II. And over that, be it enacted by the said authority. That if any murderer or felon, upon his arraignment hereafter do allege, that he had taken any church or church-yard for murder felony or other place privileged for the same, in a foreign county, and against his will taken out thereof: that then the King's attorney, or any other person that will sue or allege for the King, that the said murderer or felon so arraigned, was taken at large in the same shire where he is so arraigned; that then the same allegiance and issue to be tried by the inquest that shall try the said murder or felony within the same shire. and before the same justice, where the said murderer or felon is arraigned, as though the said foreign plea had not been pleaded by the said felon (2) and if it be found by the same inquest, that the said murderer or felon was taken within the same shire (as is aforesaid) that then he to have none advantage or benefit of the matter alledged by him for taking out of the church or church-yard, or other place privileged, in any such foreign shire: and this act to endure to the next parliament.

21 HENRY VIII. CAP. 4. [A.D. 1529.]

The sale of land by part of the executors, lawful.

Where divers sundry persons before this time, having other persons seized to their use of and in lands and other hereditaments to and for the declaration of their wills, have by their last wills and testaments willed and declared such their said lands, tenements, or other hereditaments to be sold by their executors, as well to and for the payments of their debts, performance of their legacies, necessary and convenient finding of their wives, virtuous bringing up and advancement of their children to marriage, as also for other charitable deeds to be done and executed by their executors for the health of their souls. (2) And notwithstanding such trust and confidence so by them put in their said executors, it hath oftentimes been seen, where such last wills and testaments of such lands, tenements, and other hereditaments have been declared, and in the same divers executors named and made, that after the decease of such testators some of the same executors, willing to accomplish the trust and confidence that they were put in by the said testator, have accepted and taken upon them the charge of the said testament, and have been ready to fulfil and perform all things contained in the same; and the residue of the same executors, uncharitably contrary to the trust that

they were put in, have refused to intermeddle in any wise with the execution of the said will and testament, or with the sale of such lands so willed to be sold by the testator. (3) And forasmuch as a bargain and sale of such lands, tenements, or other hereditaments so willed by any person to be sold by his executors after his decease, after the opinion of divers persons, can in no wise be good or effectual in the law, unless the same bargain and sale be made by the whole number of the executors named to and for the same; (4) by reason whereof, as well the debts of such testators have rested unpaid and unsatisfied, to the great danger and peril of the souls of such testators, and to the great hindrance, and many times to the utter undoing of their creditors: (5) as also the legacies and bequests made by the testator to his wife, children, and for other charitable deeds to be done for the wealth of the soul of the same testator that made the same testament, have been also unperformed, as well to the extreme misery of the wife and children of the said testator, as also to the let of performance of other charitable deeds for the wealth of the soul of the said testator, to the displeasure of Almighty God. (6) For remedy whereof, be it enacted, ordained, and established by the authority of this present parliament, That where part of the executors named in any such testament of any such person so making or declaring any such will of any lands, tenements, or other hereditaments to be sold by his executors, after the death of any such testator, do refuse to take upon him or them the administration and charge of the same testament and last will wherein they be so named to be executors, and the residue of the same executors do accept and take upon them the cure and charge of the same testament and last will; that then all bargains and sales of such lands, tenements, or other hereditaments, so willed to be sold by the executors of any such testator, as well heretofore made, as hereafter to be made by him or them only of the said executors that so doth accept, or that heretofore hath accepted and taken upon him or them any such cure or charge of administration of any such will or testament, shall be as good and as effectual in the law, as if all the residue of the same executors named in the said testament, so refusing the administration of the same testament, had joined with him or them in the making of the bargain and sale of such lands, tenements, or other hereditaments so willed to be sold by the executors of any such testator, which heretofore hath made or declared, or that hereafter shall make or declare any such will, of any such lands, tenements, or other hereditaments after his decease, to be sold by his executors.

II. Provided alway, That this act shall not extend to give power or authority to any executor or executors at any time hereafter to bargain or put to sale any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, by virtue and authority of any will or testament heretofore made, otherwise than they might do by the course of the common law afore the making this act.

CAP. 5.

III. § 6. And in case any person die intestate, or that the executors named in any such testament refuse to prove the said testament, then the said ordinary, or other person or persons having authority to take probate of testaments, as is abovesaid, shall grant the administration of the goods of the testator, or person deceased, to the widow of the same person deceased, or to the next of his kin, or to both, as by the discretion of the same ordinary shall be thought good, taking surety of him or them, to whom shall be made such commission, for the true administration of the goods, chattels, and debts, which he or they shall be so authorised to minister; (7) and in case where divers persons claim the administration as next of kin, which be equal in degree of kindred to the testator or person deceased, and where any person only desireth the administration as next of kin, where indeed divers persons be in equality of kindred, as is aforesaid, that in every such case the ordinary to be at his election and liberty to accept any one or mo making request, where divers do require the administration.

