Bac. Ab. tit.' But if tenant for life makes a leafe for twenty years ge"Leafes," (12.) nerally, and afterwards he in reverfion confirms that lease, and then the tenant for life dies; though this at firft would have determined by the death of the leffor, yet the confirmation hath made it good and unavoidable for the whole term. But if the lease had been for twenty years, if the leffor tenant for life should fo long live, there, if the reverfioner had confirmed this leafe, yet it would not prevent its voidance upon the death of the tenant for life.-The diverfity between which cafes is this: that in the first case, the lease being made generally for twenty years, nothing appears to the contrary but that it was a good leafe for that time abfolutely; for the death of the leffor, which would determine it fooner, does not appear in the lease itself; then when the reverfioner, who alone could take advantage of that implied limitation, thinks fit to waive it, and confirms the lease as it was made at firft for twenty years absolutely, this makes it his own leafe for fo much of the time as would have fallen into his reverfion by the death of the tenant for life being made the express limitation and circumfcription of the twenty years in the lease itself, no confirmation of that lease fo limited can enlarge it to extend beyond the life of the leffor, that being the express determination affixed to it. Ibia, Ibid. For although we find one cafe, where it is held, that if a man makes a leafe for twenty-one years, if the leffee fo long live, and afterwards the leffor and leffee join in a grant by deed of the term to another, after which the first leffee dies within the twenty-one years, yet the grantee shall enjoy it during the refidue of the term abfolutely. To reconcile this cafe with the other, it must be intended, that in the affignment no notice is taken of the express limitation affixed to the leafe, but that they joined in an affignment of the lease for the refidue of the twenty-one years, and then it may be well conftrued to amount to a confirmation by the leffor for that time, as the leffor may confirm the land to the leffee for any longer time, and thereby enlarge his eftate or intereft. B. tenant for the life of C. and he in remainder or reverfion in fee join in a leafe for years by indenture; this, during I during the life of C. is the lease of B. who then only had the present intereft in the lands, and the confirmation of him in the remainder or reverfion; but after the death of C. then this becomes the leafe of him in the reverfion or remainder, and the confirmation of B.; for the leffors having feveral eftates in them in feveral degrees, the leafe fhall be conftrued to move out of each one's refpective eftate or intereft, as they become capable of fupporting it, which is the moft natural and useful construction of the leafe, efpecially as there can be no estoppel in this case, by reason of the several interests which passed from each. Therefore during the life of tenant for life, if the leffee being evicted, should declare of a leafe for both, this would be against him, as was adjudged, because for that time it was only the lease of the tenant for life. Co. Lit. c. 6. A. leffee for life makes a leafe to B. and C. on condition that if they die leaving A. then the land fhall revert s. 56. . 11. to A. without determining any eftate certain in the grant; all the eftate paffes under the condition, for in pra cipe A. was not received on default of B. and C. If tenant for life and he in remainder in-tail join in a Cro. Eliz. 252. leafe to A. for life, remainder to B. for life, and the iffuein-tail accepts the rent of A. and levies a fine, the leafe in remainder is good, notwithstanding the feoffment. Where leffee for life makes a leafe for years, excepting the wood, underwood, and trees growing upon the land, it is a good exception, although he has no intereft in them but as leffee, because he remains always tenant, and is chargeable in wafte; wherefore to prevent it, he may make the exception. But if leffee for years affign over his term, with fuch an exception, it is a void exception. SECTION V. Of Leafes by Tenants per auter Vie. Where a perfon holds for the term of another's life, he is called tenant per anter vie; and leafes made by him of course determine on the death of the ceftui que vie, or perfon during whofe life he holds, but not on his own death; for by the ftatute of Frauds every eftate per auter vie is made devifeable, and if not devised, it fhall be affets in the hands of the heir, if limited to the heir; if not limited to the Cro. Jac. 296. 2 Bl. Com. 214. Bac. on Eng. Gov. b. 1 c. Ixi. heir, it shall go to the executor or administrator of the grantee, and be affets in their hands. SECTION VI. Of Leafes by Tenant by the Curtefy of Tenant by the curtefy is where a man marries a woman feised of an estate of inheritance, and has by her iffue born alive, which was capable of inheriting her estate.