Exception to all Grants for Lives but Credit ought to be given to the Honour Wisdom and Judgment of former as well as present Officers in respect of such Nominations 'till some Misbehaviour shews the Choice to have been ill and when that appears the Persons are removable and then the Inconvenience is likewise removed Here the Jury have found the Plaintiff in the Action below to be able and sufficient and well qualified for the Office and to have done his Duty in the Office while he had it Wherefore it was prayed that the Judgment might be affirmed and it was affirmed Henry Lord Bishop of London and Peter Birch D.D. Plaintiffs versus Attorney General pro Domino Rege Regina WRit of Error to Reverse a Judgment given in B. R. in a Quare Impedit The Case upon Record was thus The Declaration sets forth the Act of Parliament which Erects and Constitutes the Parish of St. James's within the Liberty of Westminster out of the Parish of St. Martyns c. prout that by force and virtue of that Act the said Parish was made and the District therein named became a Parish and Dr. Tennison Rector of the same that he was afterwards Rite et Canonice consecratus Episcopus Lincoln ' and that thereby the said Church became void and thereupon it belonged to the King and Queen to present a fit Person ratione Prerogative sue Regie Corone sue Angl ' annex ' and that the Defendants hindred c The Defendants crave Oyer of the Writ and it is general Vic' Com' Midd ' salut ' precipe Henric ' Episcopo Lond ' Petro Birch Sacre Theologie Professor ' quod juste et sine Dilatione permittant nos prefentare idoueam personam ad c. que vacat et ad nostram spectat dâ—mationem Et unde pred' Episcopus et Petrus nos injuste c. And then they pray Judgment of the Writ and Declaration because that between the Writ and Declaration there is a material variance iâ— hoc viz. quod ubi per Breve pred' pred' Dom ' Rex et Regine â—â—â—itulant se ad Donationem pred' c. pleno Jure tamen per Narr ' pred' iidem Dominus Rex et Domina Regina intitulant se ad c. Sec â—â—â—tione Prerogative sue Regie Corone sue Anglie annex ' unde pro variatione pred' inter Breâ—e et Narr ' pred' they pray Judgment of the Writ and Declaration aforesaid and that the said Writ may be quash'd c. The Attorney General Demurs and the Defendants Joyn and there 's Judgment to answer over Then the Bishop Demurs generally and Mr. Attorney Joyns and Dr. Birch pleads that he is Incumbent and then sets forth the Statute of Hen. 8. concerning Dispensations and that after Dr. Tennison was elected Bishop the Archbishop granted to him a Commendam Retinere with power to take and enjoy the Profits to his own use by the space of seven Months That this Commendam was confirmed under the Great Seal according to the Statute and the said Dr. Tennison did enjoy the same accordingly c. Mr. Attorney Demurs and Dr. Birch joyns in Demurrer and Judgment was given for the King c. And now it was argued in the first place That the Plea in Abatement was good and if so all that followed was Erroneous And to make that Plea good it was said that there is a variance between the Writ and Declaration that they are founded upon several Rights that upon arguing the Merits of the Cause it must be owned to be so on the other side That no Argument can be urged to maintain the Declaration in general but the Jure Prerogative and consequently it must be different from the Title or Interest pleno Jure They have said below that tho' the King's Interest is bound by Statutes yet his Prerogative is not This Distinction of the Rights must be allowed or else the main Judgment is not justifiable and that there is such a Distinction appears in Gaudy and the Archbishop of Canterbury's Case in Hob. 302. by the Presentation there recited which was drawn by the King's Counsel 't is ad nostram Presentation ' pertinet sive ex pleno Jure sive ratione Prerogative By Bracton 415. If the Writ be founded on one Right and the Declaration on another the Writ must be abated as in Case of Executors and Corporations In some Cases it must be agreed That the Writ may be General and the Count Special but none of those Cases will reach to this where several Rights are pretended 'T is no Objection to say That there is no Writ in the Register for this for that 's rather an Argument against their Prerogative Besides this Prerogative was never allowed till Dyer's time and in the old Books 't is denied where the King was not Patron In the Register 30. is a Writ Special quod permittant nos presentare idoneam personam ad Ecclesiam de c. que vacat et ad nostram spectat Donationem ratione Archiepiscopatus Cant ' nuper vacantis in manu existentis And another Sine titulo ut de jure and that is General ad nostram spectat Donationem Another Writ is there Ratione custodie terre et heredis upon a Tenure in capite And