Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/96

 84 therefore, who continues latet with the father, is naturally the heir of his houe, the ret being already provided for. And thus we find that, among many other northern nations, it was the cutom for all the ons but one to migrate from the father, which one became his heir. So that poibly this cutom, wherever it prevails, may be the remnant of that patoral tate of our Britih and German ancetors, which Caear and Tacitus decribe. Other pecial cutoms there are in burgage tenures; as that the wife hall be endowed of all her huband's tenements, and not of the third part only, as at the common law: and that a man might dipoe of his tenements by will , which, in general, was not permitted after the conquet till the reign of Henry the eighth; though in the Saxon times it was allowable. A pregnant proof that thee liberties of ocage tenure were fragments of Saxon liberty.

nature of the tenure in gavelkind affords us a till tronger argument. It is univerally known what truggles the Kentihmen made to preerve their antient liberties; and with how much ucces thoe truggles were attended. And as it is principally here that we meet with the cutom of gavelkind, (though it was and is to be found in ome other parts of the kingdom ) we may fairly conclude that this was a part of thoe liberties; agreeably to Mr Selden's opinion, that gavelkind before the Norman conquet was the general cutom of the realm. The ditinguihing properties of this tenure are various: ome of the principal are thee; 1. The tenant is of age ufficient to aliene his etate by feoffment at the age of fifteen. 2. The etate does not echeat in cae of an attainder and execution for felony; their maxim being, "the father to the bough, the on to the plough ." 3. In mot places Rh