Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/129

 Ch. 7. . For though the courts had, o long before as the reign of Edward III, very frequently hinted their opinion that a bar might be effected upon thee principles, yet it never was carried into execution; till Edward IV oberving (in the diputes between the houes of York and Lancater) how little effect attainders for treaon had on families, whoe etates were protected by the anctuary of entails, gave his countenance to this proceeding, and uffered Taltarum's cae to be brought before the court : wherein, in conequence of the principles then laid down, it was in effect determined, that a common recovery uffered by tenant in tail hould be an effectual detruction thereof. What common recoveries are, both in their nature and conequences, and why they are allowed to be a bar to the etate-tail, mut be reerved to a ubequent enquiry. At preent I hall only ay, that they are fictitious proceedings, introduced by a kind of pia fraus, to elude the tatute de donis, which was found o intolerably michievous, and which yet one branch of the legilature would not then conent to repeal: and, that thee recoveries, however clandetinely begun, are now become by long ue and acquiecence a mot common aurance of lands; and are looked upon as the legal mode of coaveyance, by which tenant in tail may dipoe of his lands and tenements: o that no court will uffer them to be haken or reflected on, and even acts of parliament have by a idewind countenanced and etablihed them.

expedient having greatly abridged etates-tail with regard to their duration, others were oon invented to trip them of other privileges. The next that was attacked was their freedom from forfeitures for treaon. For, notwithtanding the large advances made by recoveries, in the compas of about threecore years, towards unfettering thee inheritances, and thereby ubjecting the lands to forfeiture, the rapacious prince then reigning, Rh