ancestors; 2dly, where he dies without any relations on the part of those ancestors from whom the estate descended; and 3dly, where he dies without any relations of the whole blood. In all these cases the lands escheat, because there is no one capable of inheriting them (a).

An extinguishment of inheritable blood takes place, and the doctrine of escheat to be lord of the fee also obtains, if there be no other heir to the party who died seised but a monster, which has not the shape of mankind, and in any part evidently. bears the resemblance of the brute creation, for such monster cannot inherit (b). And the same doctrine applies where the only claimant is illegitimate (c). And as bastards cannot be heirs themselves, so neither can they have any heirs but those of their own bodies. For as all collateral kindred consists in being derived from the same common ancestor, and as a bastard has no legal ancestors, he can have no collateral kindred; and, consequently, can have no legal heirs, but such as claim by a lineal descent from himself. And therefore if a bastard purchase land, and die seised thereof without issue, and intestate, the land shall escheat to the lord of the fee (d).

There is another case in which lands may escheat to the lord propter defectum sanguinis, and that is where a man leaves no other relations but aliens (the persons falling within which denomination have been already considered); for it is a rule of law, founded as much on political as feudal principles, that aliens cannot take by descent, and are incapable of inheriting (e). In every country restraints have been laid upon aliens : in England the disabilities to which they are subject are not imposed on them as penalties and forfeitures, but are founded on the necessary policy of the state (ƒ).

Aliens have no inheritable blood to transmit, and consequently can have no heirs (g), unless made denizens by the King, or naturalized by Act of Parliament. In the first case

children born after the denization may inherit, in the latter they may whether born before or after (a).

It may not perhaps be irrelevant to consider in this place the rights of the Crown on an alien purchasing lands. Aliens are by law incapable of holding lands by purchase (b): but their purchases stand good (c), and as every person resident in the country is prima facie a natural born subject, the freehold remains in them (d), till on office or inquisition the same are divested and seised to the King's use (e); for on office found the King by his prerogative is entitled to such lands of whomsoever they are holden (f). But if an alien who can have no heir purchase land and die, the freehold is cast upon and is in the King without office found (g): unless after the purchase he has been made a denizen and hath issue; for in such case the son has a plausible, though not a legal (h) claim, which should be investigated and disproved only on office found (i). In general if a denizen purchase a fee, and die without issue, the lord of the fee shall have the escheat, and not the King, the effect of denization being to enable the party to purchase (k). It should be remarked, that though an alien may hold under a purchase, that is, till office found, and the land then enures for the benefit of the Crown, yet he cannot, even for the benefit of the King, take by act of law, as by descent, &c. (l). And if he purchase in the name of J. S. in trust, &c. the legal estate being in the latter, it is held the Crown must sue in Chancery to have the trust executed

(a) I Bla. C. 374. 2 Ibid. 250. (b) Co Lit. 2.

(c) 1 Bla. Com. 372.

(d) And therefore on a covenant to stand scised an use will arise for an alien, Godb. 275. Feoffiment to an alien, &c. Dyer, 283, b.

(e) Co. Lit. 2, a. 5 Co. 52, b. 1 Bac. Ab. 133. Before office recovery by an alien tenant in tail will bar remainder, Gonldst. 102. 4 Leon. 84. But even before office found the King is so far entitled to the property as to have a right to the assistance of a Court of Equity to enforce a discovery of the fact of alienage. Park. 144.

(f) If an alien purchase a copyhold, it is said that it shall escheat to the lord. Dyer, 2, b. and 303, a. in marg. But see 1 Mod. 17; and All. 14. Hargr. n. 4, and Co. Lit. 2, b.

(g) Ibid. Co. Lit. 2, b. See in Plowd. 229, several cases, in which, for a like reason, the King is entitled without office. See 12 East, 96, and post. c. 12. s. 2. Offices.

for his benefit (a). The King is it seems entitled to a lease for years taken by an alien contrary to 32 Hen. 8. c. 16. s. 13 (b).

2. On the same principles of the feudal system is founded the doctrine of escheats to the lord of the fee propter delictum tenentis. The blood of the tenant being corrupted and rendered no longer inheritable by an attainder, the original denonination of the feud is altered and determined: it being always granted to the vassal on the implied condition of dum bene se gesserit (c). It is in this point of view that escheats to the lord, and forfeitures of lands to the Crown, which have sometimes been confounded together, essentially differ; for forfeitures were, as before observed, used and inflicted as punishments by the old Saxon law without the least relation to the feudal system, and they differ in other material respects (d).

At common law the blood was corrupted by an attainder (but not till the attainder) of high treason, or any species of felony. In the former case it still obtains, except in the instance of treasons respecting the coin (e). But by a late statute 54 G. 3. c. 145. the corruption of blood and a forfeiture of lands after death is taken away in all cases, except high and petit treason and murder, so that no attainder for any other felony "shall extend to the disinheriting of any heir, nor to the prejudice of the right or title of any person other than the right or title of the offender during his natural life only; and that it shall be lawful to every person to whom the right or interest of any lands or hereditaments after the death of any such offender should or might have appertained if no such attainder had been, to enter into the same."

