Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

latter, uterine brothers have the right, but they are bound to consult the paternal or maternal grandfather. Swed. Code, tit. of Marriage, c. 1.

GILL. A measure of capacity, equal to one fourth of a pint. Vide Measure.

GIRANTEM, mer. law. An Italian word which signifies the drawer. It is derived from girure, to draw, in the same manner that the English verb to murder, is transformed into murdrare in our old indictments. Hall, Mar. Loans, 183, n.

with the donee that he will not revoke the gift.

GIVING IN PAYMENT. Vide Dation en paiement.

GIVING TIME, contracts. Any agreement by which a creditor gives his debtor a delay or time in paying his debt, beyond that contained in the original agreement; when other persons are responsible to him either as drawer, endorser or surety, if such time be given without the consent of the latter, it discharges them from responsibility to him. 1 Gall. Rep. 32; 7 John. R. 332; 10 John. Rep. 180; Ib. 587; Kirby, R. 397; 3 Binn. R. 523; 2 John. Ch. R. 554 ; 3 Desaus. Ch. Rep. 604; 2 Desaus. Ch. R. 230, 389; 2 Ves. jr. 504; 6 Ves. jr. 805; 3 Atk. 91; 2 Bos. & Pull. 62; 4 M. & S. 232 ; Bac. Ab. Obligations, D; 6 Dow. P. C. 238; 3 Meriv. R. 272; 5 Barn. & A. 187. Vide 1 Leigh's N. P. 31; 1 B. & P. 652; 2 B. & P. 61; 3 B. & P. 363; 8 East, R. 570; 3 Price, R. 521; 2 Campb. R. 178; 12 East, R. 38; 5 Taunt. R. 319; S. C. 1 E. C. L. R. 119; Rosc. Civ. Ev. 171; 8 Watts, R. 448; and the article Forbear

GIST, pleading. Gist of the action is the essential ground or object of it in point of law, and without which there is no cause of action. Gould. on Pl. ch. 4, § 12. But it is observable that the substance or gist of the action is not always the principal cause of the plaintiff's complaint in point of fact, nor that on which he recovers all or the greatest part of his damages. It frequently happens that upon that part of his declaration which contains the substance or gist of the action he only recovers nominal damages, and he gets his principal satisfaction on account of matters altogether col-ance. lateral thereto. A familiar instance GLADIUS. In our old Latin of this is the case where a father sues the defendant for a trespass for the seduction of his daughter. The gist of the action is the trespass and GLEANING. The act of gatherthe loss of his daughter's services, ing such grain in a field where it but the collateral cause is the injury grew, which may have been left by done to his feelings for which the the reapers after the sheaves were principal damages are given. In gathered. There is a custom in stating the substance or gist of the England, it is said, by which the action, every thing must be averred poor are allowed to enter and glean which is necessary to be proved at upon another's land after harvest the trial. Vide 1 Vin. Ab. 598; 2 without being guilty of a trespass. Phil. Ev. 1, note. See Bac. Abr. 3 Bl. Com. 212. But it has been Pleas, B; Doct. Pl. 85. See Da- decided that the community are not mages, special, in pleading; 1 Vin. entitled to claim this privilege as a Ab. 598; 2 Phil. Ev. 1, n. right. 1 Hen. Bl. 51. In the United States, it is believed, no such right exists. This right seems to have existed in some parts of France.

GIVER, contracts. He who makes a gift, (q. v.); by his gift, the giver always impliedly agrees

authors and in the Norman laws, this word was used to signify supreme jurisdiction, jus gladii.

Merl. Répert. mot, Glanage. As to whether gleaning would or would not amount to larceny, Vide Woodf. Landl. & Ten. 242; 2 Russ. on Cr. 99.

of an of the Code,

1.

and standard gold, which is a gold less pure, and mixed with some other metal, called alloy. Vide Money.

