TITHES, are the tenth part of the in crease, yearly, arising and renewing from the profits of lands, the stock upon lands, and the personal industry of the inhabi-. tants. And hence they are usually divid ed into three kinds ; praedial, mixed, and personal. Praedial tithes, are such as a rise merely and immediately from the ground, as grain of all sorts, hay, wood, fruits, herbs. For a piece of land, or ground, being called in Latin prxdium, whether it be arable, meadow, or pasture, the fruit or produce thereof is called prx dial, and consequently the tithe payable for such annual produce is called a prx. dial tithe.
Mixed tithes, are those which arise not immediately from the ground, but from things immediately nourished from the ground; as by means of goods depastured thereupon, or otherwise nourished with the fruits thereof: as colts, calves, lambs,, chickens, milk, cheese, eggs.
Personal tithes, are such as arise from the honest labour and industry of man, employing himself in some personal work, artifice, or negotiation; being the tenth part of the clear gain, after charges de ducted.
Tithes, with respect to value, are divid ed into great and small : great tithes, as corn, hay, wood ; small tithes, as. the prx dial tithes of other kinds, together with those that are mixed and personal.
Tithes of common right belong to that church, within the precincts of whose pa rish they arise. But one person may pre-. scribe to have tithes within the parish of; another ; and this is what is called a por then of No tide due de3nre of- the produce of a mole, or of a quarry ; because this is not a fruit of the earth, renewing annu ally; but is the substance of the earth, and has perhaps been so for a great num ber or years. But in some places tithes are due by custom, of the produce of mines.
No tithe is due of lime; the chalk of which this is made being part of the soil. Tithe is not due of bricks, which are made from the earth itself. • Nor of turf, nor of gravel ; because both these are part of the soil.
It has been held that no tithe is due of salt, because this does not renew annually. But every one of these, and all things of the like kind, may by custom become tithable.
If barren land is converted into tillage, no tithe shall be paid for the first seven years ; but if it be not barren in its own nature, as if it be woodland grubbed and made fit for tithes shall he paid presently ; for woodland is fertile, not barren.
Glebe lands, in the hands of the par son, shall not pay tithe to the vicar ; nor being in the hands of the vicar, shall they pay tithe to the parson : because the church shall not -pay tithes to the church.
But it the parson let his rectory,' reserv ing the glebe lands, he shall pay the tithes thereof to the lessee.
No tithes are due for houses ; for tithes are only due of such things as renew from year to year. But houses in London are, by decree, which was confirmed by an act of parliament, made liable to the payment of tithes. There is likewise, in most an cient cities and boroughs, a custom to pay tithes for houses ; without which there would be no maintenance in many parish es for the clergy.
As to mills, it is now settled by a de cree of the House of Lords, upon an appeal from a decree of the Court of Exchequer, that only personal tithes are due from the occupier of a corn mill. And the occu pier of a new erected mill is liable to tithes, although such mill is erected upon land discharged of tithes. Cro. Jac. 429.
Agistment, or the feeding of cattle, is subject to tithe. In the strict sense of the word, it means the depasturing of a beast the property of a stranger ; but this word is constantly used in the hooks for depas turing the beast of an occupier of land, as well as that of a stranger. An occupier of land is not liable to pay tithe for the. pas, ture of horses, or other beasts, which are used in husbandry in the parish in which they are depastured ; because the tithe of corn is by their labour increased. But if horses,or other beasts, 'are used in hus bandry out of the parish in which they de pastured, an agistment tithe is due for them. No tithe is due for the pasture of snitch cattle which are milked in the pa rish in which they are depastured ; cause the tithe is paid of the milk of such cattle. Nor is tithe due for the pasture, of a saddle-horse, which an occupier of land keeps for himself or servants to ride upon. Cro. Jac. 430. But an occupier of land is liable to an agistment tithe for all such cattle as he keeps for sale. Cro. Eliz. 446. Milk cattle which are reserv: ed for calving, shall pay no tithe for their pasture whilst they are dry ; but if they. be afterwards sold, or milked in another, parish, an agistment tithe is due for the time they were dry. No tithe is due from an occupier of land for the pasture of young cattle, reared to be used in hus bandry, or for the pail. Cro..Eliz. 446. But it' such young beasts be sold before they come to such perfection as to be fit for husbandry, or before they give milk, an agistment tithe must be paid for them.