Canada
Canada. The Name Of One Of The Brit Ish Possessions In North America. • The Eastern Part Of Canada Was Discovered By Gaboto, While In The English Service, In 1497; But The Country Was First Taken Actual Poisessiun Of By The French, To Which Power It Was Formally Assigned It ...
Canal
Canal. An Artificial Cut Or Trench In The Earth, For Conducting And Confining Water To Be Used For Transportation. 2. Public Canals Originate Under And Charters Enacted To Authorize Their Con Struction And To Protect And Regulate Their. Use. They Are In This Country Constructed And Managed Either By The ...
Cancellarius
Cancellarius. A Chancellor. A Janitor, Or One Who Stood At The Door Of The Court And Was Accustomed To Carry Out The Commands Of The Judges. A Scribe. A No Tary. Ducange. 2. It Was Under The Reign Of The Merovingian Kings That The Cancellarii First Obtained The Dignity Corresponding ...
Canon Law
Canon Law. A Body Of Ecclesiasti• Cal Law, Which Originated In The Church Of Rome, Relating To Matters Of Which That Church Has Or Claims Jurisdiction. 2. A Canon Is A Rule Of Doctrine Or Of Discipline, Apd Is The Term Generally Applied To Designate The Ordinances Of Councils And ...
Capias Ad Satisfaciendum
Capias Ad Satisfaciendum. In Practice. .• -writ Directed To The Sheriff Or Coroner, Comma Ding Him To Take The Person Therein Named And Him Safely Keep So That He May Have His Body In Court On The Return Day Of The Writ, To Satisfy (ad Satisfaciendum) The Party Who Has ...
Caput
Caput (lat. Head). In Civil Law. Status; A Person's Civil Condition, 2. According To The Roman Law, Three Elements Concurred To Form The Status Or Caput Of The Citizen, Namely, Liberty, Libertas, Citizenship, Cicitas, And Family, Familia. Libertas Est Naturalis Facuttas Ejus Quad Cacique Facere Libel, Nisi Si Quid Vi ...
Case
Case. In Practice. A Question Coa Sted Before A Court Of Justice. An Action Or At At Law Or In Equity. 1 Wheat. 352. A Case Arising Under A Treaty (u. S. Coast. T. 3, Sect. 2) Is A Suit Where Is Drawn In Iestion The Construction Of A Treaty ...
Cashier
Cashier. An Officer Of A Moneyed In Stitution, Or Of A Private Person Or Firm, Who Is Entitled By His Office To Take Care Of The Cash Or Money Of Such Institution, Person, Or Firm. 2. The Cashier Of A Bank Is Usually In Trusted With All The Funds Of ...
Causa Pro2rma
Causa Pro2rma. Non Reepondebit Minor, Iliad In Caned Dotie, Et Hoc Pro Favore Doti. A Minor Shall Not Answer Unless In A Ease Of Dower, And This In Favor Of Dower. 4 Coke, 71. Non Reus Nisi Mem +lit Rea. Not Guilty Unless The Intent Be Guilty. 1 Story, Contr. ...
Caveat
Caveat (lat. Let Him Beware). In Practice. A Notice Not To Do An Act, Given To Some Officer, Ministerial Or Judicial, By A Party Having An Interest In The Matter. It Is.a Formal Caution Or Warning Not To Do The Act Mentioned, And Is Addressed Frequently To Prevent The Admission ...
Census
Census (lat. Censere, To Reckon). An Official Reckoning Or Enumeration Of The Habitants And Wealth Of A. Country. Tire Census Of The United States Is Taken Every Tenth Year, In Accordance With The Pro Visions Of The Constitution ; And Many Of The States Have Made Provisions For A Similar ...
Certainty
Certainty. In Contracts. Dis Tinctness And Accuracy Of Statement. A Thing Is Certain When Its Essence, Quality, And Quantity Are Described, Distinctly Set Forth, Etc. Dig. 12. 1. 8. It Is Uncertain When The Descrip Tion Is Not That Of An Individual Object, But Desig Nates Only The Kind. La. ...
Certiorari
Certiorari. In Practice. A Writ Issued By A Superior To An Inferior Court Of Record, Requiring The Latter To Send In To The Former Some Proceeding Therein Pending, Or The Records And Proceedings In Some Cause Already Terminated In Cases Where The Proce Dure Is Not According To The Course ...
