of interest, the time f enjoyment, and the number and connection of the tenants.

The quantity of interest is measured by its duration and extent, thus: either the tenant's right of possession is to subsist for an uncertain period of his own life, or the life of another; to determine at his own decease, or to remain to his descendants after him; or it is circumscribed within a certain number of years, months, or days; or, lastly, it is infinite and unlimited, being vested in him and his representatives forever. This occasions the primary division of estates into freehold and less than freehold. There is also another species, called estates upon condition (whether freehold or otherwise), whose existence depends upon the happening or not happening of some uncertain event.

An estate of freehold liberum tenementum, or franktenement is such as is created by livery of seizin at common law; or, in tenements of an incorporeal nature, by what is equivalent thereto.

Estates of freehold are divided into estates of inheritance and not of inheritance.

Estates of inheritance are divided into inheritances absolute, or fees-simple; and inheritances limited, or limited fees.

Of inheritances absolute, or fees-simple, in freehold estates of inheritance.

A tenant in fee-simple, or tenant in fee, is he that hath lan is, tenements, or hereditaments, to hold to him and his heirs forever generally, absolutely, and simply without mentioning what heirs, but referring that to his own pleasure or the disposition of the law.

Fee-feodum in its true and original meaning is the same as feud or fief, and, in its primary sense, was taken in contradi-iinction to allodium, as now used. Fee then meant that which was held of some superior, on condition of rendering him service, and in which superior the ultimate property, or real ownership of the land, resided. A subject, therefore, had only the usufruct, and not the absolute property, of the

soil. We express the strongest and highest estate that any subject can have by the words, "he is seized thereof, in his demesne, as of fee." It is a man's demesne, or property, since it belongs to him and his heirs forever; yet it is his demesne as of fee, because it is not purely and simply his own, since it is held of a superior lord, in whom the ultimate property resides.

A fee, therefore, in general, signifies an estate of inheritance, being the highest and most extensive interest that a man can have in lands.

A tenant in fee-simple is he that hath lands and tenements to hold to him and his heirs forever.

Fee simple now signifies a lawful or pure inheritance, fee signifying inheritance, and simple is added for that it is descendible to his heirs generally—that is, simply, without restraint. The word simple is also annexed to distinguish it from other fees, as fee-tail, fee-conditional, and the like.

A fee, then, is an estate of inheritance in law, belonging to the owner, and transmissible to his heirs, and is an estate that may continue forever.

In order to make a fee or inheritance, the word “heirs” is necessary in the grant; for if lands be given to a man forever, or to him and his assigns forever, this vests in him but an estate for life only. The exceptions to this rule are: devises by will; fines and recoveries, considered as a species of conveyance; in creations of nobility by writ, though when by patent the word must be inserted; in grants to sole corporations; and in case of the King.

Inheritances, limited or limited fees, are divided into qualified or base fees, and fees-conditional - so called at common law, and afterwards, in consequence of the statute de donis fees-tail.

Limited fees are such estates of inheritance as are clogged and confined with conditions or qualifications of any

sort.

A base or qualified fee is one having a qualification subjoined thereto, and which must be determined whenever the

qualification annexed to it is at an end; as, if a grant oe made to A and his heirs, tenants of the Manor of Dale, whenever the heirs of A cease to be tenants of that manor the grant is entirely defeated.

A conditional fee, at the common law, was a fee restrained to some particular heirs, exclusive of others; as, to the heirs of a man's body, by which only his lineal descendants were admitted, in exclusion of collateral heirs; or to the heirs male of his body, in exclusion of both collaterals and lineal females also.

It was called a conditional fee by reason of the condition expressed or implied in the donation of it, that if the donee died without such particular heirs the land should revert to the donor.

