The laws relating to the transfer of real property have been much altered by recent statutes, and which require our serious attention.

The Act 7 and 8 Vict., cap. 76 (A.D. 1844), intituled "An Act to simplify the Transfer of Property," enacts

"That every person may convey, by any deed, without livery of seisin or inrolment, or a prior lease, all such freehold land as he might before the passing of this Act have conveyed by lease and release. And every such conveyance shall take effect as if it had been made by lease and release." (Sec. 2.)

"That no conveyance shall be voidable only when made by feoffment or other assurance, where the same would be absolutely void if made by release or grant; and that no assurance shall create any estate by wrong, or have any other effect than the same would have if it were to take effect as a release, surrender, grant, lease, bargain and sale, or covenant, to stand seised (as the case may be)." (Sec. 7.)

'That it shall not be necessary in any case to have a deed indented; and that any person, not being a party to any deed, may take an immediate benefit under it, in the same manner as he might under a deed poll." (Sec. 11.)

The Act 8 and 9 Vict., cap. 106 (A.D. 1845), intituled "An Act to amend the Law of Real Property," repeals the last Act, but re-enacts in substance most of its provisions. It enacts (from 1st October, 1845)

"That all corporeal tenements and hereditaments shall, as regards the conveyance of the immediate freehold thereof, be deemed to lie in grant, as well as in livery." (Sec. 2.)

"That a feoffment, other than a feoffment made under a custom by an infant, shall be void at law, unless evidenced by deed." (Sec. 3.)

"That a feoffment shall not have any tortious operation; and that an exchange or a partition of any tenements or hereditaments made by deed shall not imply any condition in law; and that the word 'give' or the word 'grant' in a deed, shall not imply any covenant in law in respect of any tenements or

of the common law" are void; for customs which go with the land, as this is, and Gavelkind, and such like customs, which fix and order the descents of inheritances, can be altered only by Act of Parliament. And this decision appears to have been sanctioned in the case of Tanistry, Dav. 36, pl. 3, on the ground that the customs of Gavelkind and Borough-English are inherent in the land.

hereditaments, except so far as the word 'give' or the word 'grant' may by force of any Act of Parliament imply a covenant." (Sec. 4.)

"That a deed purporting to be an indenture shall have the effect of an indenture, although not actually indented." (Sec. 5.)

And in the same year (1845) another Act, 8 and 9 Vict., cap. 119, intituled "An Act to facilitate the Conveyance of Real Property," gives a concise form of conveyance, by way of' grant.'

Upon these modern statutes we will venture to suggest, that the Act of 7 and 8 Victoria will not authorise an infant of the age of xv years to convey his Gavelkind lands without livery of seisin; for by the express words of the Act, it is limited to such persons only, and to such lands only, as might, before the passing of the Act, have been conveyed by lease and release; therefore its provisions do not extend to an infant tenant of Gavelkind lands, nor affect the custom.

The same statute very rationally declares that no assurance shall create any estate by wrong, and consequently the tortuous operation of a feoffment at common law is extinguished, by declaring that in such cases where before it was only voidable, it shall be absolutely void.

The useless formality of indenting' a deed, which heretofore was essential to its existence as an "indenture," is by this statute rendered unnecessary. (See also on this point stat. 8 and 9 Vict. cap. 106, sec. 5.)

Upon the statute 8 and 9 Victoria, cap. 106, we will remark, that, although the second section enacts that ALL corporeal tenements shall, as regards the conveyance of the immediate freehold, be deemed to lie in 'grant' as well as in 'livery,' yet we consider that lands of Gavelkind tenure can only be conveyed by deed of grant' by persons who have attained the full age of twenty-one years; and that the statute does not enable an infant of fifteen years to convey his Gavelkind lands otherwise than by feoffment, with livery of scisin, according to the custom.

And this seems also to be implied in the next following section (sec. 3), which recognises "a feoffment made under a custom by an infant." This 3d section enacts, "That a feoffment, other than a feoffment made under a custom by an infant, shall be void at law, unless evidenced by deed."

In our note (ante p. 170) we have endeavoured shortly to explain the meaning of lands lying in livery; and the section of the statute now under consideration seems to contemplate that a feoffment may still be made under a custom by an infant without deed. The subsequent deed, now technically called a feoffment, was not the instrument by which the land was transferred, but was merely the charter or record authenticating the prior transfer of the land by livery of seisin.

