Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-06-30

|. weekly in this newspaper for the
information Of its readers on real
= estate matters.
q People who think that the indie
| pendence OF women is something
new viii be interested to learn that
women could own property in their
! own right two thousand years ago
In the Grecian city OF Gortyna on
the island of Crete, says the Nation
al Association OF Real Estate Boards
IN its weekly article on subjects
having to do with land.
The conveyancing or transfer Of
property had well defined rules for
the protection of the property own
er IN the laws of all the ancient
legal systems in the world, points
out the association.
The association quotes on this
subject the eminent DR.. John Henry
Wigmore, professor Of law at North
western University, Chicago. ack-
l~owledged authority on legal con-
racts, who has just published a
hree volume book entitled "A Pam
Drama of the Worlds Legal Sys-
TENS" DR.. Wigmore spent 10 years
on this work. the first of its kind
TO be attempted.
The longest real estate deed IN the
world, recently discovered, is written
In Arabic and dates from the Is
1 00's. says DR.. Wigmore in his chap
tiers on the Islamic or Mohamme-
dan Legal System. This. deed.
(which established a trust in favor
Il of the grantor's heirs and freedom.
Us in the Khedivial RoyaD Library
II ut Cairo.
"Conveyancing Of property In the
slamic OF property in the Islamic
n Iystem reached a development well
comparable with that Of the modern
anglican system. not only in the
4 ftandard forms but also IN the teen
I fnical concepts" says DR.. Wigmore.
1.-The 'wakuf' or trust. .... exhibits
the remarkable juristic instinct OF
the Arab thinkers. In the 'wauf
they invented a legal concept which
equals. If not eXcels, in originality
A and practical utility. the Anglican
trust; 1t combines the ideas OF trust,
family entail, and charitable foun-
dalton. The grantor transfers the
bare legal title TO God, and ap-
n points an administrator TO man
The property for the beneficiary:
4 there are four parties to the
ttshsaction. This ~expedient has
kproved so flexible and so popular
THAT In the Ottoman Empire three
kfourths Of the city lands were held
#by this tenure
Koran on Dedication
The Koran. the great bible OF the
Arabs, the Word Of God" written
! by Mohammed II the sixth century
IS the source Of Lslamic law that
still govern two hundred and fifty
million people.
At present in this country, land
formerly dedicated to public use can
never be used for any other pur-
pose. over a thousand years ago,
the Prophet Mohammed wrote:
"Ibn Omar relates that Omar, in
the life time OF the messenger OF
God. made aims Of one Of his prop
critics called Tsamgh, which con-
sisted Of a p~alm-grove. Omar sa.u:
J % messenger Of God. I possess a
property which is precious to me
and I would make aims with II.
The Prophet replied: Give IL in
aims but provide that 1t shall never
be sold nor given away nor divided
among heirs. but the fruits OF II
shall be used So Omar made the
property. ~dedicating IL TO the use
of the holy war. the ransom Of
Islaves. and the support of the poor,
lof guests, OF travellers, and Of kind
lred."
On the distribution Of an estate
THE Koran, Sect. ~, Verse II. says:
rood bids that. in distributing an
estate, a son receive as much as two
daughters; if only daughters re-
main, and more than two, they re-
Aeive two-thirds Of the estate: II
knly one. the half. Father and mo-
her shall have each one-sixth. If
Here Is a child: II none and parents
Ike, the mother has one-third:
brothers survive. the mother takes
e-sixth; provided that legacies
ad debts be first paid
Monks Took Lands
Tn the eighth century the use Of
Mrftten deeds had spread north
Rards from Italy: but the deeds
Nere In Latin and were prepared
n a scribe, and usually neither the
kantor nor the grantee could read
Fhe document. The clergy and the
Tbonkg were the only educated peo-
LIE AZ that time. AS late as the
W9oo,s. few Of the mobiles and large
hiand-ovners could write more than
their names; much less could they
write Latin. In a deed of A. d. 757,
ne ~ the oldest extant deeds north
~ TtaIv the grantor does not even
s;cr his name: the earliest sigma
t,,rss by grantors do not appear
until the 130O's.
Sae c~onveyancing was chiefly In
. Nbards Of the monks. They had
IN own possibly one-half Of all
SLs lands IN Christian Europe.
tE~,,,rr numerous pious requests.
unS tbev were naturally expert con-
~..nrsrs A deed dated A. d. 757.
s1,,eaths three large estates to the
Wonagtery Of st. Gail in Switzer-
49, .for the remission Of my sins"
S Needs Filed in 74S
rho Oldest private instruments In
- north OF Italy are at the
EunaStorv of st. Gall. These deeds
mVn ~ further back than the zoos,
usse Ioed executed in Japan in
q al ID. 748 is considered quse
,,e It gives the area of a piece
nIsrd sold by n Uji-no-sukune
I'd ~ the family OF the lady
savri Fuilwara- The deed states
thix Is residential property and
Az n two houses; 1t gives the
na ssrt location Of the property anc
sxn Sfates that the papers have
iul..is f,sd IN the office Of record
pee .sS,Ire necessary in this coun- !