Now the condition annexed to these fees by the common law, when performed, is entirely gone, and the fee to which it was before annexed and qualifying became absolute e. g., a gift to a man and the heirs of his body was a gift upon condition that it should revert to the donor if the donee had not the heirs prescribed, but to remain to him if he had such heirs ; hence as soon as the donee had the required heirs born to him, his estate was no longer conditional, but became absolute by the performance of the condition.

It was, therefore, construed at common law to be, and called, a fee-simple on condition that the donee had the heirs prescribed.

The donee of a conditional fee had the power to convey, or alien in fee, as soon as the condition was performed, and thereby debar his own issue, and also the possibility of a reversion to the donor. Now this right of alienation by the donee was repugnant to the nobility, who were anxious to perpetuate their possessions, and they alleged that it was a breach of the condition for the grant or gift. They, therefore, procured the passage of the Statute of Westminster the Second (1272), commonly called the statute de donis conditionalibus, for the express purpose of preventing the donee of a conditional fee from aliening the land as soon as issue was born, and for the

purpose of securing the reversion to the grantor. This statute, therefore, provided that the lands or tenements given to the donee and the heirs, or certain heirs, of his body should, in every event, go to such issue if there were any, or, if none, should revert to the donor.

The origin of fee-tail and reversion is from the construction given by the judges to this statute de donis, they determining that the donee had no longer a conditional feesimple, which became absolute and at his own disposal the instant any issue was born; but they divided the estate into two parts, leaving in the donee a new kind of particular estate, which they denominated a fee-tail, and vested in the donor the ultimate fee-simple of the land, expectant on the failure of issue, which expectant estate we now call a reversion.

A fee-tail, then, in its original, was a conditional fee shorn of the right of alienation after condition performed, and vesting in the donor an indefeasible reversion.

Donor is, properly, one who gives lands to another in tail. A fee-tail is so-called because it is entailed as to how long it shall continue.

that is, limited

As the word "heirs" is necessary to create a fee so the word "body" or some other words of procreation, are necessary to make a fee-tail in order to ascertain to what particular heirs the fee is limited or restrained.

So if a grant be made to a man and his issue of his body, to a man and his seed, to a man and his children or offspring, all these are only estates for life, there wanting the words of inheritance," his heirs."

Estates-tail are either general or special. male or female, or given in frank-marriage.

Tail-general is where lands and tenements are given to one and the heirs of his body begotten, because, how oftensoever such donee may be married, his issue in general by all and every such marriage is in successive order capable of inheriting the estate-tail, per formam doni.

Tail-special is where the gift is restrained to certain heirs of the donee's body, and does not go to all of them in general as, if lands be given to a man and the heirs of his body, on Mary his now wife to be begotten.

Tail-male general is where lands are given to a man and his heirs male of his body begotten.

Tail-female special is where lands are given to a man and the heirs female of his body on his present wife begotten.

In case of an entail male, the beirs female shall never inherit, nor any derived from them; nor e converso, the heirs male in case of a gift in tail-female.

Frank-marriage is where tenements are given by one to another, together with a wife, who is the daughter or cousin of the donor, to hold in frank-marriage. By such gift, though nothing but the word frank-marriage is expressed the donees shall have the tenements to them and the heirs of their two bodies begotten - that is, they are tenants in special tail.

The inconveniences resulting from this tying up of the landed property by estates-tail were avoided about two hundred years after the enactment of the statute de donis by the invention of fines and common recoveries, which removed the limitations upon them, and passed an absolute and pure fee-simple.

Freehold estates not of inheritance are for life only. They are either conventional, expressly created by the act of the parties; or legal, created by construction and operation of law.

Conventional estates for life are created by an express deed or grant, whereby a lease of lands or tenements is made to a man to hold for the term of his own life, or for that of any other person, or for more lives than one, in any of which cases he is called tenant for life; when he holds the estate by the life of another he is usually called tenant pur autre vie.

It is a rule of law that all grants are to be taken most strongly against the grantor, unless in the case of the King.

An estate is granted to one for the term of his "natural life" generally, because it may be determined by his civil death if