another Ratione foris facture unius et ratione custodie terre et heredis alterius per servitium Another Writ pro Domino Rege et aliis conjunctim Register 32. is another such by reason of the Vacancy of the Archbishoprick 'T is not an Answer That the Writ of Waste is General and the Count Special because that is not en auter droit Then it was said that it is true That where another Writ cannot be had a General Writ and Special Count are allowable but here a Special Writ might have been sued And there were cited the 1 Inst. 26 53 54 235 344 3 Cro. 185 829. And as to the Queen and the Archbishop of York's Case 3 Cro. 340. that doth not come up to this Case for tho' the Writ were General and the Count in Right of the Dutchy of Lancaster yet both were as Patron pleno jure and the Count did only shew how the Plaintiff came to be Patron but here they were several Rights as dictinct as a Claim by a Man singly and a Claim as Executor or in jure Vxoris In Answer to this were cited the Presidents in Mich. 31 Hen. 6. Rot. 65. Pasch 9 Eliz. Rot. 1408. or 1410. Hill 13 Car. 1. Rot. 486. Trin. 31 Car. 2. Dominus Rex versus Episcop ' de Worcester Writ General and Count Special Rastal 528 530. Then it was argued upon the Merits of the Cause as it was appearing upon the Declaration and Plea and Demurrer and therein three Queries were made as had been by the King's Counsel below 1. If the King hath any Prerogative to present upon an Avoidance by Promotion where neither himself nor the Bishop was Patron but
Clerk who was inducted and afterwards died and the Church being so void the Defendant presented one Scroop his Clerk absque hoc quod praed ' nuper Rex Car. 1. obiit seisitus of the Advowson aforesaid in manner and form as the Attorney hath declared Et hoc paratus est c. unde petit jud ' et breve Episcopo c. Scroop pleads the same Plea mutatis mutandis The Attorney General craves Oyer of the Letters Patents produced in Court and they are read to him and are to this effect They recite That Queen Elizabeth had by her Letters Patents Anno 13. Regni sui granted to then Earl of Warwick all those Mannors of Bedall and Ascough c. and all Advowsons and Rights of Patronage thereunto belonging c. rendring a Rent and that Jac. 1. had granted the Rent to Sir Christopher Hatton et al' and that the said Mannors and Rents by good Conveyances in the Law had come to Sir William Theckston Knight and that he then had and held the same to him and his Heirs then 't is Know ye That we for divers good Causes and Considerations and of special Grace c. do ratifie and confirm to him the said William Theckston and his Heirs c. all those c. then it follows That whereas the said William Theckston by Virtue of the said Letters Patents made to the said Earl of Warwick and lawful Conveyance of the Premisses to himself made doth claim to have the Advowson of the Church of Bedall aforesaid according to the Tenour and Intent of the said Letters Patents and whereas he the said King Car. 1. upon the Death of one John Petty had by lapse presented Wilson and after his Death the said Theckston claiming the Right of Presentation the said King ad dictam Ecclestam sic vacantem ut ad presentatioâ—em snam pleno jure spectant had presented Dr. Wickham and that the said Theckston to recover his Right had brought his Writ of Quare Impedit upon which Issue was joyned That afterwards it was agreed between Theckston and Wickham that Wickham should enjoy it during his Life and that Theckston and his Heirs should have it quietly for ever after prout ex informatione dicti Wickham nostri Capellani in ordinario accepimus Nos igitur volentes That the said Presentations of the said Wilson and Wickham or either of them or their or either of their Institution and Induction should not hurt the said Theckston's lawful Right of presenting to the said Church for the future and it is our further Intention That the said William Theckston his Heirs and Assigns shall freely and peaceably have and enjoy the said Advowson of the said Church of Bedall according to the Tenour and true Intent of the said Letters Patents granted by the said Queen to the said Ambrose Earl of Warwick any Defect or Defects in the same Letters Patents notwithstanding And then follows the Grant it self in these Words Sciatis igitur quod nos ex uberiori et speciali gratia nostra c. Know ye therefore That we of our more abundant and special Grace and of our certain Knowledge and meet Motion have given and granted and do by these presents for our selves our Heirs and Successors give and grant to the aforesaid William Theckston the Advowson Donation free Disposition and Right of Patronage of the aforesaid Church of Bedall and all our Right Estate Title Interest and claim whatsoever of presenting to the said Church whensoever or howsoever it shall become void