Challenge
Challenge. In Criminal Law. Are Lest By One Person To Another To Fight A Duel. It May Be Oral Or Written. 6 Blackf. Ind. 1. Sending A Challenge Is A High Offence At ?mmon Law, And Indictable As Tending To A Tacit Of The Peace. Hawkins, Pl. Cr. B. 1, ...
Character
Character. In Evidence. The Opinion Generally Entertained Of A Person De Rived From The Common Report Of The People Who Are Acquainted With Him. 3 Serg. & R. Penn. 336; 3 Mass, 192; 3 Esp. 236. 2. The Moral Character And Conduct Of A Person In Society May Be Used, ...
Charge
Charge. A Duty Or Obligation Imposed Upon Some Person. A Lien, Incumbrance, Or Claim Which Is To Be Satisfied Out Of The Spe Cific Thing Or Proceeds Thereof To Which It Applies. To Impose Such An Obligation; To Create Such A Claim. To Accuse. The Distinctive Significance Of The Term ...
Charities Charitable Uses
Charitable Uses, Charities. Gifts To General Public Uses, Which May 'ex Tend To The Rich As Well As The Poor. Ambl. 651; 2 Sneed, 305. Gifts To Such Purposes As Are Enumerated In Rthe Act 43 Eliz. C. 4, Or Which, By Ana Logy, Are Deemed Within Its Spirit Or ...
Charter
Charter. A Made By The Sove Reign Either To The Whole People,or To A Por Tion Of Them, Securing To Them The Enjoyment Of Certain Rights. 1 Story, Const. 161; 1 Blackstone, Comm. 108. A Charter Differs From A Constitution In This, That, The Former Is Granted By The Sovereign, ...
Chattel
Chattel (norm. Fr. Goods, Of Any Kind). Every Species Of Property, Movable Or Immovable, Which Is Less Than A Free Hold. In The Grand Coustumier Of Normandy It Is Described As A Mere Movable, But Is Set In Oppo Sition To A Fief Or Feud; So That Not Only Goods, ...
Cheat
Cheat. "deceitful Practices In Defraud Ing Or Endeavoring To Defraud Another Of His Known Right, By Some Wilful Device, Contrary To The Plain Rules Of Common Honesty." Hawkins, Pl. Cr. B. 2, C.23, 1. " The Fraudu Sit Obtaining The Property Of Another By Any Eceitful And Illegal Practice Or ...
Check
Check. Contracts. A Written Order Or Request, Addressed To A Bank Or Persons Car Rying On The Business Of Banking, By A Party Having Money In Their Hands, Desiring Them To Pay, On Presentment, To A Person Therein Named, Or Bearer, Or To Such Person, Or Order, A Named Sum ...
Child
Child. The Son Or In Relation To The Father Or Mother. Illegitimate Children, Are Bastards. Legiti Mate Children Are Those Born In Lawful Wedlock. Natural Children Are Illegitimate Children. Posthumous Children Are Those Born After The Death Of The Father. 2. Children Born In Lawful Wedlock, Or Within A Competent ...
Chirograph
Chirograph. In Conveyancing. A Deed Or Public Instrument In Writing. Chirographs Were Anciently Attested By The Sub Scription And Crosses Of Witnesses. Afterwards, To Prevent Frauds And Concealments, Deeds Of Mutual Covenant Were Made In A Script And Teaeript, Or In A Part And Counterpart; End In The Middle, Between ...
Chose In Action
Chose In Action. A Right To Re Ceive Or Recover A Debt, Or Money, Or Damages For Breach Of Contract, Or For A Tort Connected With Contract, But Which Cannot Be Enforced Without Action. Comyns, Dig. Biens ; Chitty, Eq. Dig. 2. It Is One Of The Qualities Of A ...
Christianity
Christianity. Religion Esta Blished By Jesus Christ. Christ' Anity Has Been Judicially Declared To Be A Part Of The Common Law Of Penneylva Nia, 11 Serg. & R. Penn. 394 ; 5 Binn. Penn. 555; Of New Yor•,. 8 Johns. N. Y. 291 ; Of Connecticut, 2 Swift, System, 321; ...
