the poſſeſſions of the church being, by this and other means, every day diminiſhed, the diſabling ſtatute 13 Eliz. c. 10. was made; which prevents, among other ſpiritual perſons, all parſons and vicars from making any conveyances of the eſtates of their churches, other than for three lives or twenty one years. So that now, by virtue of this ſtatute, no real compoſition made ſince the 13 Eliz. is good for any longer term than three lives or twenty one years, though made by conſent of the patron and ordinary: which has indeed effectually demoliſhed this kind of traffick; ſuch compoſitions being now rarely heard of, unleſs by authority of parliament.
Secondly, a diſcharge by cuſtom or preſcription, is where time out of mind ſuch perſons or ſuch lands have been, either partially or totally, diſcharged from the payment of tithes. And this immemorial uſage is binding upon all parties, as it is in it's nature an evidence of univerſal conſent and acquieſcence; and with reaſon ſuppoſes a real compoſition to have been formerly made. This cuſtom or preſcription is either de modo decimandi, or de non decimando.
A modus decimandi, commonly called by the ſimple name of a modus only, is where there is by cuſtom a particular manner of tithing allowed, different from the general law of taking tithes in kind, which are the actual tenth part of the annual increaſe. This is ſometimes a pecuniary compenſation, as twopence an acre for the tithe of land: ſometimes it is a compenſation in work and labour, as that the parſon ſhall have only the twelfth cock of hay, and not the tenth, in conſideration of the owner's making it for him: ſometimes, in lieu of a large quantity of crude or imperfect tithe, the parſon ſhall have a leſs quantity, when arrived to greater maturity, as a couple of fowls in lieu of tithe eggs; and the like. Any means, in ſhort, whereby the general law of tithing is altered, and a new method of taking them is introduced, is called a modus decimandi, or ſpecial manner of tithing.
