one cannot be tenant for life, and the other for years: one cannot be tenant in fee, and the other in tail. But, if land be limited to A and B for their lives, this makes them joint-tenants of the freehold; if to A and B and their heirs, it makes them joint-tenants of the inheritance . If land be granted to A and B for their lives, and to the heirs of A; here A and B are joint-tenants of the freehold during their refpective lives, and A has the remainder of the fee in feveralty: or, if land be given to A and B, and the heirs of the body of A; here both have a joint eftate for life, and A hath a feveral remainder in tail. Secondly, joint-tenants must also have an unity of title: their estate must be created by one and the fame act, whether legal or illegal; as by one and the fame grant, or by one and the fame diffeifin. Joint-tenancy cannot arise by defcent or act of law; but merely by purchase, or acquifition by the act of the party: and, unless that a& be one and the fame, the two tenants would have different titles; and if they had different titles, one might prove good, and the other bad, which would abfolutely destroy the jointure. Thirdly, there must also be an unity of time: their eftates must be vested at one and the fame period, as well as by one and the fame title. As in case of a present estate made to A and B; or a remainder in fee to A and B after a particular eftate; in either cafe A and B are joint-tenants of this prefent estate, or this vefted remainder. But if, after a leafe for life, the remainder be limited to the heirs of A and B; and during the continuance of the particular estate A dies, which vests the remainder of one moiety in his heir; and then B dies, whereby the other moiety becomes vested in the heir of B: now A's heir and B's heir are not joint-tenants of this remainder, but tenants in common; for one moiety vefted at one time, and the other moiety vested at another Yet, where a feoffment was made to the use of a man, and fuch wife as he should afterwards marry, for term of their lives, and he afterwards married; in this cafe it seems to have been held that the husband and wife had a joint-eftate, though c Co. Litt. 188. d Litt. §. 277. Ibid. §. 285. f Ibid. §. 278. M 3 vefted vested at different times : because the use of the wife's estate was in abeyance and dormant till the intermarriage; and, being then awakened, had relation back, and took effect from the original time of creation. Lastly, in joint-tenancy, there must be an unity of poffeffion. Joint-tenants are faid to be feifed per my et per tout, by the half or moiety, and by all; that is, they each of them have the entire poffeffion, as well of every parcel as of the whole ". They have not, one of them a feifin of one half or moiety, and the other of the other. moiety; neither can one be exclufively feifed of one acre, and. his companion of another; but each has an undivided moiety. of the whole, and not the whole of an undivided moiety 1. And therefore, if an eftate in fee be given to a man and his wife, they are neither properly joint-tenants, nor tenants in common: for husband and wife being considered as one perfon in law, they cannot take the estate by moieties, but both are seised of the entirety, per tout et non per my; the confequence of which is, that neither the hufband nor the wife candifpofe of any part without the affent of the other, but the whole muft remain to the furvivor k. UPON these principles, of a thorough and intimate union of intereft and poffeffion, depend many other confequences and incidents to the joint-tenant's eftate. If two joint-tenants let a verbal lease of their land, reserving rent to be paid to one of them, it shall enure to both, in respect of the joint reverfion. If their leffee furrenders his lease to one of them, it shall also enure to both, because of the privity, or relation of their eftatem. On the fame reafon, livery of feifin, made to one joint-tenant, fhall enure to both of them": and the entry, or re-entry, of one joint-tenant is as effectual in law as if it were the act of both °. In all actions also relating to their joint eftate, one joint-tenant cannot fue or be fued without joining the other P. But if two or more joint-tenants be : feifed of an advowfon, and they prefent different clerks, the bishop may refuse to admit either: becaufe neither jointtenant hath a feveral right of patronage, but each is feifed of the whole and, if they do not both agree within fix months, the right of presentation shall lapfe. But the ordinary may, if he pleases, admit a clerk presented by either, for the good of the church, that divine service may be regularly performed; which is no more than he otherwife would be entitled to do, in cafe their difagreement continued, fo as to incur a lapse: and, if the clerk of one joint-tenant be fo admitted, this shall keep up the title in both of them; in refpect of the privity and union of their eftate . Upon the fame ground it is held, that one joint-tenant cannot have an action against another for trespass, in respect of his land'; for each has an equal right to enter on any part of it. But one joint-tenant is not capable by himself to do any act, which may tend to defeat or injure the estate of the other; as to let leafes, or to grant copyholds: and, if any wafte be done, which tends to the deftruction of the inheritance, one joint-tenant may have an action of waste against the other, by conftruction of the ftatute Weftm. 