Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/189

 Ch. 11. order to ait uch perons as have any etate in remainder, reverion, or expectancy, after the death of others, againt fraudulent concealments of their deaths, it is enabled by the tatute 6 Ann. c. 18. that all perons on whoe lives any lands or tenements are holden, hall (upon application to the court of chancery and order made thereupon) once in every year, if required, be produced to the court, or it's commiioners; or, upon neglect or refual, they hall be taken to be actually dead, and the peron entitled to uch expectant etate may enter upon and hold the lands and tenements, till the party hall appear to be living.

we conclude the doctrine of remainders and reverions, it may be proper to oberve, that whenever a greater etate and a les coincide and meet in one and the ame peron, without any intermediate etate, the les is immediately annihilated; or, in the law phrae, is aid to be merged, that is, unk or drowned, in the greater. Thus, if there be tenant for years, and the reverion in fee-imple decends to or is purchaed by him, the term of years is merged in the inheritance, and hall never exit any more. But they mut come to one and the ame peron in one and the ame right; ele, if the freehold be in his own right, and he has a term in right of another (en auter droit) there is no merger. Therefore, if tenant for years dies, and makes him who hath the reverion in fee his executor, whereby the term of years vets alo in him, the term hall not merge; for he hath the fee in his own right, and the term of years in the right of the tetator, and ubject to his debts and legacies. So alo, if he who hath the reverion in fee marries the tenant for years, there is no merger; for he hath the inheritance in his own right, the leae in the right of his wife. An etate-tail is an exception to this rule: for a man may have in his own right both an etate-tail and a reverion in fee; and the etate-tail, though a les etate, hall not merge in the fee. For etates-tail are protected and preerved from Rh