Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/89

 Ch. 5. equivalent to abolih them all; though the plan then proceeded not to effect: in like manner as he had formed a cheme, and began to put it in execution, for removing the feodal grievance of heretable juridictions in Scotland, which has lince been purued and effected by the tatute 20 Geo. II. c. 43. King James's plan for exchanging our military tenures eems to have been nearly the ame as that which has been ince purued; only with this difference, that, by way of compenation for the los which the crown and other lords would utain, an annual feefarm rent hould be ettled and ineparably annexed to the crown, and allured to the inferior lords, payable out of every knight's fee within their repective eignories. An expedient, eemingly much better than the hereditary excie, which was afterwards made the principal equivalent for thee conceions. For at length the military tenures, with all their heavy appendages, were detroyed at one blow by the tatute 12 Car. II. c. 24. which enacts, "that the court of wards and liveries, and all wardhips, liveries, primer eiins, and outerlemains, values and forfeitures of marriages, by reaon of any tenure of the king or others, be totally taken away. And that all fines for alienations, tenures by homage, knights-ervice, and ecuage, and alo aids for marrying the daughter or knighting the on, and all tenures of the king in capite, be likewie taken away. And that all orts of tenures, held of the king or others, be turned into free and common ocage; ave only tenures in frankalmoign, copyholds, and the honorary ervices (without the lavih part) of grand erjeanty." A tatute, which was a greater acquiition to the civil property of this kingdom than even magna carta itelf: ince that only pruned the luxuriances that had grown out of the military tenures, and thereby preerved them in vigour; but the tatute of king Charles extirpated the whole, and demolihed both root and branches.