Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/101

 Ch. 6. 8., or the valor maritagii, was not in ocage tenure any perquiite or advantage to the guardian, but rather the revere. For, if the guardian married his ward under the age of fourteen, he was bound to account to the ward for the value of the marriage, even though he took nothing for it, unles he married him to advantage. For the law, in favour of infants, is always jealous of guardians, and therefore in this cae it made them account, not only for what they did, but alo for what they might, receive on the infant's behalf; left by ome colluion the guardian hould have received the value, and not brought it to account: but, the tatute having detroyed all values of marriages, this doctrine of coure hath ceaed with them. At fourteen years of age the ward might have dipoed of himelf in marriage, without any conent of his guardian, till the late act for preventing clandetine marriages. Thee doctrines of wardhip and marriage in ocage tenure were o diametrically oppoite to thoe in knight-ervice, and o entirely agree with thoe parts of king Edward's laws, that were retored by Henry the firt's charter, as might alone convince us that ocage was of a higher original than the Norman conquet.

9. for alienations were, I apprehend, due for lands holden of the king in capite by ocage tenure, as well as in cae of tenure by knight-ervice: for the tatutes that relate to this point, and ir Edward Coke's comment on them, peak generally of all tenants in capite, without making any ditinction; though now all fines for alienation are demolihed by the tatute of Charles the econd.

10. are equally incident to tenure in ocage, as they were to tenure by knight-ervice; except only in gavelkind lands, which are (as is before-mentioned) ubject to no echeats for felony, though they are to echeats for want of heirs. II.