Church
Church. A Society Of Persons Who, Profess The Christian Religion. 7 Hoist. N. J. 206, 214 ; 10 Pick. Mass. 193 ; 3 Penn. St. 282; 31 Id. 9. The Place Where Such Regularly Assemble For Worship. 3 Tex. 288. The Term Church Includes The Chancel, Aisles, And Body Of ...
Ciples
Ciples. Principiis °beta. Oppose Begioniugs. Branch, Princ. Principiorum Non Est Ratio. There Is No Reason Ing Of Principles. 2 Balstr. 239. See Principles Principium Est Potieftime Pare Cuptaque Rei. The Beginning Is The Most Powerful Part Of A Thing. 10 .coke, 49. Prior Tempore Pogior Jure. He Who Ia First ...
Citation Of Authorities
Citation Of Authorities. The Production Of Or Reference To The Text Of Acts Of Legislatures, Treatises, Or Cases Of Similar Nature Decided By The Courts, In Order To Sup Port Propositions Advanced. As The Knowledge Of The Law Is To A Great Degree A Knowledge Of Precedents, It Follows That ...
Citizen
Citizen. In English Law. An Iabitant Of A City. 1 Rolle, 138. The Repre Entative Of A City, In Parliament. 1 Black-. Tone, Com:n:17,4. . In American Law. One Who, Under The Ilnstitutio,n An D Laws Of, The Has T Right To Vote For Representatives In Congresti; Hid Other Public ...
Civil Law
Civil Law. This Term Is Generally Used To Designate The Roman Jurisprudence, Jus Civile Romanorum. 2. In Its Most Extensive Sense, The Term Roman Law Comprises All Those Legal Rules And Principles Which Were In Force Among The Romans, Without Reference To The Time When They Were Adopted. But In ...
Clearance
Clearance. A Certificate Given By The Collector Of A Port, In Which It Is :stated That The Master Or Commander (naming Him) Of A Ship Or Vessel Named And Desoribed, 'bound For A Port Named (and. Having On Board Goods Described, In Case The Master Requires The Particulars Of His ...
Code
Code. A Body Of Law Established By The Legislative Authority Of The State, And De Signed To Regulate Completely, So Far As A Statute May, The Subjects To Which It Relates. The Idea Of A Code Involves That Of The Exercise Of The Legislative Power In Its Promulgation ; But ...
Codicil
Codicil. Some Addition To, Or Qualificap Tion Of, A Last Will And Testament. This Term Is Derived From The Latin Cottioillse, Which Is A Diminutive Of Codex, And In Strictness Imports A Little Code Or Writing,—a Little Will. In The Roman Civil Law, Codicil Was Defined As An Net Which ...
Coercion
Coercion • Constraint ; Compulsion ; Force. - Direct Or Positive Coercion Takes Place When A. Man La By Physical Force Compelled To Do An Act Contraryto His Will For Example, When •iit Man Falls Into The Hinds Of ,the Enemies Of -his Country, And They Compel Him, By A ...
Cognisance
Cognisance. See Cooaizfines. 'cognitionibus Apmittendis.. A' Writ Requiring A Justice Or Otherqualifled, Persenwho'has, Taken Fine And Neglects To Ceaifyitin The Bourt Of Common Pleas, To Do So.: ,cognizance-- (lat- Cognate, Recoghi Tion, Knowledge ;: Spelled, Also, Canusance And Cognisance). Acknowleegment; Recognition;: Jurisdiction, Judicial Power; Hearing A Matter: Judicially. --- 'of ...
Collateral Warranty
Collateral Warranty. 'war Ranty As To An Estate Made By T Ne Who Was Ancestor To The Heir Thereof, Either Actually Or By Implication Of Law, In Respect To Other Property, But Who Could Not Have Been So In Respect To The Estate In Question. 2. Warranty Made Where The ...
Collision
Collision. In Maritime Law. The Act Of Ships Or Vessels Striking.together, Or Of One Vessel Running Against Or Foul Of Another. 2. It May 'happen Without Fault, No Blame Being Imputable To Those In Charge Of Either Vessel. In Such Case, In The English, American, And French Courts, Each Party ...
Colloquium
Colloquium. In Pleading. A Ge Neral Averment In An Action For Slander Con Necting The Whole Publication With The Pre Vious Statement, 1 Starkie, Sland. 431 ; Heard, Lib. & Sland. 228; Or Stating That The Whole Publication Applies To The Plaintiff, And To The Extrinsic Matters Alleged In His ...
