第60章 XI. (8)

Thirdly, That all the Descendants from such a Person as by the Laws of England might have been Heir to another, hold the same Right by Representation as that Common Root f rom whence they are derived; and therefore, 1st, They are in Law in the same Right of Worthiness and Proximity of Blood, as their Root that might have been Heir was, in case he had been living: And hence it is, that the Son or Grandchild, whether Son or Daughter of the eldest Son, succeeds before the younger Son; and the Son or Grandchild of the eldest Brother, before the youngest Brother; and so through all the Degrees of Succession, by the Right of Representation, the Right of Proximity is transferred from the Root to the Branches, and gives them the same Preference as the next and worthiest of Blood.

2dly, This Right transferred by Representation is infinite and unlimited in the Degrees of those that descend from the Represented; for Filius the Son, the Nepos the Grandson, the Abnepos the Great-Grandson, and so in infinitum enjoy the same Privilege of Representation as those from whom they derive their Pedigree lhave, whether it be in Descents Lineal, or Transversal;and theref ore the Great-Grandchild of the eldest Brother, whether it be Son or Daughter. shall be preferred before the younger Brother, because tho' the Female be less worthy than the Male, yet she stands in Right of Representation of the eldest Brother, who was more worthy than the younger. And upon this Account it is, 3dly, That if a Man have two Daughters, and the eldest dies in the Life of the Father, leaving six Daughters, and then the Father dies; the youngest Daughter shall have an equal Share with the other six Daughters, because they stand in Representation and Stead of their Mother, who could have had but a Moiety.

Fourthly, That hy the Law of England, without a special Custom to the contrary, the eldest Son, or Brother, or Uncle, excludes the younger; and the Males in an equal Degree do not all inherit: But all the Daughters, whether by the same or divers Venters, do inherit together to the Father, and all the Sisters by the same Venter do inherit to the Brother.

Fifthly, That the last Seisin in any Ancestor, makes him, as it were the Root of the Descent equally to many Intents as if he had been a Purchaser; and therefore he that cannot, according to the Rules of Descents, derive his Succession from him that was left actually seised, tho' he might have derived it from some precedent Ancestor, shall not inherit. And hence it is, That where Lands descend to the eldest Son from the Father, and the Son enters and dies without Issue, his Sister of the whole Blood shall inherit as Heir to the Brother, and not the younger Son of the half Blood, because he cannot be Heir to the Brother of the half Blood: But if the eldest Son had survived the Father and died before Entry, the youngest Son should inherit as Heir to the Father, and not the Sister, because he is Heir to the Father that was last actually seised. And hence it is, That tho' the Uncle is preferred before the Father in Descents to the Son; yet if the Uncle enter after the Death of the Son, and die without Issue, the Father shall inherit to the Uncle, quia Seisina facit Stipitem.

Sixthly, That whosoever derives a Title to any Land, must be of the Blood to him that first purchased it: And this is the Reason why, if the Son purchase Lands and dies without Issue, it shall descend to the Heirs of the Part of the Father; and if he has none, then to the Heirs on the Part of the Mother; because, tho' the Son has both the Blood of the Father and of the Mother in him, yet he is of the whole Blood of the Mother, and the Consanguinity of the Mother are Consanguinei Cognati of the Son.

And of the other Side, if the Father had purchased Lands, and it had descended to the Son, and the Son had died without Issue, and without any Heir of the Part of the Father, it should never have descended in the Line of the Mother, but escheated: For tho' the Consanguinei of the Mother were the Consanguinei of the Son, yet they were not of Consanguinity to the Father, who was the Purchaser; but if there had been none of the Blood of the Grandfather, yet it might have resorted to the Line of the Grandmother, because her Consanguinei were as well of the Blood of the Father, as the Mother's Consanguinity is of the Blood of the Son: And consequently also, if the Grandfather had purchased Lands, and they had descended to the Father, and from him to the Son; if the Son had entred and died without Issue, his Father's Brothers or Sisters, or their Descendants, or, for want of them, his Great-Grandfather's Brothers or Sisters, or their Descendants, or, for want of them, any of the Consanguinity of the Great-Grandfather, or Brothers or Sisters of the Great-Grandmother, or their Descendants, might have inherited, for the Consanguinity of the Great-Grandmother was the Consanguinity of the Grandfather; but none of the Line of the Mother, or Grandmother, viz. the Grandfather's Wife, should have inherited, for that they were not of the Blood of the first Purchaser. And the same Rule e converso holds in Purchases in the Line of the Mother or Grandmother, they shall always keep in the same Line that the first Purchaser settled them in.