Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/25

 Ch. 1. ments. In England particularly, this diverity is carried to uch a length, as if it had been meant to point out the power of the laws in regulating the ucceion to property, and how futile every claim mut be that has not it's foundation in the poitive rules of the tate. In peronal etates the father may ucceed to his children; in landed property he never can be their immediate heir, by any the remotet poibility: in general only the eldet on, in ome places only the younget, in others all the ons together, have a right to ucceed to the inheritance: in real etates males are preferred to females, and the eldet male will uually exclude the ret; in the diviion of peronal etates, the females of equal degree are admitted together with the males, and no right of primogeniture is allowed.

one conideration may help to remove the cruples of many well-meaning perons, who et up a mitaken concience in oppoition to the rules of law. If a man diinherits his on, by a will duly executed, and leaves his etate to a tranger, there are many who conider this proceeding as contrary to natural jutice: while others o crupulouly adhere to the uppoed intention of the dead, that if a will of lands be atteted by only two witnees intead of three, which the law requires, they are apt to imagine that the heir is bound in concience to relinquih his title to the deviee. But both of them certainly proceed upon very erroneous principles: as if, on the one hand, the on had by nature a right to ucceed to his father's lands; or as if, on the other hand, the owner was by nature intitled to direct the ucceion of his property after his own deceae. Whereas the law of nature uggets, that on the death of the poeor the etate hould again become common, and be open to the next occupant, unles otherwie ordered for the ake of civil peace by the poitive law of ociety. The poitive law of ociety, which is with us the municipal law of England, directs it to vet in uch peron as the lat proprietor hall by will, attended with certain requiites, appoint; and, in defect of uch appointment, to go to ome particular peron, who, from the reult of certain local Rh