Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/243

 Ch. 14. ame probability of that tanding requiite in the law, that he be derived from the blood of the firt purchaor.

illutrate this by example. Let there be John Stiles, and Francis, brothers by the ame father and mother, and another on of the ame mother by Lewis Gay a econd huband. Now, if John dies eied of lands, but it is uncertain whether they decended to him from his father or mother; in this cae his brother Francis, of the whole blood, is qualified to be his heir; for he is ure to be in the line of decent from the firt purchaor, whether it were the line of the father or the mother. But if Francis hould die before John, without iue, the mother's on by Lewis Gay (or brother of the half blood) is utterly incapable of being heir; for he cannot prove his decent from the firt purchaor, who is unknown, nor has he that fair probability which the law admits as preumptive evidence, ince he is to the full as likely not to be decended from the line of the firt purchaor, as to be decended: and therefore the inheritance hall go to the nearet relation poeed of this preumptive proof, the whole blood.

, as this is the cae in feudis antiquis, where there really did once exit a purchaing ancetor, who is forgotten; it is alo the cae in feudis novis held ut antiquis, where the purchaing ancetor is merely ideal, and never exited but only in fiction of law. Of this nature are all grants of lands in fee-imple at this day, which are inheritable as if they decended from ome uncertain indefinite ancetor, and therefore any of the collateral kindred of the real modern purchaor (and not his own offspring only) may inherit them, provided they be of the whole blood; for all uch are, in judgment of law, likely enough to be derived from this indefinite ancetor: but thoe of the half blood are excluded, for want of the ame probability. Nor hould this be thought hard, that a brother of the purchaor, though only of the half blood, mut thus be diinherited, and a more remote relation of the whole blood admitted, merely upon a uppoition and Rh