Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/377

 Ch. 21. ces of this conveyance was hortened, and rendered les ubject to niceties, by either totally repealing the tatute de donis; which perhaps, by reviving the old doctrine of conditional fees, might give birth to many litigations: or by veting in every tenant in tail of full age the ame abolute fee-imple at once, which now he may obtain whenever he pleaes, by the colluive fiction of a common recovery; though this might poibly bear hard upon thoe in remainder or reverion, by abridging the chances they would otherwie frequently have, as no recovery can be uffered in the intervals between term and term, which ometimes continue for near five months together: or, latly, by empowering the tenant in tail to bar the etate-tail by a olemn deed, to be made in term time and enrolled in ome court of record; which is liable to neither of the other objections, and is warranted not only by the uage of our American colonies, but by the precedent of the tatute 21 Jac. I. c. 19. which, in cae of a bankrupt tenant in tail, empowers his commiioners to ell the etate at any time, by deed indented and enrolled. And if, in o national a concern, the emoluments of the officers, concerned in paing recoveries, are thought to be worthy attention, thoe might be provided for in the fees to be paid upon each enrollment.

2. force and effect of common recoveries may appear, from what has been aid, to be an abolute bar not only of all etates-tail, but of remainders and reverions expectant on the determination of uch etates. So that a tenant in tail may, by this method of aurance, convey the lands held in tail to the recoveror his heirs and aigns, abolutely free and dicharged of all conditions and limitations in tail, and of all remainders and reverions. But, by tatute 34 & 35 Hen. VIII. c. 20. no recovery had againt tenant in tail, of the king's gift, whereof the remainder or reverion is in the king, hall bar uch etate tail, or the remainder or reverion of the crown. And by the tatute 11 Hen. VII. c. 20. no woman, after her huband's death, hall uffer a recovery of lands ettled on her in tail by way of jointure Rh