-Tenancy in dower, (to which the before-mentioned estate is well termed a law of counter-tenure) is where the husband of a 2 Bl. Com. 129 woman is feised of an estate of inheritance, and dies, with or without iffue, in which cafe, the wife fhall have the third part of all the lands and tenements whereof he was seised at any time during the coverture, to hold to herself during the term of her natural life. Tenant in jointure is by the 27 H. 8. c. 10. commonly called the Statute of Ufes, by which dower may be barred by a jointure, or by conveying a joint-eftate to husband and wife; but in common accepta. tion, it means a fole eftate limited to the wife only. ibid, 36. Bac. Abr. tit. "Leafes, (II. Cro. Car. 398. St.a7. H.8.c.fo. As to these respective eftates, it will be fufficient to ob ferve, that if either of the tenants make a lease for years, referving rent, and die, this leafe is abfolutely determined, fo that no acceptance of rent by the heir or those in reverfion can make it good; for though their eftate is quodum modo, a continuance of the eftate of their husband or wife, yet it is a continuance of it only for life, and they have no power to contract for, or intermeddle with the inheritance, and consequently their leafes or charges fall off with the eftate whereout they were derived, and the leffee is become tenant by fufferance by his continuance of poffeffion after. SECTION VII. Of Leafes under Powers. The ftatute 27 H. 8. c. 10. commonly called the Statute of Uses, enacts, that where any person or persons stand or be feifed of or in any honours, castles, manors, lands, tenements, rents, fervices, reverfions, remainders, or other hereditaments, to the use, confidence, or trust, of any other perfon or perfons, or of any body politick, by reason of any bargain and fale, feoffment, fine, recovery, covenant, contract, agreement, will, or otherwife by any manner or mean means whatsoever it may be, all and every such person and perfons, and bodies politick, that have or fhall have any fuch ufe, confidence, or truft, in remainder or reverter, fhall ftand and be feifed, deemed and adjudged in lawful feisin, estate and poffeffion of and in the fame with all their appurtenances, to all intents, construction, and purposes in the law; and that the eftate, title, right, and poffeffion, fhall be clearly deemed and adjudged to be in him or them that have or shall have such use, confidence, or truft, after such quality, manner, form, and condition, as they had before in or to the ufe, confidence, or truft, that was in them. The ftatute then executes the ufe, that is, conveys the poffeffion to the use, and transfers the ufe to the poffeffion, thereby making ceftui que ufe, or him to whose use the grant was made, complete owner of the lands, as well at law as in equity; but as the intervening eftate of the feoffee alone is annihilated, but not the conveyance to uses abolifhed, the courts confider them now as merely a mode of conveyance. When the mode of conveying estates in that form which is Powel on Pow called strict settlement became general, the neceffity of fome ers, 385. fuch modification of an use, as that of a power to lease, muft foon have been evident to those whofe habits led them to the contemplation of this branch of our law: for the inconveniences that must have occurred to a tenant for life for want of it must have been obvious to every one. Tenant for life without fuch power had no means of infuring to his lessee any certain interest in his lands, fince he could create no estate therein to last beyond the term of his own life. A tenure fo uncertain afforded very little encouragement to induce the farmer to improve, as whatever fum he might expend, the death of his leffor would put an end to his intereft, and veft the eftate in the remainder-man, who might then reap the fruits of his labour and fortune, either by making him pay a rent in proportion to the additional value arifing from the improvements of the leffee, or, on his refufal to comply with those terms, by evicting him and taking a new tenant. Keeping tenants, therefore, in a fituation fo fluctuating, was equally prejudicial to the interest of the tenant for life, and the remainder.man: for the tenant Ibid. 387. 1 Bur. 120. Doug. 293. 2 Bur. 1146. I Bl. R. 283. Cowp. 267. tenant for life fuffered because no leffee would pay an adequate rent for a lease on which he was afraid to embark his capital, from the apprehenfion that he might be evicted on 'the fudden death of his leffor, before he had reaped the advantage of it, and the remainder-man fuffered from the eftate coming to him in a neglected and unimproved condition. To encourage thofe, therefore, who were skilled in the arts of husbandry, to apply their attention and fortunes in the cultivation and improvement of lands, it became neceffary to secure to them a fixed and certain period in the occupation and manurance of them; in order to do which, it was neceffary that the tenant for life, under fuch fettlement, fhould be empowered to fecure to his tenants a cer tain time in their eftates in all events; with a view to effect which, leafing powers feem to have been invented. But as the introduction of general leafing powers would have been of as great prejudice to the remainder-man on the one hand, by putting him in the power of the tenant for life, as the want of fuch a power was on the other hand to the tenant for life and the remainder-man, by discouraging the tenants from improving the eftate; it therefore became cuftomary in the creation of fuch powers, to reftrain the tenant for life to convey only a certain interest upon precife terms, and in a certain manner prescribed by fuch power; fo that as, on the one hand, the power to leafe was invented principally for the benefit of the tenant for life, fo on the other hand, the reftrictions and limitations of that power were added for the benefit of the remainder-man. The limitation and modifying of eftates by virtue of powers, came from equity into the common law with the ftatute of uses as therefore powers came into the courts of law with the ftatute of ufes, fo the conftruction of them, by the express direction of the flatute, must be the fame as in courts of equity; for whatever is a good power or execu tion in equity, the ftatute makes good at law. As powers are derived from equity, and ought even at law to be conftrued equitably, fo in the construction of powers originally in their nature legal, courts of equity muft follow the law, be the confideration ever fo meritorious for inftance, powers by a tenant in tail to make leafes under the ftatute |