IV. Or where but one or more of them, and not all being in equality of degree, do make request, then the ordinary to admit the widow, and him or them only making request, or any one of them at his pleasure, taking nothing for the same, unless the goods of the person so deceased amount above the value or sum of C. s. (2) and in case the goods of the person so deceased amount to above the value of C. s. and not above the value or sum of xl. li. then the said bishop, ordinary, or other person or persons so having authority to take probate of testaments, as is aforesaid, their ministers and officers shall take only ii. s. vi. d. sterling, and not above; (3) and that the executor and executors named by the testator, or person so deceased, or such other person or persons to whom such administration shall be committed where any person dieth intestate, or by way of intestate, calling or taking to him or them such person or persons, two at the least, to whom the said person so dying was indebted, or made any legacy, and upon their refusal or absence, two other honest persons, being next of

kin to the person so dying, and in their default and absence two other honest persons, and in their presence, and by their discretions, shall make, or cause to be made, a true and perfect inventory of all the goods, chattels, wares, merchandises, as well moveable as not moveable whatsoever, that were of the said person so deceased, (4) and the same shall cause to be indented, whereof the one part shall be by the said executor or executors, administrator or administrators, upon his or their oath or oaths, to be taken before the said bishops, or ordinaries, their officials, or commissaries, or other persons having power to take probate of testaments, upon the holy evangelists, to be good and true, and the same one part indented shall present and deliver into the keeping of the said bishop, ordinary, or ordinaries, or other person having power to take probate of testaments, and the other part thereof to remain with the said executor or executors, administrator or administrators; (5) and that no bishop, ordinary, or other whatsoever person, having authority to take probate of testament or testaments, as is above said, upon the pain in this estatute hereafter contained, refuse to take any such inventory or inventories to him or them presented or tendered to be delivered as is aforesaid.

V. § 1. Provided always, That if the person so deceased will by his testament, or last will, any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, to be sold, that the money thereof coming, nor the profits of the said lands, for any time to be taken, shall not be accounted as any of the goods or chattels, of the said person so deceased.

VIII. Provided alway, That this present act be not prejudicial to any ordinary, or any other person, which now have or hereafter shall have authority for probate of testaments, but that every of them shall and may convent before them all and every person or persons made and named executor or executors of any testament, to the intent to prove or refuse the testament or testaments of their testator or testators, and to bring in inventories, and to do every other thing concerning the same, as they might do before the making of this act; (2) so that always any such ordinary, or other person or persons having such authority, by themselves, their commissaries, scribes, registers, or other ministers aforesaid, shall not in any wise take for the same above the fees limited by this act, ne in any wise attempt any thing contrary to any part of the same act.

27 HENRY VIII. CAP. 10. [A.D. 1535.]

An act concerning uses and wills.

Where by the common laws of this realm, lands tenements and hereditaments be not devisable by testament, (2) nor ought to be transferred from one to another, but by solemn livery and seisin, matter of record, writing sufficient made bona fide, without covin or fraud; (3) yet nevertheless divers and sundry imaginations, subtle inventions and practices have been used, whereby the hereditaments of this realm have been conveyed from one to another by fraudulent feoffments, fines, recoveries and other assurances craftily made to secret uses, intents and trusts; (4) and also by wills and testaments, sometime made by nude parolx and words, sometime by signs and tokens, and sometime by writing, and for the most part made by such persons as be visited with sickness, in their extreme agonies and pains, or at such time as they have scantly had any good memory or remembrance; (5) at which times they being provoked by greedy and covetous persons lying in wait about them, do many times dispose indiscreetly and unadvisedly their lands and inheritances; (6) by reason whereof, and by occasion of which fraudulent feoffments, fines, recoveries and other like assurances to uses, confidences and trusts, divers and many heirs have been unjustly at sundry times disherited, the lords have lost their wards, marriages, reliefs, harriots, escheats, aids pur fair fits chivalier, & pur file marier, (7) and scantly any person can be certainly assured of any lands by them purchased, nor know surely against whom they shall use their actions or executions for their rights, titles and duties; (8) also men married have lost their tenancies by the curtesy, (9) women their dowers, (10) manifest perjuries by trial of such secret wills and uses have been committed; (11) the King's highness hath lost the profits and advantages of the lands of persons attainted, (12) and of the lands craftily put in feoffments to the uses of aliens born, (13) and also the profits of waste for a year and a day of lands of felons attainted, (14) and the lords their escheats thereof; (15) and many other inconveniences have happened, and daily do encrease among the King's subjects, to their great trouble and inquietness, and to the utter subversion of the ancient common laws of this realm; (16) for the extirping and extinguishment of all such subtle practised feoffments, fines, recoveries, abuses and errors heretofore used and accustomed in this realm, to the subversion of the good and