There can be no collateral succession through bastards; for as they cannot be heirs themselves, so neither can they have any heirs but those of their own bodies. A bas tard is not entitled to the name either of his reputed father or of that of his mother, though lie may acquire for himself a surname by reputation; nor can he take property by the mere description of child of his reputed parent, until he has acquired the reputa tion of standing in that relation to him. Nor does a bastard follow, as legitimate chil dren do, his father's place of parochial settlement under the poor-laws, but he has and follows the settlement of his mother until he attains the age of 16, or until lie acquires a settlement in Tiffs own right, and after that age his primary settlement is in the parish where lie was born. Another peculiarity of the status of bastardy is, that a bastard being flies nullius, the consent of his father or mother to his marriage is not required, and is of no avail; but a guardian may be appointed by the court of chancery for the purpose, or a license may be granted upon oath made that there is no person authorized to give consent. To this may be added, that although in general a father may by deed or will appoint a guardian for his infant child, in the event of his decease, he has no such privilege if the child be illegitimate.
Such may be stated to be the principal peculiarities attaching to bastardy in the law of England. In other respects, a bastard is very much in the same position as a legiti mate person. Thus, he can hold land in fee-simple, and can dispose of it as he may think proper, making an unlimited alienation of it; and of course he can make a will bequeathing his whole estate; a simple and reasonable privilege, however, which, strange to say, was not conceded to bastards in Scotland dying without lawful issue, till the year 1836, when an act of parliament was passed, the 6 Will. IV. c. 22, which, on the preamble that "it was just, humane, and expedient," empowered bastards in that country to dis pose of their personal property by testament or will in like manner as other persons might do, any law or practice to the contrary notwithstanding! In regard to his whole estate, although the crown is entitled to such in the case of a bastard dying intestate, the royal claim is not strictly enforced; but upon petition, the crown's right will be trans ferred to the nearest member of the deceased bastard's family. In the Scotch law, also, the crown may, by what is called a gift of bastardy, grant not only the personal, but the real estate of an intestate bastard to the " donatory, ' or person similarly entitled, as in the case of personal property in England. It is also to be observed, that the prohibitions as to marriage which extend to collaterals, and to those related by the half-blood only, also apply although one of the parties be a bastard. Again, the laws relative to incest apply to a bastard with equal force as to others; the principle of the two latter points being that, although the bastard be filius nullius as to many civil consequences, his rela tionship to his natural parent is recognized for moral purposes. Of course, it need not lie added that a bastard may be made legitimate by an act of parliament for all pur poses, even for that of inheriting land, "as was done," says Blackstone, "in the case of John of Gaunt's bastard children by a statute of Richardn."
The paternity of a bastard or illegitimate child in England is ascertained by several statutes-7 and 8 Vict. c. 101. 35 and 36 Vict. c. 65, 36 and 37 Vict. c. 9; and the father is bound to make a proper allowance for the child's support till 16. But it is on the mother herself that the maintenance of the child in the first instance devolves. She is for this purpose entitled to its custody in preference to its father; and she is bound to maintain it as part of her family while she remains unmarried, or until the child attains the age of 16, or gains a settlement in its own right, or (being a female) is married; and iu the event of the mother's marriage, the same liability attaches to her husband. If the mother be of sufficient ability to maintain the bastard, while he is so dependent on her, and neglect that duty, so that he becomes chargable to a parish, she is liable, by 7 and 8 Viet. c. 101 s. 6, to be punished under the provisions of the vagrant act. Whether the mother is of sufficient ability or not, she can, by affiliation proceedings, compel the father to pay a sum not exceeding five shillings a week till the child is 16 (35 and 36 Viet. c. 65).
Besides the points in the Seotch law to which we hare adverted, it is to be observed that in that system, the maintenance, or "aliment," as it is called, of illegitimate chil dren, is a joint burden upon both parents. The mother is entitled to the custody of the child, but it does not appear whether she is to have such custody for any fixed time. It is in the discretion of the court of session to determine this, and it would seem that the period may vary according to circumstances, from 7 to 14 years. During this time, the father is bound to contribute his proportion of the expense; and if neither the father nor the mother can support the child, it must be maintained by the parish in which the mother has a settlement.
There is a nice and curious difference in the laws of England and Scotland as to the mode of ascertaining the paternity of a bastard child. According to the statutes we have referred to, that fact may be proved in England by the evidence of the mother, provided her statement is supported in "some material particular" by other testimony. But in Scotland, the order of the inquiry is reversed; the woman's evidence in that coun try being taken last, and only where the other and independent evidence amounts to what is called a semiplena probatio—that is, such evidence as induces a reasonable belief, although not complete evidence, in which case she is admitted to give what is called her oath, in supplement.
Both in England and Scotland, the widow of a bastard, whether there be issue or not of the marriage, is entitled to dower, terce, jug relieks, and all the other legal rights of widows. See LEGITIMACY, SEPARATION, DIVORCE, MARRIAGE, INHERITANCE, FEE SIMPLE, SUCCESSION, ULTIMUS ILEliES, VAGRANTS, and SEsumaria PROBATIG.