Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/42

 30 make a good and ufficient modus, the following rules mut be oberved. 1. It mut be certain and invariable, for payment of different ums will prove it to be no modus, that is, no original real compoition; becaue that mut have been one and the ame, from it's firt original to the preent time. 2. The thing given, in lieu of tithes, mut be beneficial to the paron, and not for the emolument of third perons only : thus a modus, to repair the church in lieu of tithes, is not good, becaue that is an advantage to the parih only; but to repair the chancel is a good modus, for that is an advantage to the paron. 3. It mut be omething different from the thing compounded for : one load of hay, in lieu of all tithe hay, is no good modus: for no paron would, bona fide, make a compoition to receive les than his due in the ame pecies of tithe; and therefore the law will not uppoe it poible for uch compoition to have exited. 4. One cannot be dicharged from payment of one pecies of tithe, by paying a modus for another. Thus a modus of 1d. for every milch cow will dicharge the tithe of milch kine, but not of barren cattle: for tithe is, of common right, due for both; and therefore a modus for one hall never be a dicharge for the other. 5. The recompene mut be in it's nature as durable as the tithes dicharged by it; that is, an inheritance certain : and therefore a modus that every inhabitant of a houe hall pay 4d. a year, in lieu of the owner's tithes, is no good modus; for polibly the houe may not be inhabited, and then the recompene will be lot. 6. The modus mut not be too large, which in law is called a rank modus: as if the real value of the tithes be 60𝑙. per annum, and a modus is uggeted of 40𝑙. this modus will not be good; though one of 40s. might have been valid. For, in thee caes of precriptive or cutomary modus's, the law uppoes an original real compoition to have been regularly made; which being lot by length of time, the immemorial uage is admitted Rh