Page:United States Reports, Volume 1.djvu/23

 12  S. his Wife appeared before W. P. Equire, then one of the Jutices of the Court of Common Pleas, for the County of Philadelphia, and acknowledged the aid Indenture to be their Deed, and that the aid Sarah was then and there, ecretly and apart from aid Huband, examined by the aid W. P. and on uch private examination did declare, that he did ign, eal and execute the aid Indenture with her full free and voluntary Conent, which acknowledgement and examination were then indored by the aid W. P. under his hand and eal, upon the Indenture. The pecial Verdict goes on and finds, that for fifty Years and upwards, it had been the contant practie and uage of the Province of Pennylvania, in caes where Baron and Feme have been deirous to ettle, ell and diooe of the Etate of the Feme, for the Baron and Feme to join in a Deed or Deeds, and for the Feme to go before some Jutice of the Peace, in the County where the Lands lye, out of Court, and for the aid Jutice to examine such Feme in private and apart from her Huband, repecting her igning and executing uch Deed, and to interrogate her whether he became a Party to and executed uch Deed with her full and free conent, and on her declaration that he freely conented, for the Jutice to certify the ame under his hand and eal. And that a great number of Titles to valuable Etates in this Province, were held under, and did depend upon Deeds executed by Baron and Feme, in manner aforeaid. And that the Titles to uch Etates had never before been called into quetion, but that uch Deeds of Femes Covert and their Hubands had always been allowed to be given in evidence in Courts of Jutice; that Scriveners had generally conducted themelves by this Uage, in transferring Etates, and that only two Fines had ever been levied in this Province for conveying the Etates of Femes Covert. The Jury further found that the aid Sarah died without having any Iue born alive, and the Plaintiffs Wife was one of her Heirs at Law.

The principal quetion was, whether this mode of conveyance of the Etates of Femes Covert could be upported by the Uage, as found by the Jury.

On the Part of the Plaintiff it was urged, that by Law a Femme Covert cannot convey her Etate but by fine, in which he mut be examined by Writ; that the Uage in this cae was not ufficient to alter the Law, not being from time immemorial, and was unreaonable, becaue it had no lawful commencement. a Feme being uppoed by the Law to be under the coercion of her Huband; and for this purpoe ''Godb. 143. was cited.— That uppoing the cutom good, the Deed in the preent cae was variant from the cutom as found in the pecial Verdict; for that the Uage ratified this kind of Conveyance only in uch caes, where the Feme was willing and deirous to convey, and where he declared he became a Party to the Deed freely; and that it is not found the Feme'' in this cae was willing and deirous, and had declared he became a Party thereto; for though it is et forth, that he declared he executed the Deed freely, yet it does not appear the Deed was read, or the contents made known unto her, without