Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/159

 Ch. 9. before-mentioned; and, by a parity of reaon, the leee after the determination of the leor's will, hall have reaonable ingres and egres to fetch away his goods and utenils. And, if rent be payable quarterly or half-yearly, and the leee determines the will, the rent hall be paid to the end of the current quarter or half-year. And, upon the ame principle, courts of law have of late years leant as much as poible againt contruing demies, where no certain term is mentioned, to be tenancies at will; but have rather held them to be tenancies from year to year o long as both parties pleae, epecially where an annual rent is reerved: in which cae they will not uffer either party to determine the tenancy even at the end of the year, without reaonable notice to the other.

is one pecies of etates at will, that deerves a more particular regard than any others and that is, an etate held by copy of court roll; or, as we uually call it, a copyhold etate. This, as was before oberved, was in it's original and foundation nothing better than a mere etate at will. But, the kindnes and indulgence of ucceive lords of manors having permitted thee etates to be enjoyed by the tenants and their heirs, according to particular cutoms etablihed in their repective ditricts; therefore, though they till are held at the will of the lord, and o are in general expreed in the court rolls to be, yet that will is qualified, retrained, and limited, to be exerted according to the cutom of the manor. This cutom, being uffered to grow up by the lord, is looked upon as the evidence and interpreter of his will: his will is no longer arbitrary and precarious; but fixed and acertained by the cutom to be the ame, and no other, that has time out of mind been exercied and declared by his ancetors. A copyhold tenant is therefore now full as properly a tenant by the cutom, as a tenant at will, the cutom having arien from a eries of uniform wills. And therefore it is rightly oberved by Calthorpe, that "copyholders and cutomary tenants differ not Rh