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at-law of the first son will take up the succession to the exclusion of the mother's own second son.(i) The heir-at-law of the first son may be an uncle or a great-grandfather, or may even be found removed almost beyond identification in the ascending lines of succession, and yet such person will legally exclude the lawful son of the mother to whom the estate originally belonged, and if no such heir can be traced, the Crown even will take in preference to the mother's second son.

256. Where the Intestate is Survived by no Descendant or Collateral Relative. On the failure of descendants, and brothers and sisters and their descendants, the succession goes to the father, or if he be dead, to his brothers and sisters (uncles of the intestate) and their descendants in the same order as the brothers and sisters of the intestate and their issue take. Failing uncles, aunts succeed equally, and their issue in the manner already explained, with regard to sisters of the intestate.()

If there be no uncle or aunt, or any descendant of an uncle or aunt, the succession opens to the grandfather of the intestate and to his collateral relations; and failing all these, it goes to the issue of remoter ascendants.

257. Order of Succession in Conquest.-As already mentioned,(k) the distinction between conquest heritage and heritage proper has now been abolished, but as the Act is not retrospective in its operation, the old law still applies to all successions in conquest property which opened before 1st October, 1874, being the date of the commencement of the Act.

Excepting in the branches collateral to the intestate and to the intestate's father, the order of succession in conquest was the same as it is in heritage. The only divergence took place in these two lines, and the rule in conquest was that failing children and their issue, the immediate elder (instead of the immediate younger as in heritage) succeeded, and failing him and his issue, the next immediate elder, and so on to the eldest, each transmitting to his issue male and female in their legal order as he succeeded. If there were only younger brothers, the immediate younger succeeded though he should also have taken the heritage to which the intestate had himself succeeded. Failing brothers and their issue, sisters

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whether elder or younger than the intestate, succeeded; failing sisters and their issue, the father succeeded; and failing the father, his brothers (the intestate's uncles) succeeded; failing uncles and their issue, aunts succeeded equally.()

It will thus be observed that the distinction between heritage and conquest arose only where a middle brother or sister or their issue died without issue surviving him or her. Conquest became heritage after the heir of conquest died, if he had made up titles to the property; so that, if an immediate elder brother succeeded as heir of conquest, and died without issue, his immediate younger brother succeeded.

The distinction between heritage and conquest did not arise where sisters succeeded as heirs-portioners, as they took the property equally.

258. Order of Succession not affected by Tenure of Property. Although heritable property is split up into two or more parallel estates belonging to different persons who stand to each other in the relation of superior and vassal, these splits do not affect the legal order of succession excepting only, if it can be considered an exception, that formerly newly acquired property if feudalised, went to the heir of conquest, while, if not feudalised, it went to the heir-at-law. (m)

259. Abstract of the Order of Succession in Heritage.Having now shown somewhat in detail the governing rules in heritable succession, it may be useful to show in an abstract form the operation of these rules in the three lines of succession. Thus :

I. DESCENDANTS :

1. The intestate's eldest son, to the exclusion of all the other

sons.

(1.) His eldest son and issue, sons in order of seniority with their respective issue, and then daughters equally, as heir-portioners, with their respective issue; first, males in their order, then females equally.

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(2.) His second son and issue, sons in order of seniority, and daughters equally, as above; and so on till sons are exhausted.

(3.) His daughters equally.

2. The intestate's second son, to the exclusion of the other

sons.

(1.) His eldest son and issue as above.

(2.) His second son and issue, as above; and so on till exhaustion of sons.

(3.) His daughters equally.

3. The intestate's third son, with his issue as above; and so on in succession to the other sons in the order of seniority, with issue as above.

4. The intestate's daughters, of whatever marriage, inherit pro indiviso as heirs-portioners-the issue of each daughter who has died taking their mother's place; first sons in their order to the exclusion of the rest, then daughters equally, as heirs-portioners.

II. COLLATERALS :—

Failing descendants, the brothers and sisters of the intestate succeed thus:(n)

5. The brothers succeed each by himself with his issue; males in the order of seniority, and females equally as above. If younger than the intestate the brothers take in the order of seniority; if elder, then in inverse order.

6. The sisters as heirs-portioners, the issue of each deceased sister succeeding as stated in No. 4.

7. The brothers consanguinean, each by himself with his issue in the order stated in No. 5.

8. The sisters consanguinean equally-the issue of each deceased sister succeeding as stated in No. 4.

III. ASCENDANTS :

Upon the failure of descendants and collaterals, the paternal ancestors succeed thus:(0)

9. The intestate's father.

(n) Bell's Prin. 1661-1665; Ersk. 3, 8, 8.

(0) Bell's Prin. §§ 1666, 1667; Ersk. 3, 8 8.

10. The intestate's uncles, each by himself with his issue, in the order stated in No. 5.

11. The intestate's aunts equally—the issue of each deceased aunt succeeding as stated in No. 4.

12. The intestate's uncles consanguinean, each by himself with his issue, in the order stated in No. 5.

13. The intestate's aunts consanguinean equally, the issue of each deceased aunt succeeding as stated in No. 4.

14. The intestate's paternal grandfather.

15. The brothers of the intestate's paternal grandfather, each by himself with his issue, in the order stated in No. 5.

16. The sisters of the intestate's paternal grandfather equally, -the issue of each deceased sister succeeding as stated in No. 4.

17. The brothers consanguinean of the intestate's paternal grandfather, each by himself with his issue, in the order stated in No. 5.

18. The sisters consanguinean of the intestate's paternal grandfather equally,-the issue of each deceased sister succeeding as stated in No. 4.

19. The intestate's paternal great-grandfather; and then his collaterals as above; and so on as far as propinquity can be traced; and failing of any proofs of propinquity, the Crown succeeds as ultimus hæres.(p)

(p) Bell's Prin. § 1669; Ersk. 3, 8, 9.

260. Table of Succession.-A still more concentrated view of the operation of the above rules is exhibited in the following table. Descent is traced from A, and the relatives succeed in the order of the numbers placed under their names, each as he succeeds transmitting to his issue male and female in the order above stated. The numbers within parentheses denote the order of succession in conquest as distinguished from the order in heritage :—

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