2. c. 22. So too, though at common law no action of account lay for one joint-tenant against another, unless he had conftituted him his bailiff or receiver ", yet now by the ftatute 4 Ann. c. 16. joint-tenants may have actions of account against each other, for receiving more than their due fhare of the profits of the tenements held in joint-tenancy. FROM the fame principle alfo arifes the remaining grand incident of joint eftates; viz. the doctrine of furvivorship: by which when two or more perfons are feifed of a joint eftate, of inheritance, for their own lives, or per auter vie, or are jointly poffeffed of any chattel intereft, the entire tenancy upon the deceafe of any of them remains to the survivors, and at length to the laft furvivor; and he fhall be entitled to the whole eftate, whatever it be, whether an inheritance or a common freehold only, or even a less estate " q Co. Litt. 185. 3 Leon. 262. Leon. 234. M 4 t2 Inft. 403. u Co. Litt. 200. This This is the natural and regular confequence of the union and entirety of their interest. The intereft of two joint-tenants is not only equal or fimilar, but alfo is one and the fame. One has not originally a diftinct moiety from the other; but, if by any fubfequent act (as by alienation or forfeiture of either) the interest becomes feparate and distinct, the jointtenancy instantly ceafes. But, while it continues, each of two joint-tenants has a concurrent intereft in the whole; and therefore, on the death of his companion, the fole interest in the whole remains to the furvivor. For the intereft, which the furvivor originally had, is clearly not devested by the death of his companion; and no other person can now claim to have a joint estate with him, for no one can now have an intereft in the whole, accruing by the fame title, and taking effect at the fame time with his own; neither can any one claim a separate interest in any part of the tenements; for that would be to deprive the furvivor of the right which he has in all, and every part. As therefore the furvivor's original intereft in the whole ftill remains; and as no one can now be admitted, either jointly or feverally, to any share with him therein; it follows, that his own interest must now be entire and feveral, and that he fhail alone be entitled to the whole estate (whatever it be) that was created by the original grant. THIS right of furvivorship is called by our antient authors * the jus accrefcendi, because the right, upon the death of one joint-tenant, accumulates and increases to the furvivors; or, as they themselves exprefs it, "pars illa communis accrefcit super"ftitibus, de perfona in perfonam, ufque ad ultimam fuperftitem" And this jus accrefcendi ought to be mutual; which I apprehend to be one reason why neither the king, nor any corporation, can be a joint-tenant with a private person. For here is no mutuality: the private person has not even the remoteft chance of being feifed of the entirety, by benefit of furvivorship; for the king and the corporation can never die, x Bracton. 1. 4. tr. 3. c. 9. §. 3. Fleta. /. 3. c. 4. y Co. Litt. 190. Finch. L. 83. 2 2 Lev. 12. 3. WE are, lastly, to inquire, how an estate in jointtenancy may be fevered and deftroyed. And this may be done by destroying any of it's conftituent unities. 1. That of time, which respects only the original commencement of the joint-estate, cannot indeed, (being now past) be affected by any subsequent tranfactions. But, 2. The joint-tenants' eftate may be deftroyed, without any alienation, by merely difuniting their poffeffion. For joint-tenants being feised per my et per tout, every thing that tends to narrow that intereft, fo that they shall not be feifed throughout the whole, and throughout every part, is a feverance or destruction of the jointure. And therefore, if two joint-tenants agree to part their lands, and hold them in severalty, they are no longer joint-tenants; for they have now no joint-intereft in the whole, but only a several interest respectively in the several parts. And for that reason also, the right of survivorship is by fuch feparation destroyed 2. By common law all the jointtenants might agree to make partition of the lands, but one of them could not compel the other fo to do: for, this being an estate originally created by the act and agreement of the parties, the law would not permit any one or more of them to deftroy the united poffeffion without a fimilar univerfal confent. But now by the statutes 31 Hen. VIII. c. 1. and 32 Hen. VIII. c. 32. joint-tenants, either of inheritances or other less estates, are compellable by writ of partition to divide their lands . 3. The jointure may be destroyed by destroying the unity of title. As if one joint-tenant alienes and conveys his eftate to a third perfon: here the jointtenancy is fevered, and turned into tenancy in common1; for the grantee and the remaining joint-tenant hold by different titles, (one derived from the original, the other from the fubfequent, grantor) though, till partition made, the unity of poffeffion continues. But a devife of one's fhare by will a Co. Litt. 188. 193. b Litt. §. 290. c Thus, by the civil law, nemo invitus compellitur ad communionem. (Ff. 12. 6. 26. §. 4.) And again : fi non omnes qui i rem communem habent, fed certi ex bis, is |