Page:United States Reports, Volume 1.djvu/189

178 

1786.

1. Where the intention of the Legiflature, or the Law is doubtful, and not clear, the Judges ought to interpret the law to be, what is moft confonant to equity and leaft inconvenient.  Vaugh.  38.285.

2. A Court is not bound to give the like judgment, which has been given by a former Court, unlefs they are of opinion that the firft judgment was according to law ; for any Court may err ; and if a Judge conceives, that a jugment given by a former Court is erroneous, he ought not in confcience to give the like judgment, be bng fworn to judge according to law. Acting otherwife would have this confequence ; becaufe one man has been wronged by a judicial determination, therefore every man, having a like caufe, ought to be wronged alfo. Vaugh. 383.

We will now have recourfe to the fupplementary Act of Affembly, 1 State Laws 397, and confider the words and the fpirit of it. In the cafe before the Court, John Hunter, the cevifee, died inteftate, under age, unmarried and wothout iffue, after the death of his father, his mother furviving him. The words of the Act are, after the death of any father and mother, fo that he was not within the words ; but I am of opinion, that the word and, in this place, muft be conftrued or ; as in the very next fentence the mother is given an equal fhare of the perfonal eftate of fuch interfate child, which came from the father, with the brothers and fifters of fuch child ; which fhews, the Legiflature did not mean that the eftate fhould not be diftributed,unlefs both parents were dead. The claufe, refpecting the real eftate of an infant inteftate, does not take notice of diftinguifh whether it was to come from the father, or mother, by deʃdent or purchaʃe or how it was to be acquired, or from whom ; but fays, generally, that all his lands&c. fhall be divided &c. And, it is remarkable that th eperfonal eftate of fuch as inteftate is to go in the fame manner with the real eftate: But in the following fentence there is an exprefs provifion for the mother out of that part of the perfonal eftate, to which the interftate fhall be intitled under ʃuch ƒather ; which fhews, manifeftly, that the mother was not to have any fhare of any perfonal eftate that fhould be acquired by fuch child, in any other manner than from the father ; and perhaps they meant in both cafes an inteftate father, but this is by no means clear ; it is very doubtful from the difpofition of the perfonal eftate, that was acquired differently ; and our contribution and laws favor equality and diftribution of eftates.

This Act of Affembly has been made upwards of twenty years ago, and the queftion upon it now before the Court has received at leaft one judicial determination thirteen years ago, that the real eftate, in fuch a cafe, fhould be diftributed among the interftate's brothers and fifters equally. When there had been a folemn determination before two Judges of the Supreme Court after debate, and an acquifcence under it, there ought always to be a great confideration paid to it, that the may be certain. Upon the beft information we can obtain from the gentlemen of the law in dinerom part of the State,