GOOD BEHAVIOUR. Conduct authorised by law. Surety of good behaviour may be demanded from any person who is justly suspected, upon sufficient grounds, of intending to commit a crime or misdemeanor. Surety for good behaviour is somewhat similar to surety of the peace, but the recognizance is more easily forfeited, and it ought to be demanded with greater caution. 1 Binn. 98, n. ; 2 Yeates, 437; 14 Vin. Ab. 21; Dane's Ab. Index, h. t.

GLEBE, Eccles. law, is the land which belongs to a church. It is the dowry of the church. Gleba est terra qua consistit dos ecclesiæ. Lind. 254; 9 Cranch, Rep. 329. In the civil law, it signified the soil inheritance; there were serfs glebe, called glebæ addicti. 11, 47, 7 et 21; Nov. 54, c. GO. This word is used sometimes technically. When a party is dismissed the court, he is said to go GOOD AND LAWFUL MEN, without day; that is, there is no day probi et legales homines. The law appointed for him to appear again. requires that those who serve on GOD AND MY COUNTRY.-juries shall be good and lawful men; When a prisoner is arraigned, he is asked, how will you be tried? he answers, by God and my country. This practice arose when the prisoner had the right to choose the mode of trial, namely, by ordeal or by jury, and then he elected by God or his country, that is, by jury. It is probable that originally it was By God or my country; for the question asked supposes an option in the prisoner, and the answer is meant to assert his innocence by declining neither sort of trial. 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 416; Barr. on the Stat. 73, note.

An

GOD BOTE, eccles. law. ecclesiastical or church fine imposed upon an offender for crimes and offences committed against God.

GOING WITNESS, is one who is going out of the jurisdiction of the court, although only into a state or country under the general sovereignty; as, for example, if he is going from one to another of the United States, or, in Great Britain, from England to Scotland. 2 Dick. 454.

GOLD. A metal used mostly in making money, or coin. It is divided into pure gold, that is, when the metal is unmixed with any other;

by which is understood those qualified to serve on juries, that is, that they be of full age, citizens, not infamous nor non compotes mentis, and they must be resident in the county where the venue is laid. Bac. Ab. Juries, A; Cro. Eliz. 654; 3 Inst. 30; 2 Rolle's R. 82.

GOOD CONSIDERATION, contracts. A good consideration is one which flows from kindred or natural love and affection alone, and is not of a pecuniary nature. Vin. Ab. Consideration, B. Vide Consideration.

GOOD WILL; by this term is meant the benefit which arises from the establishment of particular trades or occupations. Mr. Justice Story describes a good will to be the advantage or benefit which is acquired by an establishment, beyond the mere value of the capital, stocks, funds, or property employed therein, in consequence of the general public patronage and encouragement, which it receives from constant or habitual customers, on account of its local position, or common celebrity, or reputation for skill or affluence, or punctuality, or from other accidental circumstances or necessities, or even from ancient

partialities, or prejudices. Story, Partn.99; see 17 Ves. 336; 1 Hoffm. R. 68; 16 Am. Jur. 87. As between partners it has been held that the good-will of a partnership trade survives. 5 Ves. 539; but this appears to be doubtful, 15 Ves. 227; and a distinction, in this respect, has been suggested between the commercial and professional partnerships; the advantages of established connexions in the latter being held to survive, unless the benefit is excluded by positive stipulation. 3 Madd. 79. As to the sale of the good-will of a trade or business, see 3 Meriv. 452; 1 Jac. & Walk. 589; 2 Swanst. 332; 1 Ves. & Beames, 505; 17 Ves. 346; 2 Madd. 220; Gow on Partn. 428; Collyer on Partn. 172, note; 2 B. & Adolph. 341; 4 Id. 592, 596; 1 Rose, 123; 5 Russ. 29. Vide 5 Bos. & Pull. 67; 1 Bro. C. C. 160, as to the effect of a bankrupt's assignment on a good-will; and 16 Amer. Jur.

87.

