Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/100

 88 6. eiin was incident to the king's ocage tenants in capite, as well as to thoe by knight-ervice. But tenancy in capite as well as primer eiins, are alo, among the other feodal burthens, intirely abolihed by the tatute.

7. is alo incident to tenure in ocage; but of a nature very different from that incident to knight-ervice. For if the inheritance decend to an infant under fourteen, the wardhip of him hall not belong to the lord of the fee; becaue, in this tenure no military or other peronal ervice being required, there is no occaion for the lord to take the profits, in order to provide a proper ubtitute for his infant tenant: but his nearet relation (to whom the inheritance cannot decend) hall be his guardian in ocage, and have the cutody of his land and body till he arrives at the age of fourteen. The guardian mut be uch a one, to whom the inheritance by no poibility can decend; as was fully explained, together with the reaons for it, in the former book of thee commentaries. At fourteen this wardhip in ocage ceaes, and the heir may ouft the guardian, and call him to account for the rents and profits : for at this age the law uppoes him capable of chuing a guardian for himelf. It was in this particular, of wardhip, as alo in that of marriage, and in the certainty, of the render or ervice, that the ocage tenures had o much the advantage of the military ones. But as the wardhip ceaed at fourteen, there was this diadvantage attending it; that young heirs, being left at o tender an age to chue their own guardians till twenty one, they might make an improvident choice. Therefore, when almot all the lands of the kingdom were turned into ocage tenures, the ame tatute 12 Car. II. c. 24. enacted, that it hould be in the power of any father by will to appoint a guardian, till his child hould attain the age of twenty one. And, if no uch appointment be made, the court of chancery will frequently interpoe, to prevent an infant heir from improvidently expoing himelf to ruin. Rh