Chapter the seventh.
Of FREEHOLD ESTATES, of INHERITANCE.
THE next objects of our diſquiſitions are the nature and properties of eſtates. An eſtate in lands, tenements, and hereditaments, ſignifies ſuch intereſt as the tenant hath therein: ſo that if a man grants all his eſtate in Dale to A and his heirs, every thing that he can poſſibly grant ſhall paſs thereby[1]. It is called in Latin, ſtatus; it ſignifying the condition, or circumſtance, in which the owner ſtands, with regard to his property. And, to aſcertain this with proper preciſion and accuracy, eſtates may be conſidered in a threefold view: firſt, with regard to the quantity of intereſt which the tenant has in the tenement: ſecondly, with regard to the time at which that quantity of intereſt is to be enjoyed: and, thirdly, with regard to the number and
connexions of the tenants.
First, with regard to the quantity of intereſt which the tenant has in the tenement, this is meaſured by it's duration and extent. Thus, either his right of poſſeſſion is to ſubſiſt for an uncertain period, during his own life, or the life of another man; to determine at his own deceaſe, or to remain to his deſcendants after him: or it is circumſcribed within a certain number of years, months, or days: or, laſtly, it is infinite and unlimited, being veſted in him and his repreſentatives for ever. And this
- ↑ Co. Litt. 345.
