State and Management of Landed Property. Size and Rent of Farms, THE natural and proper introduction to an account of the agriculture of England seems to be a description of the state of landed property there ; with this, therefore, we shall begin this division of our subject.
In England, landed property is tolerably well defined, and protected by the laws of the land. Through the various changes, however, that have taken place in our laws and constitution, in consequence of the conquests and revolutions to which the kingdom has been exposed, its landed property at present is of various descriptions ; and the laws and regulations respecting it are almost without number.
The kinds of property connected with the lands of England may be divided under two heads; namely, into possessory property, or the actual possession of the lauds and their appurtenances; and into abstract rights ;irking out of them. Those who are inclined to mee the ori gin and decline of the ancient structure of English te nures, and to search for the fragments of them that arc still in force, may consult Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws and Constitution of England.
The first division of the species of property •Jating to the lands of England, or possessing property, compri ses the soil or land itself; the minerals and fossils it co vers ; the waters annexed to it; the wood and herbage it produces; and the buildings, fences, &c. thereon erect ed. The other division of the species of property rela ting to the lands of England, or abstract rights, com prises scignorial rights, as chief rents, &c.; manorial rights, as quitrents, fines, &c. ; prescriptive, or com mon rights ; predial rights, or tithes ; and parochial rights, or taxes. To these, advouson and pat liamentary rights may be added, as they are not unfrequently attach ed to landed property.
It will be evident, from the consideration of these ab stract rights, that possessory property in this country is further liable to analysis, and to more particular distinc tions. In case lands are held unconditionally, and in full possession, without any other superior than the laws and constitution of the country, they are termed frce/to/d. This term again admits of still further distinctions.
If the lands are liable to regular and fixed annual payments, which payments are beneath their annual va lue, and without being liable to fine, heriot, or forfeiture, they are fee or arc comprised under the de nomination of other inferior holding. When they arc
held of a superior, as part of a royalty, honour, or ma nor, and are liable to fines, on account of deaths, transfers, or other circumstances, they arc conyhold. Copyhoid property is subject to the customs of the royalty, manor, or honour, of which it is a part.
Leasehold property is also of various descriptions and value in England ; long leasehold, as for a thousand years; life leasehold, with a fine certain or under cer tain limitations on a renewal ; life leasehold, with an uncertain fine, which is payable to the proprietor or other superior ; in this case, he reserves merely a con ventional rent ; the tenant having paid down a sum of money to obtain the lease, and the right of alienation : this practice is common in the west of England. The conventional rents are reserved and exacted in these cases, in order that the proprietor of the lands may have the right of convening the tenants to his court or au dit, as well as to know which of his tenants arc still alive, in order that no fraud or overholding may take place. There is also another kind of life leasehold with an uncertain fine: this fine is payable to the proprietor, who receives the full rent of the land at the time of granting the lease; the lessor having a power of alien ation ; this is a common practice in Wales and in some Parts of England. The last distinction of leasehold pro perty, which exists in England, is leasehold for an ordi nary term, with the power of alienation. These various rights of possession are styled tenures. ‘Vhere a lease is granted, without the power of alienation or transfer, it is a species of holding, which merely gives the right of occupancy.
Legal possession of landed property is gained, by grant, as from the crown ; by prescription, or long usage ; by descent, as from an ancestor ; by deed of gift or settlement ; by the testament of the deceased own er ; by forfeiture, as to a mortgage ; and by purchase, either entered on a court roll, or ratified by a deed of conveyance.