SECT. III. tion of trusts. minster, of St. Martin le Grand, of London, "or other such privileged places, and there The introduc"do live a great time with an high counte"nance of another man's goods, and profits of "the said tenements and chattels, till the "said creditors shall be bound to take a small parcel of their debt, and release the rem"nant. It is ordained and assented, that if "it be found that such gifts be so made by "collusion, that the said creditors shall have "execution of the said tenements and chattels, as if no such gifts had been made "." a By a subsequent statute, 1 Rich. 2. c. 9. "Because "it is complained to the "King that many people of "the said realm, as well "great as small, bearing "6 right and true title, as "well to lands, tenements, "and rents, as in other "personal actions, be "wrongfully delayed of "their right and actions, "by means that the occu"piers or defendants to be "maintained and sustained "in their wrong, do com"monly make gifts and "feoffments of their lands "and tenements which be in "debate, and of their other 66 goods and chattels to "Lords and other great men "of the realm, against "whom the said pursuants "for great menace, that is "made to them, cannot, "nor dare not, make their "pursuits and also on the "other part complaint is "made to the King, that "sometimes to lords and SECT. IV. IV. The earliest mention, which I find, of Introduction of the word use, is in the statute of provisors, uses. (17.) (18.) 7 Rich. 2. c. 12. *; and Bacon considers the first practice of uses to be about that reign. It is likely, however, that uses of the permanent kind before described were known in the preceding king's reign; for as in their Commencement uses were of a secret nature (the use being originally created on the estate of the feoffee merely by a parol declaration), it is probable, that they were not noticed by the legislature, until they had gained some degree of notoriety. In a case before cited 2, Manwood says, "I have seen divers ancient "deeds of uses, and in ancient times you "and no value; and the કદ 66 and tenements, as of their double damages, without having "regard to such aliena"tions, so that the dis"seisees commence their "suits within the year next "after the disseisin done. "And it is ordained and es"tablished, that the same "statute shall hold place in 66 every other action in plea "of land where such feoff"ments be made by fraud "or collusion, to have "their recovery against the "first such feoffor. And "it is to wit, that this sta uses. "shall not find that any would purchase SECT. IV. "lands to himself alone, but had two or three Introduction of joint feoffees with him, and he who was 16 first named in the charter of feoffment, was cestuique use, although that no use was de"clared to him upon the livery; and so it was known by the occupation of the lands. And "the reason why no mention is made in our "ancient books of uses, is, because men 86 were then of better consciences than now they are; so as the feoffees did not give oc"casion to their feoffors to bring subpanus to compel them to perform the trusts reposed " in them." In consequence of the secret manner in which uses were at first declared, and of the difficulty of obtaining evidence of the object of the parties, and the extent of the beneficial interest, by the ordinary proceedings of a court of law, it has been said, that John Waltham, who was Bishop of Salisbury, and Chancellor to King Richard the second, by a strained interpretation of the statute of West. 2. devised the writ of subpœna, returnable in the Court of Chancery only b. SECT. V. V. The use afforded the clergy an opportunity of avoiding the statutes of mortmain; History of uses b3 Black. Com. 52. See Mr. Cruise's valuable Digest, 1 vol. 396. & seq. and Gilb. Forum Romanum, 17. to the reign of Rich. 3. (19.) SECT. V. to the reign of Rich. 3. for although they could not buy lands in their History of uses own names, yet they might evade the statutes by obtaining grants, not directly to, but to the use of, their religious houses. But the legislature interfered, and by a statute made 15 Rich. 2. c. 5., it was enacted, that the lands so purchased to uses should be amortized by license from the crown, or sold to private persons; and that uses should be sub 1 a "And moreover it is agreed and assented, that "all they that be possessed "by feoffment, or by other "manner, to the use of re"ligious people, or other "spiritual persons, of lands " and tenements, fees, ad"vowsons, or any other 86 possessions whatsoever, "to amortize them, and "whereof the said religious "and spiritual persons take "the profits, that betwixt "this and the Feast of St. "Michael next coming, "they shall cause them to "be amortized by the li❝cense of the King and of "the Lords, or else that "they shall sell and alien "them to some other use "between this and the said "Feast, upon pain to be "forfeited to the King, and "to the Lords, according "to the form of the statute "of religious, as lands pur"chased by religious peo"ple: and that from hence forth no such purchase be "made, so that such re"ligious or other spiritual "persons take thereof the ject for the future to the statutes of mortmain, and be forfeitable like the lands. The disputes between the Houses of York and Lancaster originated in the reign of Richard the second. It was natural, that men, becoming parties to these unfortunate quarrels, should seek the means of retaining their estates in their own families by preserving them from forfeiture. This was effected by the aid of uses. The most plain and simple plan was that of conveying lands, in the lifetime of the grantor, to such uses as were directed in the deed, or by parol declaration.. By another, a power was given over the use which was not suffered by the common law over the land; that of devising. As the legal estate was vested in the feoffees by either of these dispositions, the lands were exempted from forfeiture. The causes then, which induced men to continue uses at this period, were extremely different from those of their production. Their origin was occasioned by fraud; their continuance proceeded from laudable motives. During the civil commotions, which attended the troublesome reigns of Richard 2. and Henry 4. most of the lands in the kingdom were conveyed to uses. A practice so general could not escape the notice of the legislature; and therefore in some general acts, с SECT. V. History of uses to the reign of Rich. 3. (20.) (21.) |