heriot, or to any quit rent, free rent, or other manorial incident whatsoever, may require and compel the extinguishment of such rights or incidents and the release and enfranchisement of the land. The same proceedings are to be taken to effect a compulsory extinguishment of manorial rights and incidents as are taken in the case of compulsory enfranchisement, or as near thereto as the nature of the case will admit (g). The subject will, therefore, be considered under the head of compulsory enfranchisement. It may, however, be mentioned here that a compulsory extinguishment of manorial rights and incidents does not affect the estate or rights of the lord or tenant to any mines or minerals under the land, nor any franchises or sporting rights belonging to the lord, unless with the express consent in writing of the lord or tenant, as the case may be (h). Compulsory Enfranchisement. By the Copyhold Act, 1852 (i), enfranchisement was made compulsory at the instance of either the lord or the tenant. At first the compulsory powers were applicable only where the admittance to the copyhold took place on or after the 1st of July, 1853, and the fine or fines and fees consequent on the admittance had been duly paid or tendered (); but by the Copyhold Act, 1858, power was given to both the lord and tenant to compel the enfranchisement of land to which the last admittance had taken place prior to the 1st of July, 1853 (7). In this latter case, however, the tenant was not entitled to require enfranchisement until he had paid or tendered such fine, and the value of such heriot, as would have become due and payable in the case of an admittance or enrolment on alienation subsequent to the 1st of July, 1853, and also (g) 50 & 51 Vict. c. 73, ss. 7, 49. (h) Ibid. s. 7; 15 & 16 Vict. c. 51, s. 48. (i) 15 & 16 Vict. c. 51. (7) 21 & 22 Vict. c. 94, s. 6. Enfranchisement at the instance of the lord. two-thirds of the sum to which the steward would have been entitled for fees in respect of such admittance or enrolment (m). The Acts of 1858 and 1887 have considerably altered the methods for effecting a compulsory enfranchisement provided by the Act of 1852. The provisions of the Copyhold Acts as to enfranchisements do not extend to any manors belonging either in possession or reversion to any ecclesiastical corporation, or to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England, when the tenant has not a right of renewal (»), and there are special provisions as to enfranchisements in Crown manors, and manors which are held in joint tenancy with the Crown, which will be mentioned later; but with these exceptions the term "lord," when used in the Copyhold Acts in relation to compulsory enfranchisement, extends to and includes the lord or lords of any manor, whether seised for life or in tail or in fee-simple, and all ecclesiastical lords seised in right of the church or otherwise, and lords-farmers holding under them, and any body politic, corporate or collegiate, and all lords seised of any manor, whether they have or have not an absolute power of selling or disposing of the same (o), and also includes any person for the time being filling the character or acting in the capacity of lord, whether rightfully or lawfully entitled to fill or act in such character or not (p). In all cases where enfranchisement is required by the lord, the tenant may require the Board of Agriculture to satisfy themselves in such way and by such evidence as they shall see fit of the title of the lord to the manor (q) ; and in any case the Board may, if they think fit, require the lord or steward to make a declaration in such form as they may direct, stating who are the persons for the time being filling the character or acting in the capacity of lord, (m) 21 & 22 Vict. c. 94, s. 6; 50 & 51 Vict. c. 73, s. 9. (n) 21 & 22 Vict. c. 94, s. 4. (0) 15 & 16 Vict. c. 51, s. 52. (p) 50 & 51 Vict. c. 73, s. 49; 4 & 5 Vict. c. 35, s. 102. (g) 15 & 16 Vict. c. 51, s. 23 and the Board may accept such declaration, but if they do not consider it satisfactory, they may order the compensation when a gross sum of money to be paid into Court (r). an infant or a lunatic. If the lord is under age, or is a lunatic, his guardian or If the lord is the committee of his estate has full power to do on his behalf anything which may be done or is required to be done under the provisions of the Copyhold Acts by the infant or lunatic (8). If a married woman is lady of the manor, she is for the purposes of the Copyhold Acts to be deemed a feme sole (t). If the lady of the manor is a married woman. Where trustees are lords of a manor, and one or more If trustees of them shall be abroad or incapable of acting or shall are lords. refuse to act, any proceedings necessary for effecting any enfranchisement under the Copyhold Acts may be done by the other trustee or trustees, as the case may be (u). lord. A lord may act on