tom, or usage to the contrary hereof in any wise notwithstanding. And that all tenures by knight-service of the king, or of any other person, and by knight-service in capite, and by socage in capite of the king, and the fruits and consequents thereof, happened or which shall or may hereafter happen or arise thereupon or thereby, be taken away and discharged; any law, statute, custom, or usage to the contrary hereof in any wise notwithstanding: and all tenures of any honors, manors, lands, tenements, or hereditaments, of any estate of inheritance at the common law, held either of the king or of any other person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, are hereby enacted to be turned into free and common socage, to all intents and purposes, from the said twenty-fourth day of February, one thousand six hundred forty and five, and shall be so construed, adjudged and deemed to be from the said twenty-fourth day of February, one thousand six hundred forty and five, and forever hereafter, turned into free and common socage; any law, statute, custom, or usage to the contrary hereof in any wise notwithstanding.

2. And that the same shall forever hereafter stand and be discharged of all tenure by homage, escuage, voyages royal, and charges for the same, wardships incident to tenure by knight's service, and values and forfeitures of marriage, and all other charges incident to tenure by knight-service, and of and from aide pur file marrier, and aide pur faire fitz chivalier; any law, statute, usage or custom to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. And that all conveyances and devises of any manors, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, made since the said twenty-fourth day of February, shall be expounded to be of such effect as if the same manors, lands, tenements, and hereditaments had been then held and continued to be holden in free and common socage only; any law, statute, custom, or usage to the contrary hereof in any wise notwithstanding.

4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That all tenures hereafter to be created by the King's Majesty, his heirs or successors, upon any gifts or grants of any manors, lands, tenements, or hereditaments, of any estate of inheritance at the common law, shall be in free and common socage, and shall be adjudged to be in free and common socage only, and not by knight-service, or in capite, and shall be discharged of all wardship, value and forfeiture of marriage, livery, primer seisin, ousterlemain, aide pur faire fitz chivalier and pur file marrier; any law, statute or reservation to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.

5. Provided nevertheless, and be it enacted, That this act, or anything herein contained, shall not take away, nor be construed to take away, any rents certain, heriots, or suits of court, belonging or incident to any former tenure now taken away or altered by virtue of this Act, or other services incident or belonging to tenure in common socage due or to grow due to the King's Majesty, or mean lords, or other private person, or the fealty and distresses incident thereunto; and that such relief shall be paid in respect of such rents as is paid in case of a death of a tenant in common socage.

6. Provided always, and be it enacted, That anything herein contained shall not take away, nor be construed to take away any fines for alienation due by particular customs of particular manors and places, other than fines for alienations of lands or tenements holden immediately of the king in capite.

7. Provided also, and be it further enacted, That this Act, or anything herein contained, shall not take away, or be construed to take away, tenures in frank-almoign, or to subject them to any greater or other services than they now are; nor to alter or change any tenure by copy of court-roll, or any services incident thereunto; nor to take away the honorary services of grand serjeanty, other than of wardship, marriage, and value of forfeiture of marriage, escuage, voy

ages royal, and other charges incident to tenure by knightservice; and other than aide pur faire fitz chivalier, and aide pur file marrier.

Co. LIT., 85, a. By the 12 Cha. 2, ch. 24, tenure by knight's service, whether of the king or of a common person, together with all its oppressive fruits and consequences, as also those of socage in capite, is wholly taken away; and every such tenure is converted into free and common socage. The same statute enacts, that all tenures which should afterward be created by the king, should be in free and common socage only. Nothing can be more full in expression than this act; for besides generally abolishing tenure by knight's service, and the consequences peculiar to that tenure and socage in capite, it descends into particulars with a redundancy of words, which can only be accounted for by the extreme anxiety to extirpate completely the evils the legislature had under contemplation, for which purpose it might be deemed most safe to attack them in every shape. We have already observed in some former notes, that homage, escuage, and the aids pur file marrier and pur faire fitz chivalier are expressly mentioned. It remains to add, that the statute, after taking away the court of wards and liveries, enumerates wardships, liveries, primer seisins or ousterlemains, values and forfeitures of marriages, and fines, seizures, and pardons for alienation, and sweeps away the whole. But the act preserves rents certain, heriots, suits of court, and other services incident to common socage and fealty; and also fines for alienation due by the customs of particular manors, unless such fines are for lands in capite. Reliefs for lands, of which the tenure is converted into common socage, are also saved in some instances; for the clause which preserves rents certain provides that such relief shall be paid in respect of such rents, as is paid on the death of a tenant in common socage. From this clause it seems, that there can be no relief out of lands which the statute changed into socage, unless where a quit rent is also payable; and the

reason of thus expressing the act will appear by considering that a year's rent is the relief for lands holden by common socage, and consequently is never due out of lands which are not subject to a rent, unless by special custom, or express reservation.--Hargrave's note, 55.

Co. LIT., 93, b. It may be proper to conclude this Chapter of Socage by pointing out the several changes made in the tenure of socage by the statute of the 12 Cha. 2, ch. 24, so often mentioned. 1. It takes away the aids pur file marrier and pur faire fitz chivalier, which were incident to all socage-tenures. 2. It relieves socage in capite from the burden of the king's primer seisin and of fines of alienation to the king; to both of which socage in capite was equally liable with tenure by knight's service in capite, though not so to wardship. 3. It extends the father's power of appointing guardians by deed or will, which by the 4 and 5 Phil. and Mar. (the first statute conferring such a power) was restricted to female children, to children of both sexes, and thus supplied the means of still further preventing guardianship in socage. In all other respects the tenure in socage seems to be under the same circumstances, and attended with the same consequences, as it was before the restoration. But the statute of Charles II. goes further than the mere alteration of socage; and having thus reformed and improved this favorite tenure, in the next place provides for the extension of it throughout the kingdom. This the statute effectually secures, by converting into socage all tenures by knight's service and by taking from the Crown the power of creating any other tenure than socage in future.-Hargrave's note, 95.

REAL PROP. COMRS., THIRD REP. (1833), 7. But though the ancient doctrine, that all land is held of a superior lord, ought in our opinion to remain, we consider the variety of tenures still subsisting an unqualified evil; and we think that everything should be done which is consistent with the

rights of property, to reduce them all to one simple tenure, stripped of all local customs, and attended by the same rules, as to enjoyment and transmission. The tenures now subsisting are:

1. Frankalmoign, and by Divine Service.

2. Grand Serjeanty, as far as honble. services are concerned.

3. Free and Common Socage.

4. Socage, subject to the custom of Borough English. 5. Socage, subject to the custom of Gavel-kind.

6. Ancient Demesne.

7. Copyhold.

8. Customary Freehold.

Free and common socage is fortunately the tenure by which the great bulk of real property in England is now held. In the time of Lord Coke copyhold tenure was much more common than at present, and the land that was not of base tenure was principally held in chivalry. To the enfranchisement of copyholds and the abolition of military tenures may, we conceive, be ascribed some portion of the agricultural improvement and increase of public wealth which have since taken place; and we consider it a matter of great importance that all lay fees should be held by free and common socage.

This tenure has all the advantages of allodial ownership. The dominium utile vested in the tenant comprises the sole and undivided interest in the soil. Escheat is the only material incident of this tenure beneficial to the lord; and, while there is an heir or devisee, he can in no way interfere.

The tenant in fee simple of socage land can of his own authority create in it any estates and interests not contrary to the general rules of law; he can alien it entirely or devise it to whom he pleases, and the alienee or devisee takes directly from him, so that the title is complete without the concurrence or privity of the lord.

WILLIAMS, REAL PROP. (17TH ED.), 60-63. Since the