Dower, cur. tesy.

tenements, or hereditaments, hath or shall have sucit inheritance in the use or trust as that if it had been a legal right, the husband or wife of such person would thereof have been entitled to curtesy or dower, such husband or wife shall have and hold, and may by the remedy proper in similar cases, recover curtesy or dower of such lands, tenements, or hereditaments.— Grants of rents, or of reversions, or remainders, shall Attornment. be good and effectual without attornments of the tenants, but no tenant who, before, uotice of the grant, shall have paid the rent to the grantor, shall suffer any damage thereby. The attornment of a tenant to any stranger, shall be void, unless it be with consent of the land-lord of such tenant, or pursuant to, or in consequence of the judgment of a court of law, or the order or decree of a court of equity.

Commence

II. This act shall commence and be in force from meat of act. and after the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven.

From Rev. Bills of 1779, ch. XXIV.

ed.

Escheators,

I.

CHAP. LXIII.

An act concerning escheators.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That how appoint there shall be one escheator commissioned in every county, by the governor, on recommendation from Bond and se. the court of the same county, who shall execute his eurity. Not act by office in proper person, and not by deputy, and shall, deputy. before the court of the county, be bound in the penalty of one thousand pounds, with security, to be approved by the same court, duly to perform the duties of the said office.

ken.

Inquests,

II. The said escheator shall sit in convenient and open how to be ta places, and shall take his inquests of fit persons, who shall be returned and empannelled by the sheriff of the county, and shall suffer every person to give evidence openly in their presence, to such inquests; and the said inquisition so taken, shall be, by indentures to be made between the said escheator and them of the inquest, whereof the counter-part, sealed by the escheator, shall remain in the possession of the first person

Traverse,

droit.

that shall be sworn in the said jury, and by him shall be returned to the court of the same county, there to be recorded; and the other part, sealed by the jurors, shall by the escheator, be sent into the general court, within one month after the inquest taken. And if it be found for the commonwealth, and there shall be any man monstrans de that will make claim to the lands, he shall be heard without delay, on a traverse to the office, monstrans de droit, or petition of right; and the said lands or tenements shall be committed to him, if he shew good evidence of his right and title to hold, until the right shall be found and discussed for the commonwealth, or for the party finding sufficient surety to prosecute his suit with effect, and to render and pay to the commonwealth the yearly value of the lands, if the right be discussed for the commonwealth.

III. No lands or tenements seized into the hands of Lands, found for commonthis commonwealth upon such inquest taken before eswealth, how cheators, shall be in any wise granted, nor to farm long to relet, to any, if it be not to him or them which claim, as main in hands is aforesaid, till the same inquests and verdicts be fully of escheator. returned into the general court, nor within six months after the same return, but shall entirely and continually remain in the hands of the escheators, who shall answer to the commonwealth the issues and profits yearly coming of the said lands and tenements, without doing waste or destruction.

When and

IV. If no person within the six months before mentioned make claim to the lands or tenements so seized, how sold. or claim being so made, if it be found and discussed for the commonwealth, the clerk of the general court shall, within one month thereafter, certify to the escheator of the county wherein the lands lie, that no claim hath been made, or that being made, it hath been discussed for the commonwealth, which escheator shall thereupon proceed to make sale of the lands, for the benefit of the commonwealth, to him who will give the most, after one month's public notice of the time and place of doing the same, and shall certify the purchaser and price to the register of the land-office, who, on receiving a certificate that such price hath. been paid into the treasury, shall have a grant executed to the purchaser, in such manner as by law directed in the case of unappropriated lands..

Saving rights of others.

Inquests, untruly found remedy.

Commencement of act.

V. Where any person holds lands or tenements for a term of years, or hath any rent, common, office, fee, or other profit apprender of any estate of freehold, or for years or otherwise, out of such land or tenements, which shall not be found in such office or inquisition, such person shall hold and enjoy his lease, interest, rent, common, office, fee and profit apprender, in manner as if no such office or inquisition had been found, or as if such lease, interest, rent, common, office, or profit apprender had been found in such inquisition. Also, if one person or more be found heir by office or inquisition in one county, and another person be found heir to the same person in another county, or if any person be untruly found lunatic, ideot, or dead, or where it shall be untruly found that any person attainted of treason or felony, is seized of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, at the time of such treason or felony committed, or at any time after, whereunto any other person hath any just title or interest of any estate of freehold, the person grieved by such office or inquisition may have his traverse or monstrans de droit to the same, without being driven to any petition of right, and proceed to trial therein, and have like remedy and restitution upon his title found or judged for him therein, as in other cases of traverse upon untrue inquisition found.

