excellent Majesty (at the humble request of the justices of the peace, gentlemen, and freeholders of the county of Middlesex) that it may be enacted, and be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That a memorial of all deeds and conveyances, which from and after the twenty ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and nine, shall be made and executed, and of all wills and devises in writing made or to be made and published, where the devisor or testatrix shall die after the said twenty ninth day of September, of or concerning, and whereby any honors, manors, lands, tenements, or hereditaments in the said county, may be any way affected in law or equity, may be registered in such manner as is herein after directed; and that every such deed or conveyance that shall at any time after the said twenty ninth day of September, be made and executed, shall be adjudged fraudulent and void against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for valuable consideration, unless such memorial thereof be registered as by this act is directed, before the registring of the memorial of the deed or conveyance under which such subsequent purchaser or mortgagee shall claim; and that every such devise by will shall be adjudged fraudulent and void against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for valuable consideration, unless a memorial of such will be registered at such times and in manner as is herein after directed.

XVII. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That this act shall not extend to any copyhold estates, or to any leases at a rack rent, or to any lease not exceeding one and twenty years, where the actual possession and occupation goeth along with the lease, or to any of the chambers in Serjeants Inn, the inns of court, or inns of Chancery; anything in this act contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.

8 ANNE. CAP. 14. [A.D. 1709.]

An act for the better security of rents, and to prevent frauds committed by tenants.

IV. And whereas no action of debt lies against a tenant for life or lives, for any arrears of rent, during the continuance of such estate for life or lives, be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the said first day of May, it shall and may be lawful for any

person or persons, having any rent in arrear or due upon any lease or demise for life or lives, to bring an action or actions of debt for such arrears of rent, in the same manner as they might have done, in case such rent were due and reserved upon a lease for years.

VI. And whereas tenants pur auter vie and lessees for years, or at will, frequently hold over the tenements to them demised, after the determination of such leases: and whereas after the determination of such, or any other leases, no distress can by law be made for any arrears of rent that grew due on such respective leases before the determination thereof; it is hereby further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the said first day of May, one thousand seven hundred and ten, it shall and may be lawful, for any person or persons, having any rent in arrear or due upon any lease for life or lives, or for years, or at will, ended or determined, to distrain for such arrears, after the determination of the said respective leases, in the same manner as they might have done, if such lease or leases had not been ended or determined.

VII. Provided, That such distress be made within the space of six kalendar months after the determination of such lease, and during the continuance of such landlord's title or interest, and during the possession of the tenant from whom such arrears became due.

4 GEO. II. CAP. 28. [A.D. 1731.]

An act for the more effectual preventing frauds committed by tenants, and for the more easy recovery of rents, and renewal of leases.

V. And whereas the remedy for recovering rent seck, rents of assize and chief rents, are tedious and difficult, be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the twenty fourth day of June one thousand seven hundred and thirty one, all and every person or persons, bodies politick and corporate, shall and may have the like remedy by distress, and by impounding and selling the same, in cases of rent seck, rents of assize and chief rents, which have been duly answered or paid for the space of three years, within the space of twenty years before the first day of this present session of parliament, or shall be hereafter created, as in case of rent reserved upon lease; any law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding.

[7 GEO. II. CAP. 20. [A.D. 1734.]

An act for the more easy redemption and foreclosure of mortgages.]

11 GEO. II. CAP. 19. [A.D. 1738.]

An act for the mere effectual securing the payment of rents, and preventing frauds by tenants.

XI. And whereas the possession of estates in lands, tenements, and hereditaments is rendered very precarious by the frequent and fraudulent practice of tenants, in attorning to strangers, who claim title to the estates of their respective landlord or landlords, lessor or lessors, who by that means are turned out of possession of their respective estates, and put to the difficulty and expence of recovering the possession thereof by actions or suits at law; for remedy thereof, be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the said twenty fourth day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred thirty and eight, all and every such attornment, and attornments of any tenant or tenants of any messuages, lands, tenements, or hereditaments, within that part of Great Britain called England, dominion of Wales, or town of Berwick upon Tweed, shall be absolutely null and void to all intents and purposes whatsoever; and the possession ́ of their respective landlord or landlords, lessor or lessors, shall not be deemed or construed to be any wise changed, altered, or affected by any such attornment or attornments: Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall extend to vacate or effect any attornment made pursuant to and in consequence of some judgment at law, or decree or order of a court of equity, or made with the privity and consent of the landlord or landlords, lessor or lessors, or to any mortgagee after the mortgage is become forfeited.

