Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/154

 142 profits at a ettled price, than as having any property of their own. And therefore they were not allowed to have a freehold etate: but their interet (uch as it was) veted after their deaths in their executors, who were to make up the accounts of their tetator with the lord, and his other creditors, and were intitled to the tock upon the farm. The leee's etate might alo, by the antient law, be at any time defeated, by a common recovery uffered by the tenant of the freehold ; which annihilated all leaes for years then ubiting, unles afterwards renewed by the recoveror, whoe title was uppoed uperior to his by whom thoe leaes were granted.

etates for years were thus precarious, it is no wonder that they were uually very hort, like our modern leaes upon rack rent; and indeed we are told that by the antient law no leaes for more than forty years were allowable, becaue any longer poeion (epecially when given without any livery declaring the nature and duration of the etate) might tend to defeat the inheritance. Yet this law, if ever it exited, was oon antiquated: for we may oberve, in Madox's collection of antient intruments, ome leaes for years of a pretty early date, which coniderably exceed that period ; and long terms, for three hundred years at leat, were certainty in ue in the time of Edward III, and probably of Edward I. But certainly, when by the tatute 21 Hen. VIII. c. 15. the termor (that is, he who is intitled to the term of years) was protected againt thee fictitious recoveries, and his interet rendered ecure and permanent, long terms began to be more frequent than before; and were afterwards extenively introduced, being found extremely convenient for family ettlements and mortgages: continuing ubject, however, to the ame rules of ucceion, and with the ame inferiority to freeholds, Rh