Evening star., 1898-12-20
IA CODE Of LAWS
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ment, in order to give preference, shall
be deemed assignment.
The law of attachment Us more compre-
hensive, both as to groundS for issuing and
mode of executing. than wi hat we have
heretofore. 1t also overcon3es the diff
which creditors often encodnter. II is
that creditor cannot file his bill to reach
the property of his debtors fraudulently
conveyed away until hH RECEIVERS Judgment,
and meanwhile the pRperfN may be spir
tied away. The new INV povides that the
fraudulent conveyance shall itself be a
ground for an attachment which be
levied on the very property in question and
thus secure it for the Judgment when re-
covered.
COnveyancing and Estates.
when we reach the subjects of convey
ancing and estates, we make an important
change in the common law by aboIishing
all those rules which grew out of the ne
cessity of creating freeholds by livery of
seisin, such as the rules that could
not convey a freehold to commence in fu-
ture that a contingent freehold must have
| a particular estate of freehold to support it.
and will be destroyed if the latter Is, and
that a contingent remainder cannot be con-
veyed at all. We provide by deed, create
any kind of future estate and convey the
same, even such as at common law could
only be created by will. We also, as these
codes do. abolish the old rule in Sheiey's
case.
There are also some important provis-
ions to mort rtgageS and deeds of trust.
They may be assigned ald released by the
creditors, in the most informal manner
without the action of tie trustee. If a
trustee dies and his heirs happen to be nom
resident, and it becomes necessary to have
| a new trustee appointed, it cannot be done
| at present without filing bill in equity
against him of the deceased. have known
L o1.
fore a decree can be had. The new code
| makes mortgage or deed of trust to vest
! in the mortgage or trustee only a oual-
! fed fee, determinable on a release by the
creditors or a judicial appointment of a
new trustee, and provides a proceeding to
which the heirs in question need not be
made parties, which may result in a decree
| in one day or ten days. 1t also contains
important provisions as to the rights and
| duties of trustees and others interested in
| the trust.
On Corporations.
The chapter on corporations includes
| the acts of Congress now in force as to
the different classes of corporations ex-
cept that as to insurance companies, for
which Is substituted one which has been
pending before Congress, and, / believe, is
there approved In addition to these are
three laws, in sub-chapters which | have
prepared, viz: One on building associations
one on foreign corporations doing business
mere, which Is intended to protect the peo-
pie who deal with them, and one on the
voluntary and forcible dissolution of cor
porations"
Crimes and Punishments.
THE chapter on crimes and punishments
is in some respects important. 1t creates
degrees in the crime Of murder which do
not exist here now and it gives definitions
Of different kind of homicide, after the
statutes of New York. In another part of
the code are provisions limiting the power
of reversal Of the Court Of Appeals in a
murder case, and requiring prompt decis-
ion as to such cases appealed. This chapter
distributes the numerous offenses made
punishable by acts of Congress into classes
1t extends the crime of embezzlement, so
as to make all fduciaries criminally re-
sponsible who misappFopriate the funds in
trusted to them. 1t Introduces very bene-
fetal change into the common law of GRIM
inal procedure. 81
"A misnomer of a prisoner, mistake as
to the ownership of the property in cases
of larceny, burglary, would at common law
be fatal to the Indictment. ut is now provid-
ed that all such mistakes may be corrected
by amending thei Indictment and the trial
shall pursue. Our statute of descents, de-
rived from Maryland, Contains an Irish bull
on its face. 1t provides that where one dies
| intestate seized iii fee OF real estate leaving
| no descendants. if the estate descended t0
him on part of the father (Which could only
| be if the father was dead5, 1t shall go first
| to the father, and if no father then TO his
descendants.
| ut also failed to provide for the case where
| it has descends from a collateral relative
| This last effect was remedied in Maryland
nearly eighty years ago, but has not been
| here. 1 have changed our law in these re-
spects, and also copied from the Maryland
| code provision allowing illegitimate chill
| dren to inherit from their known mother
! and from each other, and the mother to
| inherit from them, which remedies an
sured hardship of the common law
Important Changes.
"An important change is made in the law
| of ejectment, the defendant, u Ter certain
circumstances, being allowed to claim the
value Of his Improvements.
| ".The law of evidence has been somewhat
changed, SO that all persons shall be ad-
mitted to testify, even cenvicts and athe-
| lists, subject to question as to credibilty.
| In chapter XVII il is provided that eX-
ecutiOnS may be levied on equitable inter-
| est; but in such case it is required that at
| the marshal sale an abstract of the title shall
be exhibited, so as to secure the most ad-
VantaSeous sale as would be the case were
! bill in equity filed for the same subject.
! Some defects in old English statute of
frauds in force here are corrected.
Husband and Wife.
! ''The law to husband and wife is inn
| proved In the interest of the latter. The
! condition as to the validity of a marriage
are defined and provision made for annull-
ing invalid marriages by a decree. The
rights of landlords are better protected
than by existing law. They are allowed not
only to recover possession, but, also, in the
same action, to recover arrears of rent
double, for Illegal holding over and dam
ages for watts.
In the important matter of builders
liens pains are taken, in the chapter on
liens, to protect the rights both of the
owner and the contractor and the subcon-
tractor. The chapter negotiable instru-
ments IS the law recommended by the
American Bar Association to be passed in all
the states, so as to establish uniform law
on the subject, and is also pending in
Congress.
The chapter on pleadings aims to simplify
the forms and abolish some of the old com
mon law rules. 1t also provides that the
nlllntlm n law