XIV. And to obviate some difficulties that many times occur in the recovery of rents, where the demises are not by deed, be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the said twenty fourth day of June, it shall and may be lawful to and for the landlord or landlords, where the agreement is not by deed, to recover a reasonable satisfaction for the lands, tenements, or hereditaments, held or occupied by the defendant or defendants, in an action on the case, for the use and occupation of what was so held or enjoyed; and if in evidence on the trial of such action any parol demise or any agreement (not being by deed) whereon a certain rent was reserved shall appear, the plaintiff in such action shall not therefore be nonsuited, but may make use thereof as an evidence of the Quantum of the damages to be recovered.

XV. And whereas where any lessor or landlord, having only an estate for life in the lands, tenements, or hereditaments demised, happens to die before or on the day, on which any rent is reserved, or made payable, such rent, or any part thereof, is not by law recoverable by the executors or administrators of such lessor or landlord; nor is the person in reversion entitled thereto, any other than for the use and occupation of such lands, tenements, or hereditaments, from the death of the tenant for life; of which advantage hath been often taken by the under-tenants, who thereby avoid paying anything for the same; for remedy whereof, be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the four and twentieth day of June, one thousand seven hundred thirty and eight, where any tenant for life shall happen to die before or on the day, on which any rent was reserved or made payable upon any demise or lease of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, which determined on the death of such tenant for life, that the executors or administrators of such tenant for life shall and may in an action on the case recover of and from such under-tenant or under-tenants of such lands, tenements, or hereditaments, if such tenant for life die on the day on which the same was made payable, the whole or if before such day then a proportion, of such rent according to the time such tenant for life lived, of the last year, or quarter of a year, or other time in which the said rent was growing due as aforesaid, making all just allowances or a proportionable part thereof respectively.*

14 GEO. II. CAP. 20. [A.D. 1741.]

An act to amend and explain an act made in the twenty ninth year of the reign of King Charles the Second, intituled An act for prevention of Frauds and Perjuries, so far as the same relates to estates pur auter vie.

IX. And whereas, by an act made in the twenty ninth year of King Charles the Second, intituled, An act for prevention of frauds and perjuries, amongst other things, it is enacted, That estates pur auter vie, whereof no devise should be made, should, in case there should be no special occupant thereof, go to the executors or administrators of the party that had the estate thereof by virtue of the grant, and should be assets in their hands: and whereas doubts have arisen, where no devise has been made of such estates, to whom the surplus

*See 4 & 5. Wm. IV. c. 22.

of such estates, after the debts of such deceased owners thereof are fully satisfied, shall belong; be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That such estates pur auter vie, in case there be no special occupant thereof, of which no devise shall have been made according to the said act for prevention of frauds and perjuries, or so much thereof as shall not have been so devised, shall go, be applied, and distributed, in the same manner as the personal estate of the testator or intestate.

25 GEO. II. CAP. 6. [A.D. 1752.]

An act for avoiding and putting an end to certain doubts and questions relating to the attestation of wills and codicils concerning real estates in that part of Great Britain called England, and in his Majesty's colonies and plantations in America.

Whereas by an act made in the twenty ninth year of the reign of his late majesty King Charles the Second, intituled, An act for prevention of frauds and perjuries; it is amongst other things enacted, That from and after the twenty fourth day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and seventy seven, all devises and bequests of any lands or tenements deviseable, either by force of the statute of wills, or by that statute, or by force of the custom of Kent, or the custom of any borough, or any other particular custom, shall be in writing, and signed by the party so devising the same, or by some other person in his presence, and by his express direction; and shall be attested and subscribed in the presence of the said devisor, by three or four credible witnesses, or else they shall be utterly void and of none effect, which hath been found to be a wise and good provision: but whereas doubts have arisen who are to be deemed legal witnesses within the intent of the said act; therefore, for avoiding the same, be it enacted by the King's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal and commons in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That if any person shall attest the execution of any will_or codicil which shall be made after the twenty fourth day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty two, to whom any beneficial devise, legacy, estate, interest, gift or appointment of or affecting any real or personal estate, other than and except charges on lands, tenements or hereditaments for payment of any debt or debts, shall be thereby given or made, such devise, legacy, estate, interest,