his own behalf, or may appoint any Steward person other than his steward to act for him, but unless represents and until he gives written notice to the tenant and the Board that he intends to act for himself, or that he has appointed the person specified in the notice to act for him, the tenant and the Board may treat the steward of the manor as the lord's agent for receipt of notices, making of agreements, and all other matters relating to enfranchisement, but without special authority the steward cannot consent on behalf of the lord to dealings with the rights as to mines and minerals mentioned in sect. 48 of the Copyhold Act, 1852 (x). lord. If an agent is appointed by the lord, the appointment Appointment should be by a power of attorney made in writing under of agent by the lord's hand, or in the case of a corporation aggregate being lord under the common seal of such corporation, (r) 50 & 51 Vict. c. 73, s. 32. For a form of the declaration, see the Appendix. (8) Griggs v. Gibson, 14 W. R. 819; 50 & 51 Vict. c. 73, s. 39. Death of lord. Tenant. and in the form provided by sect. 39 of the Copyhold Act, 1858. Every agent so appointed has full power in the name and on behalf of his principal to concur in and execute any agreement or application or other document arising out of the execution of the Copyhold Acts, until his power has been revoked by a notice under the hand or the common seal of the lord, as the case may require, delivered to the Board of Agriculture. The power of attorney, or a copy thereof authenticated by the signature of two credible witnesses, should be sent to the office of the Board (y). The document is not chargeable with any stamp duty (z). The death of the lord after the commencement of any proceedings for enfranchisement under the Copyhold Acts does not cause an abatement of the proceedings, which will be continued on the same footing as if the enfranchisement had been effected immediately after their commencement, and if any fresh admittance or enrolment is necessary in consequence of the lord's death, it must be made without payment of any fine, relief, or heriot (a). It may be stated that all rights which are conferred and all liabilities which are imposed by the Copyhold Acts upon a lord are to be deemed as conferred or imposed upon his successors in title, unless a contrary intention appears (b). Before a copyhold tenant can require enfranchisement he should be admitted or be entered as tenant upon the court-roll, and he must have paid or tendered the fine or fines and fees payable in consequence of his admittance or enrolment; but if his admittance or enrolment was prior to the 1st of July, 1853, he cannot compel enfranchisement until he has paid or tendered such a fine, and the value of such a heriot, as would have been payable on admittance or enrolment on alienation subsequent to the 1st of July, 1853, together with two-thirds of the sum to which the (y) 21 & 22 Vict. c. 94, ss. 39, 40. (a) 50 & 51 Vict. c. 73, s. 31. (b) Ibid. s. 38. steward would have been entitled for fees in respect of such admittance or enrolment (c). With respect to freehold lands, including lands described as customary freeholds in the Act of 1858, for which heriots may be due by custom, it was provided by sect. 7 of the Act of 1858, that at any time after any such heriot should be due and payable, the tenant might require the extinguishment of the lord's claim to heriots and the enfranchisement of the land which was subject to it in the same way as if the land were copyhold; and by sect. 6 of that Act it was provided that if the last heriot should have become due or payable before the 1st of July, 1853, the tenant could not require enfranchisement until he had paid or tendered the value of such a heriot as would have become due or payable in the event of admittance or enrolment on alienation subsequent to that date, and also two-thirds of the sum to which the steward would have been entitled for fees in respect of such admittance or enrolment. Sect. 7 of the Act of 1858 has been repealed by the Copyhold Act, 1887 (d), which now provides (e) that any tenant or owner, including any person entitled to the land for any term of years originally granted for 99 years or upwards, of any land liable to any heriot or to any quit rent, free rent, or other manorial incident whatsoever, may require and compel the extinguishment of such rights or incidents, and the release and enfranchisement of the land subject thereto, and the same proceedings shall thereupon be had as are in the Copyhold Acts mentioned with reference to the enfranchisement of copyhold land, or as near thereto as the nature of the case will admit. It would appear, if there has been no admittance or enrolment since the 1st of July, 1853, that the provisions of the Act of 1858 as to the payment of an additional heriot and the fees in respect thereof will still be applicable. |