That the antient feoffment was originally made without deed, appears by the Statute of Marlebridge (52 Hen. III), which we have noticed in our Commentary on Section XI of our Custumal (ante p. 160), where it is said: "Likewise from henceforth, none that is enfeoffed without deed, from the time of the Conquest or any other antient feoffment, shall be distrained," &c.

Again, Lord Coke (1 Inst. 9), speaking of feoffments, says

"Corporate (hereditaments) as lands and tenements which lie in liuery, comprehended in this word feoffment, may passe by livery, by deed, or without deed."

Again, Littleton, sec. 61 (Co. 1 Inst. 50a)—

"Et si home voile faire feoffment per fait, ou sans fait, de terres ou tenements que il ad en plusors villes en un countie, le liverie de seisin fait en un parcel de les tenements en un ville, en le nosme de touts, suffise pur touts les autres terres et tenements comprehendes deins mesme le feoffement en toutz les autres villes deins mesme le countie.

"And if a man wil make a feoffement by deed, or without deed, of lands or tenements which he hath in divers townes in one countie, the livery of seisin made in one parcell of the tenements in one towne, in the name of all the rest, is sufficient for all other the lands and tenements comprehended within the same feoffment in all other the

"As to the distinction at common law between lands lying in livery, which may be passed for any estate without deed, or even writing, and those lying in grant, which could be transferred by deed only, and the alteration of our antient law, by the 29 Car. II, c. 3, which requires a deed or writing in most cases." (See Co 1 Inst. 48", note 1 at bottom and the authorities there referred to.)

And now by the statute 29 Car. II, cap. 3 (A.D. 1676), intituled "An Act for prevention of Frauds and Perjuries," it is enacted

"That all leases, estates, interests of freehold, or terms of years, or any uncertain interest of, in, to, or out of any messuages, manors, lands, tenements, or hereditaments, made or created by livery and seisin only, or by parol, and not put in writing and signed by the parties so making or creating the same, or their agents thereunto lawfully authorised by writing, shall have the force and effect of leases or estates at will only, and shall not either in law or equity be deemed or taken to have any other or greater force or effect -any consideration for making any such parol, lease or estates, or any former law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding."

(Except leases not exceeding three years, by sec. 2 of the Act.)

Upon the whole, therefore, we think that since the Statute of Frauds, and notwithstanding the implied exception in sec. 3 of 8 and 9 Vict., cap. 106, an infant of the age of

fifteen years cannot transfer his Gavelkind lands but only by feoffment, with livery af seisin by his own hand, duly authenticated by deed or writing signed by his own hand, and for a valuable consideration. And this, we believe, is the uniform practice in Kent at the present day.

SEC. XV. "Et si nul tiel tenant en Gauylekend meurt, e eit femme que suruiue seit cele femme meintenant douwe de la meite des tenementz dont son baroun morust vestu e seisi, per les heirs sil seient de age, ou per les seigneures si les heirs ne

seient pas de age, issi que ele eyt la meite de celes terres e

tenemenz, a tener tant com ele se tyent veue, ou de enfanter seit atteint per le auncienne vsage, ceo est a sauoir, que quant ele enfaunte, e lenfant seit oy crier, e que le hu e le cry seit leue e le pais ensemble, e eyent weue de lenfant ensi faunte, e de la mere, adonks perde son dowere enterement, e autrement nyent, tant come ele se tient veue, dont il est dist en Kenteis:

Se pat hipe pende
Se hipe lende: i.e.

He that doth wende her
Let him lend her.

Our Commentary upon the Third Section of the Custumal embraced "The Constitutional Rights of Englishmen." We there entered fully into the history of Saxon liberty. We have now the still more pleasing and animating task of advocating the rights of our fair countrywomen.

This Section will therefore be devoted to "The Rights of Women"-to those sacred and indefeasible rights which every Kentish woman inherits from her Saxon ancestors.

The character and moral elevation of nations depend entirely upon the mutual and reciprocal influence of the sexes upon each other. If that influence be virtuous, dignified, and pure, every public and private virtue will adorn and elevate