Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/281

 Ch. 17. always be laid in him that is tenant of the fee. A tenant for life, for years, at will, or a copyholder, cannot precribe, by reaon of the imbecillity of their etates. For, as precription is uage beyond time of memory, it is aburd that they hould pretend to precribe, whoe etates commenced within the remembrance of man. And therefore the copyholder mut precribe under cover of his lord's etate, and the tenant for life under cover of the tenant in fee-imple. As, if tenant for life of a manor would precribe for a right of common as appurtenant to the ame, he mut precribe under cover of the tenant in fee-imple; and mut plead, that John Stiles and his ancetors had immemorially ued to have this right of common, appurtenant to the aid manor, and that John Stiles demied the aid manor, with it's appurtenances, to him the aid tenant for life. 3. A precription cannot be for a thing which cannot be raied by grant. For the law allows precription only in upply of the los of a grant, and therefore every precription preuppoes a grant to have exited. Thus a lord of a manor cannot precribe to raie a tax or toll upon trangers; for, as uch claim could never have been good by any grant, it hall not be good by precription. 4. A fourth rule is, that what is to arie by matter of record cannot be precribed for, but mut be claimed by grant, entered on record; uch as, for intance, the royal franchies of deodands, felons' goods, and the like. Thee, not being forfeited till the matter on which they arie is found by the inquiition of a jury, and o made a matter of record, the forfeiture itelf cannot be claimed by any inferior title. But the franchies of treafure-trove, waifs, etrays, and the like, may be claimed by precription; for they arie from private contingencies, and not from any matter of record. 5. Among things incorporeal, which may be claimed by precription, a ditinction mut be made with regard to the manner of precribing; that is, whether a man hall precribe in a que etate, or in himelf and his ancetors. For, if a man precribes in a que etate, (that is, in himelf and thoe whoe etate he holds) nothing is claim- Rh