Quibus lectis anditis the Attorney General demurrs and the Defendant joyns and Judgment in C. B. pro Domino Rege upon this Reason only that this Grant was void the Advowson being in gross and nothing was intended to pass but an Advowson Appendant and so the King was deceived and upon a Writ of Error in B. R. the Judgment was affirmed upon another point viz. That the Grant pleaded was to William Theckston then Esq and afterwards Knight and the Grant set forth upon Oyer was to William Theckston Knight and there were Three Judges of Opinion with the Patent and one only against it and one Judge of Opinion with the Plaintiff in the Error as to both the Validity of the Patent it self and the Identity of the Person named in the Plea and Patent And now it was argued for the Plaintiffs in the Writ of Error That this Judgment was erroneous and first it was answered to the Objection of the Variance between Knight and Esq and it was said That in case of a Title of Worship the want of it could never viciate a Grant that even in Indictments upon the Statute of Additions a Gentleman may be called Esquire and so e ' contra and thus is 2 Iust that here constat de persono there 's nothing doth appear to shew them to be different that in case of Feoffments this Pretence will not hurt because the Person is ascertained and here 't is likewise the same it is William Theckston then Esq and afterwards Knight 't is but one Man they are two different Affirmations concerning the same Person that in the Case cited on the other side of the Earl of Pembroke in Jones's Rep. and in 1 Cro. 173. and Littlet 191.223 Richardson and Hutton are of Opinion That such Grant is good then 't was said That 't would be very hard to intend them several Persons in order to avoid a Grant that Veritas nominis tollit Erroreâ—â— demonstrationis Persone that he was William Theckston that if it had been said concessit Wilielmo Theckston generally that would have been sufficient and his being an Esq doth not exclude his being a Knight so that 't is not a false Description 25 Edw. 3.19 a Writ was abated because shewn that they were two Persons but held that if it had appeared that they had been but one 't would have been well Then was cited the Major of Lynnes Case 10 Rep. 126. 'T is true this is a Name or Title of Dignity to some purposes but not to all It must be agreed to be so upon Originals and Indictments and there is a very good reason for it because in that Case a greater Certainty is required that one Man may not suffer for or instead of another but in Case of Grants any Description of the Person is sufficient besides if a Name be mistaken in a Writ or Indictment another may be sued or preferred by the true Name but a Man cannot of common Right demand a new Grant tho' this be a Grant from the Crown 't is the same case for the King's Grant shall be taken most beneficially for the Support of his Honour 6 Rep. 6. that here 's no COlour to pretend two William Theckstons Then it was said That this at most was only an Addition of Enlargement to his Name not parcel of the Name it self for no more goes to that than Christian and Sirname then 't was said 't
him nay against the Lessee himself the Owner of the Lands if he takes it before the Performance of the Condition so that these Words cannot alter the Case this is not the Case of a Will but of a Deed Executed in the Life-time of the Party the Rule and the Reason of the Rule about Exceptions in Grants will hold to this where the Grant is General the Exception cannot be rejected as void on pretence of Repugnancy The Common Law doth not care to raise or make Estates by Implication where the same Person hath an express one so is Vaughan 261 262. therefore there 's no Reason in this Case to construe the whole Term to pass by Implication in the Premisses a particular Estate being limited in the Habend ' and that not being good all is void Here 's no Purchaser Creditor or Heir in the Case but 't is a meer voluntary Act to the Defendant Then was cited 1 Cro. 376. 2 Bulstr 272. of a Copy-holders Surrender Habend ' a tempore mortis and held void wherefore upon the whole it was insisted That by the Premisses nothing passed but an Estate at Will That the Habend ' giving an Estate or Interest which was not allowable in the Law the Deed was void and passed nothing and therefore the Verdict was for the Plaintiff and the Judgment in B. R. was good and accordingly it was prayed That the Reversal of that Judgment might be reversed On the other side it was argued That to construe this to be void was contrary to the Intention of both the Parties That now the Grantor and his Wife were dead and there was no dispute about their Estates That the Premisses here passed the whole 't is to her and her Executors and Assigns 't is all that Cottage 't is together with all his Deeds concerning it the Deeds are concomitant with the Estate and when he grants the Deeds he certainly did design to pass his Interest he could never mean an Estate at Will when he names the Executors c. Then was cited the Case of Lilley and Witney Dyer 272. pl. 30. Grant of all his Interest Estate and Term Habend ' after his Death the Habend ' is void Plowd 520. 