children or not, during the time that he lives unmarried: but as soon as he marries again, he forfeits his tenancy by the curtesy.*

It is stated in some books, that a husband, surviving his wife, is, after issue had between them, by the custom of Kent, entitled to the whole of her gavelkind lands; and that, in such case, the period of enjoyment is not restricted to his marrying again: this however is erroneous. See Robinson gavelkind, 135, &c. and the authorities there cited.

A tenant by the curtesy cannot commit waste any more than such tenant by the common law.†

The next special custom is, that the wife of a man dying seised of gavelkind lands shall have a moiety thereof for her dower; but she is not entitled to this absolutely for life, but holds it only so long as she lives unmarried and chaste; if therefore she afterwards marries again, or commits fornication in her widowhood, she loses her dower: however the presumption of her chastity continues till she can be proved to have been delivered of a child got during her widowhood.

A woman has the same remedies for her castomary dower in gavelkind as she has for her dower at common law, and it has been adjudged, that the widow cannot have her election to demand her thirds or dower at common law, so as to avoid the custom and marry a second husband.§

Any forfeiture, before mentioned, by either a tenant by the curtesy or tenant in dower, determines the estate ipso facto, and not only the heir but any stranger interested may take advantage of it.

The next special quality is that the guardianship of an infant heir continues till he is 15 years of age; for if a tenant in gavelkind die, leaving his heir or heirs under the age of 15, the next of blood to whom the inheritance cannot descend, shall (by the appointment of the lord, if there are several unequal degrees of kindred), have the custody of the body, lands and goods of such infant heir, until he attain that age; but the power of appointing a guardian by the lord is now never exercised, as it falls at present more within the province of a court of equity. And it is not safe for the lord to exercise his ancient privileges, because he is bound on all occasions to call the guardian to account; and,

*Co. Lit. 30, a. 1, 11, a,

+ Ibid.

Rob. Gav. 165,

Savil. 91. Leonard, 83.

Lumbard, 611, 612, 624, Bac. Ab. 1798, vol. 3, p. 391,

if he does not see that the accounts are fair, he is bound to to answer it.

Although, in the instance of wardship, the custom puts some confinement on the heir, by extending the time one year longer than the common law, yet, in amends, a singular favour is allowed him afterwards, which is, to sell his lands for a valuable consideration at any time after he has attained the age of 15; but the mode of alienation must be by feoffment with livery of seizin, propria manu of the infant, and not. by letter of attorney; and it seems the custom does not extend to a lease and release, bargain and sale, or any other sort of conveyance or assurance besides a feoffment; nor does it enable the infant to make a will, or grant a reversion on an estate for life, for that does not lie in livery. Robinson, however, holds that, when the infant is not in actual possession and seizin of the lands, the custom will, notwithstanding, warrant him, at the age of fifteen to release his right in the lands to him in possession of the freekold, and cites authorities to this effect; so that it seems an infant may release the fee to his guardian holding over, or to a tenant for life, or may release a mere right to one that has a defeasible estate, and who has seizin already; although he cannot alien an estate in possession by any other means than by a feoffment, nor convey a reversion to any one but him in possession of the freehold.

It does not appear, from Robinson, that the alienation is confined to a sale; but it has been stated by some that it must be upon a sale, for a full and sufficient recompense; which is now the principle generally acted upon; and an infant never aliens but upon having a valuable consideration, and this generally in money, which greatly repels any presumption of the infant's being wronged or imposed upon.But this, which is a custom derogatory of the common law, must be construed strictly, and therefore the sale must be of lands coming by descent, and not by purchase; because the infant's purchase could not be a subject matter for the custom; for the conqueror must, as is said, be presumed to confirm nothing but a privilege that is immemorial. This is, however, a conclusion which Mr. Robinson seems to think too hastily drawn; but, I believe, it is a principle that still governs the construction by the custom at present.

The next and last property that I shall mention is, that these lands are not forfeitable for felony, nor is the king entitled to his year, day and waste on an attainder of felony; but for high treason, which strikes at the foundation of all government and policy, these lands are forfeitable, and so

they are where a man is outlawed or abjures the realm. Upon the execution of a man for felony the customary heir enters, and the widow becomes entitled to her dower.

PRACTICAL POINTS, or MAXIMS in CONVEYANCING, drawn from the daily Experience of a very extensive Practice. By a late eminent CONVEYANCER. To which are added, CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS, on the various and essential Parts of a Deed. By the late J. RITSON, ESQ. London, Clarke and Sons, 1804, pp. 147. Octavo.

66

THE observations and opinions which are the subject of the following sheets," says the unknown editor, were those of a late eminent conveyancer. The original manuscript was corrected by himself (we presume not for the purpose of publication), and since revised and examined by the late J. Ritson, Esq. from whose collection it fell into the hands of the present editor.