VI. This act shall commence and be in force from and after the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven.

From Rev. Bills of 1779, ch. XXV.

Certain contracts not binding uu. less in wri

ting.

CHAP. LXIV.

An act to prevent frauds and perjuries.

1. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That no action shall be brought whereby to charge any executor or administrator upon any special promise to answer any debt or damages out of his own estate, or

whereby to charge the defendant upon any special promise to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of another person or to charge any person upon any agreement made upon consideration of marriage, or upon any contract for the sale of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or the making any lease thereof for a longer term than one year, or upon any agreement which is not to be performed within the space of one year from the making thereof, unless the promise or agreement upon which such action shall be brought, or some memorandum or note thereof shall be in writing, and signed by the party to be charged therewith, or some other person by him thereunto lawfully authorized.

void.

II. Every gift, grant, or conveyance of lands, tene- Conveyances ments, hereditaments, goods or chattels, or of any rent, to defraud common, or profit out of the same, by writing or other- creditors wise, and every bond, suit, judgment or execution, had or made, and contrived of malice, fraud, covin, collusion or guile, to the intent or purpose to delay, hinder, or defraud creditors of their just and lawful actions, suits, debts, accounts, damages, penalties, or forfeitures, or to defraud or deceive those who shall purchase the same lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or any rent, profit, or commodity out of them, shall be from henceforth deemed and taken (only as against the person or persons, his, her, or their heirs, successors, executors, administrators or assigns, and every of them, whose debts, suits, demands, estates interests, by such guileful and covinous devices and practices, as is afore said, shall or might be in any wise disturbed, hindered, delayed or defrauded) to be clearly and utterly void, any pretence, colour, feigned consideration, expressing of use, or any other matter or thing, to the contrary notwithstanding. And moreover, if a conveyance be What convey of goods and chattels and be not on consideration ances deemdeemed valuable in law, it shall be taken to be fraudu- ed fraudulent lent within this act, unless the same be by will duly proved and recorded, or by deed in writing acknowledged or proved, if the same deed include lands also, in such manner as conveyances of land are by law directed to be acknowledged or proved, or if it be of goods and chattels only, then acknowledged or proved by two witnesses in the general court, or court of the county wherein one of the parties live, within eight VOL. XII.

V

fraudulent.

months after the execution thereof, or unless possession Loans when shall really and bona fide remain with the douee. And in like manner where any loan of goods and chattels shall be pretended to have been made to any person with whom, or those claiming under him, possession shall have remained by the space of five years without demand made, and pursued by due process at law on the part of the pretended lender, or where any reservation or limitation shall be pretended to have been made of a use or property, by way of condition, reversion, remainder, or otherwise, in goods and chattels, the possession whereof shall have remained in another as aforesaid, the same shall be taken as to the creditors and purchasers of the persons aforesaid, so remaining in possession, to be fraudulent within this act, and that the absolute property is with the possession, unless such loan, reservation, or limitation of use or property, were declared by will or by deed, in writing proved, and recorded as aforesaid.

Not to extend to bona fide conveyances.

Commence. ment of act.

III. This act shall not extend to any estate or interest in any lands, goods or chattels, or any rents, common or profit out of the same, which shall be upon good consideration, and bona fide, lawfully conveyed or assured to any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate.

IV. This act shall commence and be in force from and after the first day of January, one thousand seven. hundred and eighty-seven.

From Rev. Bills of 1779.

CHAP. LXV.

ch. XXVII. An act concerning the dower and

mansion

jointures of widows.

Widow may I. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That a remain in widow after the death of her husband shall tarry in the house'till dow mansion house of her husband and the plantation thereer assigned, to belonging, rent free, until her dower shall be assigned her. And if she be thereof in the mean time deforced, she shall have a vicontiel writ, in the nature of a