GOODS, property. For some purposes this term includes money, valuable securities, and other mere personal effects. The term goods and chattels, includes not only personal property in possession, but also choses in action, 12 Co. 1; 1 Atk. 182; the term chattels is more comprehensive than that of goods, and will include all animate as well as inanimate property, and also a chattel real, as a lease for years of house or land. Co. Litt. 118; 1 Russ. Rep. 376. The word goods simply and without qualification, will pass the whole personal estate when used in a will, including even stocks in the funds. But in general it will be limited by the context of the will. Vide 2 Supp. to Ves. jr. 289; 1 Chit. Pr. 89, 90; 1 Ves. jr. 63; Hamm. on Parties, 182; 3 Ves. 212; 1 Yeates, 101; 2 Dall. 142; Ayl. Pand. 296; Wesk. Ins. 260; 1 Rop. on Leg. 189; 1 Bro. C. C.

128; Sugd. Vend. 493, 497; and the articles Biens; Chattels'; Furni ture.

Goods are said to be of different kinds, as adventitious, such as are given or arise otherwise than by suc cession; dotal goods, or those which accrue from a dowry, or marriage portion; vacant goods, those which are abandoned or left at large.

GOUT, med. jur., contracts, is an inflammation of the fibrous and ligamentous parts of the joints. In cases of insurance on lives, when there is a warranty of health, it seems that a man subject to the gout, is a life capable of being insured, if he has no sickness at the time to make it an unequal contract. 2 Park, Ins. 583.

GOVERNMENT, natural and political law, is the manner in which sovereignty is exercised in each state. There are three simple forms of government, the democratic, the aristocratic and monarchical. But these three simple forms may be varied to infinity by the mixture and divisions of their different powers. Sometimes by the word government is understood the body of men, or the individual in the state, to whom is intrusted the executive power. It is taken in this sense when the government is spoken of in opposition to other bodies in the state.

Governments are also divided into monarchical and republican: among the monarchical states may be classed empires, kingdoms, and others; in these the sovereignty resides in a single individual. There are some monarchical states under the name of duchies, counties, and the like. Republican steats are those where the sovereignty is in several persons. These are subdivided into aristocracies, where the power is exercised by a few persons of the first rank in the state, and democracies which are those governments where the common people may exercise the highest

powers. See Aristocracy; Democracy; Despotism; Monarchy; Theocracy.

GOVERNOR. The title of the executive magistrate in each state and territory of the United States. Under the names of the particular states, the reader will find some of the duties of the governor of such

state.

GRACE. Is that which a person is not entitled to by law, but which is extended to him as a favour; a pardon, for example, is an act of grace. There are certain days allowed to the payer of a promissory note or bill of exchange, beyond the time which appears on its face, which are called days of grace, (q. v.)

GRAFFER. This word is a corruption of the French word greffier, a clerk, or prothonotary. It signifies a notary or scrivener; vide stat. 5 Hen. 8, c. 1.

GRAFT. A figurative term which had obtained in chancery practice, to designate the right of a mortgagee in premises, to which the mortgagor at the time of making the mortgage had an imperfect title, but who afterwards obtained a good title. In this case the new mortgage is considered a graft into the old stock, and, as arising in consideration of the former title. 1 Ball & Beat. 46; Ib. 40; Ib. 57; 1 Pow. on Mortg. 190. The same principle has obtained by legislative enactment in Louisiana: If a person contracting an obligation towards another, says the Civil Code, art. 2371, grants a mortgage on property of which he is not then the owner, this mortgage shall be valid, if the debtor should ever acquire the ownership of the property, by whatever right.

GRAIN, weight, is the twentyfourth part of a penny-weight.

GRAIN, corn, signifies wheat, rye, barley, or other corn sown in the ground. In Pennsylvania a tenant

for a certain term is entitled to the way-going crop. 5 Binn. 289, 258; 2 Binn. 487; 2 Serg. & Rawle, 14. GRAINAGE, Engl. law. The name of an ancient duty collected in London, consisting of one-twentieth part of the salt imported into that city. GRAMME. A French weight. The gramme is of the weight of a cubic centimetre of distilled water, at the temperature of zero. It is equal to 15.4441 grains troy, or 5.6481 drachms avordupois. Vide Measure.

