1. It is not necessary, in order to

give the justices at sessions jurisdiction, to hear an appeal against *' overseers' accounts, that such ac

counts should previously have been in examined and allowed pursuant to -50 G. 3. c. 49. Rex v. The Jus

tices of Colchester, H. 2 and 3 ***G.4*

535 2. The proviso in 55 Geo. 3. c. 51. S. N, stating that that act shall not "give any jurisdiction to the justices

of the county over any places situate within the limits of any liberties **or franchises having a separate jurisdiction, is confined to franchises having a separate jurisdiction coextensive with that possessed by the county justices; and, there+fore, where the justices of the city of B. had no jurisdiction by charter to try felons, it was held that the

LANDLORD AND TENANT. 1. The growing crops of a tenant having been seized under a fi. fa a writ of hab. fac. poss. was subsequently delivered to the sheriff in an ejectment, at the suit of the landlord, founded on a demise made long before the issuing of the fi. fa. Held, that the sheriff was not bound to sell the growing crops under the fi. fa., inasmuch as they could not, in point of law, be considered as belonging to the tenant, the latter being a trespasser from the day of the demise laid in the declaration: Held, also, that the sheriff had no right to allow to the landlord a year's rent, under the statute of 8 Ann. c. 14., that statute contemplating an existing tenancy, which in this case must be taken to have ceased on the day of the demise in the ejectment. Hodgson v. Gascoigne, M. 2 G. 4. 2. A landlord has no right to distrain, unless there be an actual demise to the tenant at a fixed rent; and, therefore, where a tenant was in possession, under a memorandum of agreement to let on lease, with a purchasing clause, for 21 years, at the net clear rent of 637, the tenant to enter any time on or before a particular day: Held, that this only amounted to an agreement for a future lease, and that no lease having been executed, and no rent subse

88

quently

mised by two tenants in common, and the rent for a time paid to the agent of both, but afterwards the tenant had notice to pay a moiety of the rent to each of the two, and the rent was so paid accordingly, and separate receipts given : Held, that it then became a ques tion of fact for a jury to say, whether it was the intention of the parties to enter into a new contract of demise, with a separate reservation of rent to each. Powis v. Smith, T. 3 G. 4. Page 850 11. Two messuages were conveyed to such uses as A. should appoint, and in default of appointment to A. for life, and after the determination of that estate in his lifetime to B. for the life of A., in trust for A. and his assigns; with remainder to A. in fee. A. leased both these messuages to a tenant at an entire rent of 65l. 10s. for a term of years, and during the continuance of that term, contracted to sell the reversion of one of the messuages to C. In the contract the messuage was described on lease, together with another, and that the apportioned rent in respect of it was 40l. A. and B. afterwards conveyed the reversion of both houses, and the entire rent of 651. 10s. unto C. to certain uses, viz. as to the said messuage which A. had contracted to sell, and the yearly rent of 40l., together with all powers and remedies reserved for recovering the rent of 657. 10s. to such uses as A. should appoint; and as to the other messuage and the residue of the entire rent, to the use of A. in fee. A. afterwards appointed the messuage which he had contracted to sell, and the apportioned rent to the vendee: Held, that the latter did not acquire the same rights and remedies against the lessee as he would have acquired if the rent

had been legally apportioned by a jury, the lessee for the term not being bound by an apportionment made without his consent. Bliss v. Collins, T. 3 G: 4. Page 876

LEASE.

1. Where there were two assignments of the same lease of premises within the county of Middlesex, and that executed last was registered first: Held, that the deed last registered, must in a court of law be considered as fraudulent and void, in consequence of 7 Ann. c. 20. s. 1., although the party claiming under the second assignment had full knowledge, when it was executed, of the prior execution of the first assignment. Doe dem. Robinson v. Allsop, M. 2 G. 4. 142

2. By a private act passed in the year 1720, certain estates were settled in strict settlement, and a power was reserved to the respective tenants in tail, by deed, to lease any part of the lands thereby settled, "for the term of three lives or twenty-one years, or for any term or number of years determinable upon the death or determination of three lives, so as upon every such lease there be reserved, and made payable yearly, during the continuance thereof, the usual and accustomed yearly rents, boons, and services for the same; and, so as there be contained therein, a condition of reentry for non-payment of the said rent, and rents thereby to be reserved." By lease, dated the 6th January, 1785, a tenant in tail of the said estates demised a part of the premises thereby, settled to hoid from the date of the lease for ninety-nine years, if three persons therein named should so long live, yielding and paying yearly and

every year during the said term, unto the lessor, the yearly rent of 50%. upon the 25th March and 29th September, by even and equal portions, the first payment to be made on the 25th of March ensuing the date of the lease. There was a proviso that, if the rent should not be paid on those days, or if certain amerciaments and fines therein mentioned, after reasonable demand, should not be paid, it should be lawful for the lessor, his heirs, and assigns, to re-enter and distrain, and the distress to take away, detain, and keep, until the rent be satisfied; and there was the following proviso for re-entry : "that in case the said yearly rent should be unpaid for the space of twenty-eight days after it became due, being lawfully demanded, it should be lawful for the lessor, his heirs, and assigns, to re-enter."