1 Bulstr 191. Bro. Grants 154. Leases 66. The Presumption that a Man can out-live a 1000 Years is a weak Pretence and void of Reason Equity is a part of the Law of the Land and here to judge this void is unconscionable and unreasonable Then was cited 1 Anderson 284 290. Grant of a Reversion Habend ' after his Death shall vest immediately the Lease imports and carries the Estate Peto and Pemberton 1 Cro. 101. Plea That he had surrendred his Lease which shews that it carried the Interest they are Synonimous Bro. tit Grant 155. A Man grants omnia firma sua shall pass his Term There 's no prescribed Form for passing a Chattel before the Stat. of Frauds A Man possessed of a Term grants it to another and his Heirs it passeth the whole so to a Man for Life it shall pass the whole Interest and shall go to his Executor Plowd 424. 3 Cro. 534. If the Habend ' were out of the Case this would pass the whole and if so the Habend ' is void 't is an old Rule and a good one Vt res magis valeat quam pereat The Lord Chief Baron Hale seem'd of that Opinion in the Case of Smith and Tutchett in scacc ' but that proved a Mistake for that Case was different and was ended by Consent as appeared by a Rule Die Mercurij 13. Die Maij Term ' Pasch 26. Car. 2. after Hale was removed into the Kings Bench. Then 't was said that there could be no ill Consequence in adjudging this to be a good Assignment the like case was never probable to happen again that here had been a Diversity of Opinions below Stairs that Equity was with the Defendant and therefore 't was prayed That the Reversal might be affirmed and it was affirmed accordingly Bennett Swayne Esq Petitioner Versus William Fawkener and John Lane Executors of Benjamin Middleton Defendants WRit of Error to Reverse a Judgment in the Kings Bench given for Benjamin in an Action against Swayne for 20 l. received by him of the Profits of a Share in the New-River c. The Case was thus Simon Middleton Esq being seized in Fee of Seventeen Thirty-six Parts of the King's Moiety in the New-River Water and having Issue eight Children viz. Hugh Sarah Hannah and Anne by his first Wife and Elizabeth Rebecca Benjamin and Hezekiah by his second Wife made his last Will and thereby amongst other things to the intent that all his younger Children might be provided for he devised Seven Thirty-sixth Parts or Shares of the King's Moiety aforesaid amongst them in manner following viz. to Sarah Hannah and Anne to each of them and their Heirs one full Thirty-sixth Part or Share of the said King's Moiety free and discharged from the Fee Farm Rent payable to the King's Majesty and of 100 l. per Annum payable to Henry Middleton deceased and his Heirs and from all other Payments and Charges whatsoever And also to Elizabeth Rebecca and Benjamin and to each of them her and his Heirs one full Thirty-sixth Part or Share of the said New-River Water of the King's Moiety only they and each of them proportionably to stand charged with the payment of the Fee-Farm Rent due and payable to the King's Majesty and with the 100 l. per Annum to Henry Middleton and his Heirs and with no other Payment or Charge whatsoever and to his Son Hezekiah and his Heirs one full Thirty-sixth Part or Share of the said New-River Water the said Share being part of the King's Moiety to hold to him and his Heirs with the Rents Issues and Profits thereof from and immediately after his Decease only proportionably to stand charged with the Payments of the Fee-Farm Rent due and payable to his Majesty and with the aforesaid 100 l. per Annum to the said Henry Middleton and his Heirs and also charged with 150 l. more towards binding out of his Brother Benjamin an Apprentice when and so soon as he shall attain to the Age of Sixteen Years but with no other Charge or Payment whatsoever And further devises That in case any of his said younger Children Sons or Daughters shall happen to die before he she or they should attain the full Age of Twenty One Years or be married then and in either of the said Cases he did will and devise that Part or Share with the Profits thereof of him her or them so deceasing as aforesaid to the Survivor or Survivors of all his aforesaid younger Children Share and Share alike chargable nevertheless with the several Payments as aforesaid but liable to no other Charge or Payment whatsoever And all the rest of his Shares in the said New-River Water he gives to his eldest Son Hugh and his Heirs so that he permit