REPORTS OF CAS E S ARGUED AND ADJUDGED IN THE King's Courts at Westminster. By GEORGE WILSON, Esq. IN THREE VOLUMES. CONTAINING CASES in the Court of COMMON PLEAS, &c. beginning in HILARY TERM in the 26th Year of the Reign of KING GEORGE the SECOND, and ending in TRINITY TERM in the 9th Year of the Reign of His prefent Majesty KING GEORGE the THIRD. THE THIRD EDITION: With General and Improved TABLES of the PRINCIPAL MATTERS, and of the NAMES of the CASES, fome Account of the Lords the Judges, Serjeants at Law, and moft eminent Counsel attending the Bar during the Period of these Reports, with other Alterations and Additions. LONDON: PRINTED BY A. STRAHAN, LAW-PRINTER TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY, 1799. 3 HILARY TERM, Stevens, of the Demife of Wife; verfus Tyrell. C. B. IN a feme co vert to furrender her out the af an ejectment of copyhold lands this cafe was referved at A cuftom for the affizes for the opinion of the court, which states, That JJennings, being feifed in fee according to the cuftom of the manor of the copyhold lands in queftion, died, and the fame copyhold defcended to his heir at law Frances the wife of William Geary, lands withfubject to 7. Jennings's widow Henrietta's eftate; that Frances fent of her the wife of William Geary was admitted, and being folely exa- hufband is mined, furrendered the premises to the use of herself for life, bad. remainder to Henry Wife in fee; and that William Geary her hufband then living did not join with her, that Henry Wife was admitted to remainder in fee, that William Geary died in 1739, and Henrietta the widow is also dead; and that there is a cuftom in this manor that a feme covert feifed in fee of copyland lands may difpofe of her eftate without her husband's joining. A verdict was taken for the plaintiff, who claims under the fole furrender of Frances the feme covert, which is void if the customTM be not a good one. After several arguments, the whole court were clearly of opinion that this was a bad custom; and Willes Lord C. J. in giving the judgment of the court faid, that Juftice Burnett (who was now lately dead) was of the fame opinion. It is not stated whether the feme covert by the cuftom was to be folely and fecretly examined, though in fact she was fo; nor is it stated that the husband by the custom was to confent though he did not join, and therefore it must be taken for granted he did not confent. In fupport of the custom was cited 2 Danv. Abr. 430. pl. 10. where it is faid that it is a good custom in a copyhold manor, that a feme covert, with or without the confent of her husband, may devife her copyhold lands to her husband, or whom the VOL. II. B pleases; pleases; but this is not rightly abridged, and fhews what little credit ought to be given to abridgments. The cafe abridged is anonymous in Moor 123. pl. 268. and the custom there found on a special verdict is, that a feme covert with the affent of her husband may devife her copyhold lands to her husband or any Dyer 363. b. other, which the court thought was not an auteafable cuftom; but that is not the prefent cafe, which must be taken to be without the affent of the husband. Davis 30. 50. b. 3 Leon. 81. It was faid, that if a feme covert levies a fine it fhall bind Godb. 143. her and her heirs, if the hufband does not enter and avoid the eftate of the conufee, becaufe fire was examined, and had power over the land, 10 Rep. 43. a. But the reafon given in Hob. 225. is, that he is eftopped to fay fhe was covert; and a fine levied by a feme covert of freehold lands was compared to a furrender by her in fee of copyhold lands entailed, whereof no fine can be levied, and which would bar the iffue; and this at first feemed to have fome weight with the court; but at length they refolved that this custom cannot be supposed to have had any reasonable commencement, that it is contrary to law and the policy of the nation, and tends to make wives independent of their husbands; that no tolerable reason was given at the bar for this cuftom. And the verdict was fet afide, and judgment given for defendant, the heir at law of Frances the wife of William Geary. Recovery amended in the return of the writ of feifin. Watfon Demandant et Lockley Tenant. C. B. THE HE writ of feifin upon a common recovery was tested se cundo die Junii anno 13 Georgii, returnable tres Trin. The return made by the fheriff was thus, "Virtute iftius brevis mihi "directi duodecimo die Junii anno infrafcripto habere feci infra« nominato Willielmo Watson plenariam feifinam de acris infrafcriptis cum pertinentiis prout interius mihi præcipitur Johannes Lock "miles, & Willietmus Ogborne mites, vicecomes Middlefexia." Now the words anno infrafcripto refer to the tefte of the writ, t which was in the 13th year of K. Go 1, but the 12th of June was in the first year of his prefent Majefty; fo the court; upon reading the writ and the return, ordered the year to be amended as a misprision of the clerk without any rule to fhew caufe. Roberts verfus Pierfon. C. B. HE plaintiff, who is a married woman, entered into a bond A judgment of confefled to a feme co bond. counter-fecurity, the defendant executed a bond and warrant of vert is void, attorney to confefs judgment to her. She having been obliged and fo is her to pay 50/. for the defendant, has entered up the judgment upon the warrant of attorney, and taken out execution there- . upon. It was now moved to fet the judgment afide, and to have the money paid into the hands of the fheriff reltored to the de-, fendant. Per curiam-A judgment at the fuit of a feme covert is void, and fo is her bond; and the money the paid for the defendant was her husband's, and he may fue for it; fo the judgment must be fet afide, and the money in the fheriff's hands reftored. Whereupon the parties compromifed the matter, and a rule was entered into by confent that no action fhould be brought on either fide. Scott verfus Dixon & al. C. B. Den fendant juf finden 'dum. Plain ACTION of affault and falfe imprisonment. The defendant Affault and pleads Not guilty as to all the trefpafs in the declaration imprison except the affault, imprifonment, and detaining the plaintiff in ment. prifon; and as to that he pleads, that Dinah Scott fued out of tifies under this court a writ of capias ad refpondendum, directed to the fheriff a capias ad of Cumberland to take Jonathan Scott (the now plaintiff) to anfwer Dinah Scott in a plea of trefpafs, and alfo of a plea of trefpafs upon the cafe upon promises, &c., which writ was delivered to the sheriff, who made a warrant thereupon to two of the defend ants James and William Scott, and the other defendant Dixon (who is the keeper of the county gaol) affiled, which is the fame affault and imprisonment complained of. judgment, because the defendant has acknowledged the trefpafs; this is naught, and the plaintiff ought to have made a new affignment. B 2 The tif replies the defendhim from the arrest and afterwards ant released arrested him; and prays |