the amendments recommended by the Real Property Commissioners have been adopted and carried out, and in case of any doubt as to the wording of any clause, to refer to what probably was the intention of the Legislature, we insert here The Propositions of the Commissioners respecting Enfran holds. 1. That a person entitled to a manor for an chisement estate of freehold in possession, or in reversion of Copyexpectant on a term of years, but with the consent of the termor (if any), may by deed enfranchise any copyhold of inheritance parcel of such manor, in consideration of a yearly rent to be reserved by the deed of enfranchisement, or of the surrender to the lord of part of the copyhold tenement, or of a gross sum of money. 2. A person entitled to a copyhold tenement of inheritance for an estate for life or other greater estate in possession, or subject to a lease for years, but with the consent of the termor (if any), may accept the enfranchisement of any such tenement or part thereof, and in consideration thereof, may agree to the reservation, by such deed of enfranchisement, of a yearly rent, or may surrender to the lord other part of such tenement, or may pay him a sum of money to be raised as hereinafter is mentioned. 3. Any rent reserved in consideration of an enfranchisement may afterwards be extinguished, in consideration of a conveyance of part of the tenement out of which it shall be payable, or of a gross sum of money; and the person entitled to the manor and enfranchised tenement respectively, who according to the preceding Propositions would have been capable of granting or accepting the enfranchisement of such tenement, if it had not already been enfranchised, shall be empowered in like manner to give or accept a release of such rent. 4. Any rent reserved in consideration of an enfranchisement may, by the agreement in writing of the persons who would be capable of extinguishing such rent, be apportioned among the different parts of the tenement out of which the same shall be reserved; and any such apportioned part may afterwards be extinguished according to the last Proposition. 5. Every rent reserved to the lord in consideration of enfranchisement, shall become parcel of the manor. 6. The tenement, or part thereof, which shall be enfranchised, shall go and be held to the same uses as shall be subsisting in the same tenement imme diately before such enfranchisement, or as near thereto as the different natures and tenures of the estates will admit. 7. Any person empowered to obtain enfranchisement of a copyhold of inheritance, or to obtain the extinguishment of a rent, in consideration of a gross sum of money, may raise the same by charging the tenement to be enfranchised, or out of which the rent to be extinguished shall be payable, or any part thereof, with the sum of money agreed to be paid; and for securing the payment of the sum of money so to be charged, with interest, may demise the tenement to be charged unto any person or persons for any term of years, which term shall be made to cease, or be made redeemable, on payment within a reasonable time by the person or persons entitled to the said tenement, of the sum of money to be charged, with interest for the same; and the person making such charge shall covenant to keep down the interest during his ownership. 8. Any gross sum, paid in consideration of an enfranchisement or extinguishment, under the powers hereinbefore proposed to be given, shall be paid to two or more trustees, to be approved of by two barristers of not less than seven years' standing, and shall by such trustees be applied in the redemption of the land tax, or in or towards the discharge of any incumbrance affecting the manor, or affecting other hereditaments settled to the like uses, or shall be laid out in the purchase of land, to be settled to the same uses as may be subsisting in the manor; and, in the mean time, the money may be invested by the trustees, in their names, in Three per Cent. Bank Annuities, or on the security, by way of mortgage, of the tenement which shall be enfranchised, or out of which the rent to be extinguished shall be payable; and the dividends or interest shall be paid to the person who would be entitled to the rents and profits of the land to be purchased, in case such purchase were made. 9. The words "persons," in the preceding Propositions, shall include corporations aggregate or sole; but the powers herein before proposed to be given, shall not be exercised by an archbishop, bishop, dean, or prebendary, without the consent of the chapter, or by a parson or vicar, without the consent of the patron and ordinary; and any gross sum to be given for enfranchisement or extinguishment, in such cases, shall be paid to the Governors of Queen Ann's Bounty, in trust to be laid out in land, &c. 10. Provision to be made for extending the powers to trustees, guardians, husbands, and committees. 11. Enfranchisements, or extinguishments, to be void at law, for fraud. 12. Enfranchisements and extinguishments shall be binding on incumbrancers, and the powers may be exercised by any such person, as aforesaid, notwithstanding any defect in title. 13. Every copyhold tenement, which shall be enfranchised by virtue of the powers proposed to be given, or otherwise, shall continue to form part of the manor; and every rent, reserved by any deed of enfranchisement, in consideration thereof, shall be a rent service. 14. No copyhold tenement, which shall hereafter be surrendered to the lord, or which he shall |