Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/881

Rh M O R M O S 849 their rights. But if the third mortgagee gets an assign ment of the first mortgage, he can tack his third mortgage to the first, and so postpone the second mortgagee. And if the first mortgagee himself makes an additional advance after the date of the second mortgage, but without notice of it, his whole debt will take precedence of the second mortgagee. A similar result of equitable rules is seen in the consolidation of securities. Two separate estates, mortgaged at different times and for different sums of money by the same mortgager to the same mortgagee, are regarded as consolidated, so that the whole of the land becomes security for the whole of the money, and the owner cannot redeem either mortgage without redeeming the other. So that, as Mr Justice Williams reasons, no person can safely lend money on a second mortgage, for, in addition to the risk of a third mortgagee tackiny, there is the danger that, if the mortgager should have mortgaged another estate for more than its value, the holder of the deficient security may buy in the first mortgage, consoli date it with his own, and exclude the second mortgagee. An equitable mortgage is constituted simply by the deposit of title-deeds in security for money advanced. The enactment of the Statute of Frauds that no action shall be brought on &quot;any contract or sale of lands,&quot; &amp;lt;fec., or any interests in or concerning them unless the agreement be in writing and signed by the party to be charged, has been cited as incompatible with the recognition of equitable mortgages, but it is argued by Lord Abinger that the Act was never meant to affect such a transaction. The deeds which are the evidence of title could not be recovered in an action at law, and, if they were claimed in equity, the court would require the claimant to do equity by repaying the money borrowed on the deposit. Any subsequent legal mortgagee, having notice of the deposit, will be post poned to the equitable mortgagee, and when the legal mortgagee has not inquired as to the title-deeds the court will impute to him such knowledge as he would have acquired if he had made inquiry. As to mortgages of personal property see PLEDGE. United States. In the United States there is great diversity in the extent to which equitable principles have been formally substi tuted for the rules of the common law in dealing with mortgages. Washburn (Law of Real Property, vol. ii.) arranges the States into three &quot;pretty well - defined classes.&quot; In the first, the mortgage deed is held to create a seizin of ard an estate in the premises, with all its common law incidents, to be enforced if need be by eject ment. In the second, the mortgagee s rights are limited to such as the rules of equity prescribe, and may not be enforced by a suit at law. In the third, the mortgagee s interest is not deemed an estate at all, but is here only to be enforced by the sale of the pre mises as a means of paying the debt. In the first class come Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Mississippi, Minnesota ; in the second, Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, &quot;Wisconsin, and Texas ; in the third, California, Georgia, and New York, to which may be added Oregon. (E. R.) MORTIFICATION&quot;, a term used in surgery signifying a local death. Any cause which interferes with the blood- supply of a portion of the body will, if sufficiently pro longed or sufficiently severe, give rise to mortification. In some cases the death may be preceded by inflammation ; in others, as in old people with diseased vessels, the part may die in consequence simply of insufficient blood-supply without any previous inflammation. The part is said to mortify ; the process is termed gangrene ; the dead part is called a slough. A severe injury may end in mortifica tion. Extreme heat as in severe burns, or extreme cold as in frost-bite, may give rise to the condition. Those parts of the body farthest from the centre of the circula tion are most liable to mortification. Frost-bite, for ex ample, may attack the toes or fingers as well as those parts which are most exposed to the cold, more particu larly the point of the nose or the ears. The part affected becomes pale, bloodless, cold, and insensible. The great point to attend to is to restore the circulation gradually, using gentle friction. If the person is brought before a fire, or if any hot applications are used, then a rapid re action may issue in a severe inflammation, which may be followed by mortification. Chilblain is a mild form of frost-bite occurring in young people with sluggish circula tions, very often caused by sitting down before a strong fire with cold feet; any one suffering from cold feet or hands should take plenty of exercise, and if after a return from a sharp walk the feet remain cold the heat should be restored by rubbing with a rough towel. MORTMAIN, STATUTES OF. The object and effect of these enactments are treated in the articles CHARITY and CORPORATION (q.v.). The following is a list of the Mort main Acts : 9 Henry III. c. 36 (Magna Charta) ; 7 Edward I. st. 2, c. 1 (De Religiosis) ; 13 Edward I. c. 32 ; 13 Edward I. c. 41 ; 18 Ed ward I. st. 1, c. 3; 27 Edward I. st. 2; 34 Edward I. st. 3; 18 Edward III. st. 3, c. 3 ; 15 Richard II. c. 5 ; 21 Henry VIII. c. 6, s. 5 ; 23 Henry VIII. c. 10 ; 1 and 2 Philip and Mary, c. 8, s. 51 ; 35 Elizabeth, c. 4 ; 21 James I. c. 1 ; 13 and 14 Charles II. c. 6, s. 10 ; 29 Charles II. c. 8 ; 7 and 8 William III. c. 37; 9 George II. c. 36 ; 43 George III. c. 108 ; 9 George IV. c. 85 ; and 2 and 3 William IV. c. 115. MORTON, JAMES DOUGLAS, fourth earl of (1530-1581), regent of Scotland, second son of Sir George Douglas of Pittendriech, was born at Dalkeith in 1530. Having married Elizabeth, daughter of the third earl of Morton, he through her succeeded in 1553 to the title and estates of his father-in-law. After the return of Queen Mary in 1561 he was chosen a privy councillor, and in 1563 he became lord high chancellor. Though his sympathies were Protestant, he took no part in the combination of Protestant barons in 1565, but he headed the armed force of 150 men who took possession of Holyrood Palace to effect the assas sination of Rizzio, and it was to his house that the leading conspirators adjourned while a messenger was sent to obtain Mary s signature to the &quot;bond of security.&quot; The queen, before complying with the request, escaped to Dunbar, and on her return to Edinburgh with an escort of 2000 men Morton and the other leaders fled to England. After her marriage with Bothwell, Morton returned, and with 600 men appeared before Borthwick Castle, where the queen, in dread of a rising, had taken refuge. He was present at the remarkable conference at Carberry Hill, and he also took an active part in obtaining the consent of the queen at Lochleven to an abdication. Thereupon he was reappointed lord high chancellor, and also succeeded Bothwell as lord high admiral. On the death of the earl of Mar he became regent (October 1572). Through his persistence in recovering the crown jewels from the countess of Argyll, widow of the earl of Moray, Morton awakened the bitter animosity of Argyll and Athole, who persuaded the young king James VI. to assume the government. Morton deemed it prudent to resign, and for a time retired to Lochleven, but shortly afterwards, with the assistance of his nephew, the earl of Mar, he obtained possession of Stirling Castle, where the king was residing, and thus for a time recovered his old influence. Suddenly, however, he was accused by James Stewart, earl of Arran, of having taken part in the murder of Darnley, the father of the king, and being tried by a jury of sixteen peers, most of whom were his enemies, was condemned to death and be headed on 2d June 1581. MORVEAU. See GUYTON DE MORVEAU. MOSAIC (late Greek i/^oxm, from ^&amp;lt;/&amp;gt;os, a small stone ; also /xoixrttov, i.e., refined, delicate work ; hence the Latin opus musivum] is the fitting together of many, generally small, pieces of marble, opaque glass, coloured clays, or other substances, so as to form a pattern ; the