Previous to the time of passing the act, the premises demised by this lease had been demised jointly with other premises by the settlor's ancestor, by a lease bearing date 2d February, 1708, "for ninetynine years, determinable upon three lives, at a yearly rent of 821. payable on the same days as those mentioned in the lease of the 6th January, 1785, and the first payment to commence on the 25th March ensuing the date of the lease." It contained also a similar power for the lessor to distrain, and a power of re-entry, upon the rent being behind for twenty-eight days, upon its being lawfully demanded, and not paid, and no sufficient distress being found upon the premises. It did not appear whether any other lease was granted between that period and the year 1756. At that time another Icase of the premises, demised by the lease of the 6th January, 1785, was granted at a rent o 321. pay

able at the same period as in the other leases, containing the same powers of distress and re-entry for non-payment of rent as those in the lease of the 6th January, 1785:

Held, first, that it was not a valid objection to the lease of the 6th January, 1785, that the rent was made payable on the 25th March and 29th September, (although the term commenced on the 6th January, and that therefore there was a forehand rent, which might prejudice the remainderman,) inasmuch as the rent was made payable on the same days by the former lease, and, therefore, this was the usual and accustomed rent:

Held, secondly, for the same reason, that it was no objection to the lease that the rent was made payable by half-yearly payments, although the power required it to be payable yearly; the word yearly meaning a payment of rent in the year:

Held, thirdly, that it was no objection to the lease, that by the terms of it the landlord could distrain only after a reasonable demand, and that he was bound to detain the distress until the distress was satisfied; for this being a clause introduced for his benefit, he was not thereby abridged of any right of distress which he had by common law, or of sale, under the statute 4 and 5 W. & M.:

Held, fourthly, that it was no objection to this lease, that the clause of re-entry reserved the right of entry to the landlord upon the rent being twenty-eight days in arrear, for this was a reasonable condition of re-entry, and was conformable to the old lease. Nor was it any objection that the right of entry was made to depend upon the rents being lawfully demanded, 3 T 4 for

for the landlord was not thereby deprived of the benefit of the 4 G. 2. c. 28., and consequently was entitled by that statute to enter without making any demand:

Held, also, that part of the premises formerly demised jointly with others at one entire rent, might be let under the terms of this power at a rent bearing the same proportion to the old rent, that the premises demised by the lease bore to the whole premises formerly demised. Doe dem. Earl of Shrewsbury v. Wilson, H. 2 and 3 G. 4. Page 363 3. A covenant by a lessee that he will sufficiently muck and manure the land with two sufficient sets of muck within the space of six of the last years of the term, the last set of muck to be laid upon the premises within three years of the exspiration of the term, is satisfied by the tenants laying on two sets of muck within the three last years of the term. Pownall v. Moores, H. 2 and 3 G. 4.

416

2. Where a libellous paragraph, as proved, contained two references, by which it appeared to be in fact the language of a third person speaking of the plaintiff's conduct, and the declaration in setting it❘ To out had omitted those references : Held, that these omissions altered the sense of the remainder, and that the variance was fatal. Cartright v. Wright, E. 3 G. 4. 615 3. A petition addressed by a creditor gof an officer in the army to the secretary at war, bona fide and with

a view of obtaining, through his interference, the payment of a debt due; and containing a statement of facts, which, though derogatory to the officer's character, the creditor believed to be true, is not a malicious libel for which an action is maintainable. In such an action, even upon the general issue, evidence may be received to shew that the writer bona fide believed the facts stated in the petition to be true. Fairman v. Ives, E. 3 G. 4. Page 642

LIEN.

1. The owner of goods being indebted to a factor in an amount exceeding their value, consigned them to him for sale; the factor also being similarly indebted to I. S., sold the goods to him. The factor afterwards became bankrupt, and, on a settlement of accounts between I. S. and the assignees, I. S. allowed credit to them for the price of the goods, and he then proved the residue of his claim against the estate: Held, that as the factor had a lien on the whole price of the goods, such settlement of accounts between the vendee and the assignees, afforded a good answer to an action against the vendee for the price of the goods, brought either by or on the account of the original owner. Hudson v. Granger, M. 2 G.4. 27 A. a foreign merchant, purchased in his own name, but on account and with the money of B., a British merchant, certain bank shares in the French funds. The latter drew bills upon A, which he accepted, on the security of those shares standing in his name; and these bills were assigned by B., for a valuable consideration, to C., a British subject. Before they be came due B. authorised A., by let

ter,