GRAND. An epithet frequently used to designate that the thing to which it is joined is of more importance and dignity, than other things of the same name; as, grand assize, a writ in a real action to determine the right of property in land; grand cape, a writ used in England, on a plea of land, when the tenant makes default in appearance at the day given for the king to take the land into his hands; grand days, among the English lawyers, are those days in term which are solemnly kept in the inns of court and chancery, namely, Candlemas day, in Hilary term; Ascension day, in Easter term; and Allsaint's day, in Michaelmas term; which days are dies non juridici. Grand distress is the name of a writ so called because of its extent, namely, to all the goods and chattels of the party distrained within the county; this writ is believed to be peculiar to England. Grand Jury, (q. v.) Grand serjeantry, the name of an ancient English military tenure.

GRAND COUTUMIER. Two collections of laws bore this title. The one, also called the Coutumier of France, is a collection of the customs, usages, and forms of practice, which had been used from time immemorial in France; the other called the Coutumier de Normandie, which indeed made a part of the former, with some alterations, was composed about the fourteenth of Henry II., in 1229, is a

collection of the Norman laws, not | body of the
as they stood at the conquest of Eng.
land by William the conqueror, but
some time afterwards, and contains
many provisions, probably borrowed
from the old English or Saxon laws.
Hale's Hist. C. L. c. 6.

GRAND JURY, practice. The grand jury is a body of men, consisting of not less than twelve nor more than twenty-three, taken at stated periods, from the mass of citizens residing in the proper county, in the manner prescribed by law. There is just reason to believe that this institution existed among the Saxons. Crabb's C. L. 35. A view of the important duties of grand juries will be taken, by considering, 1, the organization of the grand jury; 2, the extent of its jurisdiction; 3, the mode of doing business; 4, the evidence to be received; 5, their duty to make presentments; 6, the secrecy to be observed by the grand jury.

[ocr errors]

of- do swear (or affirm) that you will diligently inquire, and true presentments make, of all such articles, matters and things as shall be given you in charge, or otherwise come to your knowledge touching the present service; the commonwealth's counsel, your fellows and your own, you shall keep secret; you shall present no one for envy, hatred, or malice; nor shall you leave any one unpresented for fear, favour, affection, hope of reward or gain; but shall present all things truly, as they come to your knowledge, according to the best of your understanding, (so help you God.)" It will be perceived that this oath contains the substance of the duties of the grand jury. The foreman having been sworn or affirmed, the other grand jurors are sworn or affirmed, according to this formula:"You and each of you do swear (or affirm) that the same oath (or affirmation) which your foreman has taken on his part, you and every one of you shall well and truly observe on on your part." Being so sworn or affirmed, and having received the charge of the court, the grand jury are organized, and may proceed to the room provided for them to transact the business which may be laid before them. 2 Burr. 1088; Bac. Ab. Juries, A. The grand jury constitute a regular body until discharged by the court, or by operation of law, as where they cannot continue by virtue of an act of assembly beyond a certain day. But although they have been formally discharged by the court, if they have not separated, they may be called back, and fresh bills submitted to them. 9 C. & P.

1. Of the organization of the grand jury. The law requires that twenty-four citizens shall be summoned to attend on the grand jury, but in practice, not more than twentythree are sworn, because of the inconvenience which else might arise, of having twelve, who are sufficient to find a true bill, opposed to other twelve who might be against it. 6 Adolp. & Ell. 236; S. C. 33 E. C. L. R. 66. Upon being called, all who present themselves are sworn, as it scarcely ever happens that all who are summoned are in attendance. The grand jury cannot consist of less than twelve, and from fifteen to twenty are usually sworn. 2 Hale, P. C. 161. Being called in the jurybox, they are usually permitted to select a foreman whom the court ap-43; S. C. 38 E. C. L. R. 28. point, but the court may exercise the 2. The extent of the grand jury's right to nominate one for them. The jurisdiction. Their jurisdiction is foreman then takes the following oath co-extensive with that of the court or affirmation, namely:-"You, A for which they inquire, both as to B, as foreman of this inquest for the the offences triable there, and the

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »