Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/366

 350 1. party, to whom the land is to be conveyed or aured, commences an action or uit at law againt the other, generally an action of covenant, by uing out a writ or praecipe, called a writ of covenant : the foundation of which is a uppoed agreement or covenant, that the one hall convey the lands to the other; on the breach of which agreement the action is brought. On this writ there is due to the king, by antient prerogative, a primer fine, or a noble for every five marks of land ued for; that is, one tenth of the annual value. The uit being thus commenced, then follows,

2. licentia concordandi, or leave to agree the uit. For, as oon as the action is brought, the defendant, knowing himelf to be in the wrong, is uppoed to make overtures of peace and accommodation to the plaintiff. Who, accepting them, but having, upon uing out the writ, given pledges to proecute his uit, which he endangers if he now deerts it without licence, he therefore applies to the court for leave to make the matter up. This leave is readily granted, but for it there is alo another fine due to the king by his prerogative; which is an antient revenue of the crown, and is called the king's ilver, or ometimes the pot fine, with repect to the primer fine before-mentioned. And it is as much as the primer fine, and half as much more, or ten hillings for every five marks of land; that is, three twentieths of the uppoed annual value.

3. comes the concord, or agreement itelf, after leave obtained from the court; which is uually an acknowlegement from the deforciants (or thoe who keep the other out of poeion) that the lands in quetion are the right of the complainant. And from this acknowlegement, or recognition of right, the party levying the fine is called the cognizor, and he to whom it Rh