Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-06-26
WHEN IS A MAN TWENTY.oNE.
A Question Not So Easy to Answer as
IL MAY Appear on the Surface.

II May Appear on the Surface.
"It Is often said that law is applied
common sense" said Prof John Wurts
of the Yale Law school, the other day,
when in town. while 1t is true that
law principles originated in common
sense, the law itself is the combined
experience of many men; for no two
men unlnstructed in law will agree as
to what Is applied common sense.
"Then there are many rules Of law
which undoubtedly have a common
sense origin; but conditions having
changed, history fails to disclose this
origin. Yet these very rules must be
retained in order not to shake person.
al and property rights. Therefore no
man can depend on his own unin-
structed common sense to know the
law.
ITO drive this statement home, I
have frequently put to an incoming
law GLASS the question, When does an
infant become Of age" The answer
is always unanimous: When he is
twenty-one years old
"The next question appears ridicu-
lous to some, and makes them laugh,
while others set their alleged common
sense at work, and never with correct
result: When Is man twenty-one
years old?'
Zone student says: ON his twenty
first birthday but Of course he does
not mean 1t, for he is about year out
Of the way Another ventures: On
the twenty-first anniversary Of his
birthday This sounds better, but
even If correct, is not specific enough.
When he has completed his twenty
first anniversary; AT the beginning Of
that day; On his twenty-first ami
versary, at the precise hour OF his
BIRTH are other answers.
And then surprise the guessers by
saying that they are all wrong.
I'm computing time 1t Is general
rule that the law disregards part of
day. In applying this rule, suppose
a man was born just one minute be-
fore midnight on January 2, 1880.
"At midnight he had lived but one
minute, yet the day on which he was
born was ended, and the law consid-
cred him one day old. So in comput-
ing the twenty-one years which man
must live in order to reach his major
ity we do not begin with the moment
of his birth, but with the commence
ment of the day of his birth.
Now, since we must start with the
first moment Of January 2, 1880, 1t Is
perhaps natural to say that this man
did not become twenty-one years old
until the close of January l, 1901.
Mathematically speaking this is true.
"Twenty-one years In that sense re-
uuires that the last moment Of Janu-
ary l, 1901, should have arrived In
order to make the man OF age, and
obviously, he was Of age at that point
of time. But here again the rule Is
applied.
"As the man was Of age on the last
moment Of January l, the law disre-
CARDS the entire part of the day inter-
vening between the first moment and
the last, and consequently he became
I'm law twenty-one years old on the
first moment of January /, 1901, the
day preceding the twenty-tirst anni-
sary of his birthday.
This rule is a part Of what Is
known as the common law and Is ap-
piled in this country in all states
where the common law Of England
has been adopted. and remains un-
changed by statute. A man may vote
or make a valid will or the day pre-
ceding the twenty-first anniversary OF
his birthday, although the right in the
one case and the capacity In the other
Is given only to persons who have
reached the age Of twenty-one years"
The Sun.