We have already seen to whom escheats revert, that is, to the lord of the fee, who is almost universally the King. In the case of attainder of high treason, the superior law of for

(a) 1 Bla. Rep. 144; and 1 Bac. Ab. 134, cites Rol. Ab. 194. Hob, 214. Cro. Jac. 512. Allen, 14. Style, 20, 21, 76. Parker, 156. See 13 Geo. 3. c. 14. which enables aliens to lend money on West India Land.

(6) Co. Lit. 2, b. and n. 6. See notes,

Ibid.

(c) 1 Inst. 8, a. 391, b. 2 Bla. Com. 252.

(d) 1 Bla. Rep. 143.

(e) 5 El. c. 11. s. 2. 18 El. c. 1. s. 2. 8 and 9 W. 3. c. 26, s. 8. 15 Geo. 2. c. 28. s. 4.

feiture

feiture intervenes, and renders the doctrine of escheat irre-levant; for by such attainder lands of inheritance, though holden of another lord, are forfeited to the Crown, there being an exception in the oath of fealty which saves the tenant's allegiance to the King (a). In case of petit treason and murder no absolute forfeiture of lands is incurred: and in these cases the 54 G. 3. does not take away the corruption of blood; and therefore in such instances the law of escheats is still important and applicable.

Though the land escheat to another lord the King is entitled, before such lord enter, to his year day and waste which has been already considered.

The corruption of the offender's blood by an attainder of high treason, petit treason, or murder (which alone can now occasion it), renders him ignoble, and annihilates his honours and dignities (b). Unlike the case of mere forfeiture for offences, it not only causes all he has to escheat from him, but renders him incapable of inheriting any thing in future (c); so that property subsequently acquired escheats to the Crown(d). And if therefore a father be seised in fee, and the son commit treason and is attainted, and then the father die; here the lands escheat to the lord; because the son, by the corruption of his blood, is incapable to be heir, and there can be no other heir during his life; but nothing shall be forfeited to the King, for the son never had any interest in the lands to forfeit (e). In this case the escheat operates, and not the forfeiture; but in the following instance the forfeiture works, and not the escheat. As where a new felony is created by Act of Parliament, and it is provided (as is frequently the case), that it shall not extend to corruption of blood; here the lands of the felon shall not escheat to the lord, but yet the profits of them shall be forfeited to the King for a year and a day, and so long after as the offender lives (ƒ).

The corruption of blood affects also the posterity of the offender. His blood being corrupted and rendered imper

(a) 1 Hale, P. C. 360. Bac. Ab. Forfeiture, A. and Prerogative, B. 2. ante, ch. 2. s. 2.

(b) Co. Lit. 8, 41. 3 Inst. 211. Hawk. b. 2. c. 4. s. 47.

(c) 2 Bla. Com. 253.
(d) Co. Lit. 2, b.
(e) Co. Lit. 13.

(f) 3 Inst. 47. 2 Bla. Com. 253.

vious, he is not only unable to transmit his own property by heirship, but obstructs the descent of lands to his heirs, in all cases where they are obliged to derive their title through him from any remoter ancestor (a). Therefore, the son of an attainted traitor cannot inherit his grandfather's lands, but they escheat to the Crown (b); and where there were two brothers, and the youngest had issue a son, and was attainted of treason, and executed, it was held, that the son of the youngest brother could not inherit from his uncle, because he must derive his descent through his father (c). It is, however, a clear rule, that the corruption of blood does not affect the succession of collateral issue; so that if a person whose blood is corrupted has sons, one of whom acquires an estate of his own, and dies without issue, his brother will inherit, because there is no necessity in such a case to make any mention of the father (d). And it is a general rule, that where there is no necessity to name the individual attainted in a title, his corruption of blood will not vitiate, though the ancestor be ever so distant (e). Thus, for example, if there be a father and two sons, and the eldest is attainted in the lifetime of the father, and dies without issue, the younger son will succeed to those estates which otherwise would have descended to his brother; but if the elder son, who was attainted, survive the father but a day, so as to have been placed in his room, the lands must escheat, and the succession be for ever defeated (f). A person may, however, inherit from one of his parents, though the other should be attainted of treason, or felony, for duplicatus sanguis is not necessary in descents. Therefore, if an attainted person marry an heiress, and have issue by her, that issue shall inherit, for the marriage was lawful, and he claims only from the mother (g).

All lands and tenements held in socage, whether of the King or of a subject, are liable to the law of escheats; as are copyhold lands, on attainder, which, however, revert to the lord of

(a) Hal. P. C. 356. (b) Ibid.

(c) Grey's Case., Dyer, 274. Cro. Car. 543. 3 Cruise Dig. 379.

(d) Co. Lit. 8, a. 1 Hale, 357. Hawk. b. 2. c. 49. s. 49. 1 Chitty, Crim. L.

740.

(e) Hawk. b. 2. c. 49. s. 49. Bac. Ab. Forfeiture, G..

(f) 1 Chitty, Crim. L. 741.

(g) Jenk. Cent. 1. ca. 2. Cent. 5. ca. 27. Noy. 168.3 Cruise Dig. 378.