Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/360

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SSURANCES by matter of record are uch as do not entirely depend on the act or conent of the parties themelves: but the anction of a court of record is called in, to ubtantiate, preerve, and be a perpetual tetimony of, the transfer of property from one man to another; or of it's etablihment, when already transferred. Of this nature are, 1. Private acts of parliament. 2. The king's grants. 3. Fines. 4. Common recoveries.

I. acts of parliament are, epecially of late years, become a very common mode of aurance. For it may ometimes happen, that, by the ingenuity of ome, and the blunders of other practitioners, an etate is mot grievouly entangled by a multitude of contingent remainders, reulting truts, pringing ues, executory devies, and the like artificial contrivances; (a confuion unknown to the imple conveyances of the common law) o that it is out of the power of either the courts of law or equity to relieve the owner. Or it may ometimes happen, that, by the trictnes or omiions of family ettlements, the tenant of the etate is abridged of ome reaonable power, (as letting leaes, making a jointure for a wife, or the like) which power cannot be given him by the ordinary judges either in common law or equity. Or it may be neceary, in ettling an etate, to ecure it againt the claims of infants or other perons Rh