The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-04-01

was probably held not to occasion any
forfeiture: and then, by preteXt OF
some other forfeiture, surrender or
the society entered into those
lands in right of such their newly ac-
quired signiory. as immediate lords
of the free. But when the donations
began to grow numerous. it was OBJ
served that the feudal services. ordain-
ed for the defence of the kingdom.
were every day Visibly withdrawn;
and the circulation Of landed property
from man to man began to Stagnate;
and that the lords were curtailed of
the fruits of their signiories, their es-
cheats. wardships, reliefs. and the like
and therefore, in order to prevent this,
il was ordered by the second of King
Henry Ills great charter, that all
such attempts should be void, and the
land forfeited TO the lord of the fee.
''But. as this prohibition extended
only to religious houses, bishops and
other sole corporations were not IN
cluded therein: and the aggregate ec-
clesiastical bodies found many means
TO creep out of this statute, by buying
in lands that We're bona fide holden
Of themselves as lord of tie fee, and
thereby evading the forfeiture; or by
taking long leases for years. This pro-
duced the statute Of Edward l,
which provided, that no person. rellg-
iOuS or other whatsoever. should buy.
or sell, or receive under pretense of
n gift, or term of Years, or any other
title Whatsoever. nor should by any art
or ingenuity appropriate to himself,
and lands or tenements in mortmain.
on pain of forfeiture.
This seemed to be sufficient Sc
curity against all alterations in mort
main: bat as these statutes extended
only to gifts and conveyances between
the parties. the religious houses now
began to set up fictitious title to the
land, which it was intended they
should have. and to bring an action
TO recover it against the tenant. who,
by fraud and collision, made no de-
fence. and thereby Judgment was Civ
en- for the religious house. which then
recovered the land by sentence of law
upon a supposed prior title. But upon
this the statute of Westminster the
second, 13 Edw. /, ch. 80. enacted. that
in such cases a jury shall try the true
right of the plaintiff to the land.
and if the religious house or corpora
tion be found to have it. they shall
still recover seizin: otherwise it shall
be forfeited.
Yet still it was found difficult to
set bounds to ecclesiastical ingenuity:
for when they were driven ont OF
their former holds. they devised new
method of conveyance, by which the
lands were granted, moi TO themselves
directly. but to nominal feofeeS to the
use of the religious houses; thus dis
tin2ulShing between the possession
and the use, and receiving the actual
profits, while the seiZin of the land
remained in the nominal feofee; who
was held by the court in equity (then
under the direction of the clergy) to
be bound in conscience TO account to
his cestuy que use for the rents and
emommentS of the estate. And it is
TO these inventions that our practicers
are indebted for the introduction of
uses and trust, the foundation of mo-
dern conveyance. But unfortunately.
for the inventors themselves. they did
not long enjoy the advantage of their
new device. for the statute of Is Ric.
ii. ch. enacts. that the lands which
have been so purchased to uses shall
be amortised by license from the
crown, or else be sold to private per-
sons: and that for the future, uses
shall be subject to the statutes. OF
mortmain, and forfeitable like the
lands themselves"
The trust are too powerful to cope
with-they are stronger than the peo-
pIe--it is folly to attempt to combat
them"
This is the mental attitude of
large proportion of our people who
do not give expression to their eel
ings. Many who realize that these in
corporated Dalton gangs" are throt-
Ting the life out of competition and
leaving strewn along life's pathway
wreck and ruin. feel that 1--WE have
our hand in the lions mouth" and
the less noise we make the better.
There is sometimes a power in the
doctrine of ''non-reSistance"--T
the great Russian writer and patriot,
teaches that doctrine, and our Quaker
folks refuse to take up arms even in
defense of their homes when invaded
bE the enemy. But the good book
teaches lis to fight a good fight" to
''put on the armor OF righteousness
and Shakespeare tells us that thrice
armed is he that hath his quarrel
just
If the onward march of organized
aggression on manhood and woman
hood is retarded, there must be intel
lgent. fearless and unremitting re-
sistance. and the people who suffer
must fight their own battles.
First, we must have laws that are
capable of being enforced against
these outlaws.
TO secure the passage of such laws
we cannot rely upon the hired repre-
sentatives of these trusts to pass
them. We must not constitute the
fox the guardian of the chicken.
If those who thought that the hold
ing OF the lands of England in the
dead hand" of the church, was cal
culated to destroy the independence
of the people, had sent as their law
makers to enact laws to etfectuate
their desires, the monks and clergy
who were growing fat from the sys-
tenn. they would have acted almost as
foolishly as the people of this day act
when they send as their representa-
tives to the halls of State Legislatures
and National Congresses the men who
are dependent for the bread they eat