*In Bacon's Abridgment, Edit. 1798, Vol. 3, p. 361, this qualification as to gavelkind lands is stated as follows:

"These lands are not forfeitable for felony, but for treason they are; for the feudal forfeitures only held in lands where there were tenures, and not in the allodial property, of which nature is gavelkind lands; and the allodial property was only forfeitable according to the Roman civil law for the crimen læsæ; majestatis and therefore the clergy, that were judges with the earl, never allowed this land to be forfeited, but for the crime of high treason: but subsequent statutes comprehend gavelkind, because such laws extend to the whole lands of the kingdom, unless gavelkind were excepted; but if a man be outlawed, or abjure the realm for felony (a), he shall for feit his lands in gavelkind, and his wife her dower in them; and though the strictness in which the custom is to be taken, because derogatory from the common law, is usually given as a reason for this construction, yet the true reason is, that outlawry and abjuring the realms are punishments introduced since the conquest, and consequently since the establishment of grachind in Kent, and therefore, like other new laws shall extend to that custom. 610, 611. Bro. tit. Custom, 54.

Lamb.

(«) Gavelkind lands in Kent, belonging to felons, revert to the heir after the year and day. 17 E. II. st. 1, c. 16. If outlawed or abjured, the custom does not prevail. Dyer, 319, b. in the margin.

"The tract on the various and essential parts of a conveyance is the composition of Mr. Ritson, and it is well worthy of an attentive perusal.

"The editor submits the whole of the following pages to the professors and students of the law; to the professor, as a useful hint to aid his recollection; and to the student,os a brief, but instructive selection of maxias, which he may turn to great advantage by a diligent reading, and to a much greater, by interleaving his ewa copy with writing paper, and making it his common clace book, adding thereto his experimental observations from the best authorities. Thus, in process of time, the student, in the course of his legi-logical career, will find himself in possession of a collection of notes, so useful to him in his future practice that he will ever afterwards feel an involuntary emotion of gratitude towards the memory of those gentlemen whose labours have been so industriously and so worthily bestowed."

We feel it extremely difficult to describe this book, otherwise than as a printed copy of a loose common place book for practical purposes, made by some conveyancer for the assistanc of himself or his pupils, to whom, as is frequently the case, he had not leisure, in the hurry of practice, to give much oral instruction. The reputation of the compiler has given it, probably, credit amongst those who were educated in his office, and were therefore trained, like most scholars, to look with reverence and wonder at every thing that came from the hands of the master. It is probable, that amongst these, in the days of his youth, was Mr. Joseph Ritson, at a time, when, perhaps, he treated the opinions of others with more respect and deference than towards that latter period of his life, when he was crossed with the severity of the critics, with whom he was often in hostility, and unhappily was verging towards a state of mental disorder of which his strange notions concerning vegetable diet may be considered, in some measure, as a predisposing symptom. At the sale of his books, probably, this amongst the rest was knocked down to the highest bidder; and from the hammer it has got to the press. We do not say that this is the true history of the publication, we speak only from conjecture, we are not in the secret, any more than our readers; but, as the editor is anonymous, as well as the original compiler, conjecture and probability are the only authorities which we can have recourse For thus leaving us in the dark, as to the experienced conveyancer who compiled it, we think the editor is much to

to.

blame; because, as the points are practical, and as the editor says, "derived from the daily experience of a very extensive praetice, by a late eminent conveyancer," and as they are stated broadly and decisively in most instances, or "Mr. - was of opinion so and so," without any citation of authorities, we think the purchasers of the book will generally be inquisitive to know who his eminence was. Omne quod ignotum promagnifico is, however, an old maxim which we, in behalf of the editor, must recommend to our readers, and leave them to settle by internal evidence which of the Booths, the Fearnes the Duanes, and others great in their day have left to the world this little manual of practice, for the benefit of posterity; for, without longer descending into irony or levity we must admit that it bears internal marks of having been the work of one who had a great deal of practice.

In this belief, we do not object to the publication of it, and the use which the editor recommends, to make it a sort of guide for a practical common place book, is judicious. To this, therefore, we will add only, that, as to all but the merely practical hints, the young student will do right to ponder the points well and examine the authorities in other writers, to see the reasons and the grounds for them, before he implicitly adopts them upon anonymous information. Not that we mean that they are wholly, or in any considerable degree, incorrect, further than as they are brief and concise, and may, therefore, be liable to be misunderstood or misapplied; but that we would always recommend a habit of inquiry and investigation, by which much is to be acquired; whilst by implicit faith and lazy acquiesence very little can be learnt.

Without a few specimens of the articles, called in this little work, points, it will be impossible for our readers to form any judgment of the nature of it. We therefore insert the following.

"BANKRUPTCY-Of the effect of an act of bankruptcy upon a title.

"19. Where it is apprehended that a person has committed an act of bankruptcy, a good title to a real estate cannot be made to a purchaser; for a creditor for above 100l. may sue out a commission at any time within five years after the act of bankruptcy, and set aside the purchase. If the commission is once dealt in, so far as the examination of a single witness, it may be proceeded in notwithstanding the bankrupt's death.