Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/197

 Ch. 12. 3. are, latly, to enquire, how an etate in joint-tenancy may he evered and detroyed. And this may be done by detroying any of it's contituent unities. 1. That of time, which repects only the original commencement of the joint etate, cannot indeed (being now pat) be affected by any ubequent tranactions. But, 2. The joint-tenants' etate may be detroyed, without any alienation, by merely diuniting their poeion. For joint-tenants being eied per my et per tout, every thing that tends to narrow that interet, o that they hall not be eied throughout the whole, and throughout every part, is a everance or detruction of the jointure. And therefore, if two joint-tenants agree to part their lands, and hold them in everalty, they are no longer joint-tenants; for they have now no joint-interet in the whole, but only a everal interet repectively in the everal parts. And, for that reaon alo, the right of urvivorhip is by uch eparation detroyed. By common law all the joint-tenants might agree to make partition of the lands, but one of them could not compel the others o to do : for, this being an etate originally created by the act and agreement of the parties, the law would not permit any one or more of them to detroy the united poeion without a imilar univeral conent. But now by the tatutes 31 Hen. VIII. c. 1. and 32 Hen. VIII. c. 32. joint-tenants, either of inheritances or other les etates, are compellable by writ of partition to divide their lands. 3. The jointure may be detroyed, by detroying the unity of title. As if one joint-tenant alienes and conveys his etate to a third peron: here the joint-tenancy is evered, and turned into tenancy in common ; for the grantee and the remaining joint-tenant hold by different titles, (one derived from the original, the other from the ubequent, grantor) though, till partition made, the unity of poeion conti- Rh