Color
Color. In Pleading. An Apparent But Legally Insufficient Ground Of Action Admitted To Subsist In The Opposite Party By The Plead Ing Of One Of The Pirties To An Action. 3 Sharswood, Blackstone, Comm. 309; 4 Barnew. & C. 547 ; 1 Moore & P. 307. To Give Color Is ...
Comm 473 30
Comm. 473; 30 Vt. 692; Covenants Of Sei Sin, Etc. Covenants In Leases, By Virtue Of The Statute 32 Hen. Viii. C. 34, Which Has Been Re-en Acted In Most Of The States, Are Assignable As Respects Assignees Of The Reversion And Of The Lease. The Lessee Continues Liable On ...
Commissions
Commissions. In Practice. Com Pensation Allowed To Agents, Factors, Execu Tors, Trustees, Receivers, And Other Persons Who Manage The Affairs Of Others, In Recom Pense For Their Services. 2. The Right To Such Allowance May Either Be The Subject Of A Special Contract, May Rest Upon An Implied Contract To ...
Commitment
Commitment. In Practice. The Warrant Or Order By Which A Court Or Magis Trate Directs A Ministerial Officer To Take A Person To Prison. The Act Of Sending A Person To Prison By Means Of Such A Warrant Or Order. 9 N. H. 204 A Commitment Should Be In Writing ...
Common
Common. An Incorporeal Heredita Ment, Which Consists In A Profit Which One Man Has In Connection With One Or More Others In The Land Of Another. 12 Serg. & R. Penn. 32; 10 Wend. N. Y. 647; 11 Johns. N. Y. 498; 16 Id. 14, 30, 10 Pick. Mass. 364; ...
Common Carriers
Common Carriers. Such As Carry Goads For Hire Iudifferently Fur All Persons. 2. The Definition Includes Carriers By Land And Water. They Are, On The One Hand, Stage Coach Proprietors, Railway-companies, Truck Men, Wagoners And Teamsters, Carmen And Porters, And Express Companies, Whether Such Persons Undertake To Carry Goods From ...
Common Carriers Op Pas
Common Carriers Op Pas Sengers. Such As Carry Persons For Hire, And Are Bound To Carry All Who Offer. 19 Wend. N. Y. 239; 10 N. H. 486; 15 Iii. 472 ; 2 Swum. C. C. 221 ; 3 Brod. & B. 54 ; 9 Price, Exch. 408. 2. They ...
Common Law
Common Law. That System Of Law Or Form Of The Science Of Jurisprudence Which Has Prevailed In England And In The United States Of America, In Contradistinction To Other Great Systems, Such As The Roman Or Civil Law. Those Principles, Usages, And Rules Of Action Applicable To The Government And ...
Compensation
Compensation (lat. Compendere, To Balance). In Chancery Practice. Some Thing To Be Done For Or Paid To A Person Of Equal Value With Something Of Which He Has Been Deprived By The Acts Or Negligence Of The Party So Doing Or Paying. When A Simple Mistake, Not A Fraud, Affects ...
Compounding A Felony
Compounding A Felony. The Act Of A Party Immediately Aggrieved, Who Agrees With A Thief Or Other Felon That He Will Not Prosecute Him, On Condition That He Return To Him The Goods Stolen, Or Who Takes A Re Ward Not To Prosecute. 2. This Is An Offence Punishable By ...
Comptroller
Comptroller. An Officer Of A State, Or Of The United States, Who Has Certain Du Ties To Perform In The Regulation And Manage Ment Of The Fiscal Matters Of The Government Under Which He Holds Office. In The Treasury Department Of The United States There Are Two Comptrollers. It Is ...
Concealment
Concealment. The Improper Sup Pression Of Any Fact Or Circumstance By One Of The Parties To A Contract From The Other, Which In Justice Ought To Be Known. The Omission By An Applicant For Insu Rance Preliminarily To State Facts Known To Him, Or Which He Is Bound To Know, ...
Conclusion
Conclusion (lat. Con Claudere, To Shut Together). The Close; The End. In Pleading. In Declarations. That Part Which Follows The Statement Of The Cause Of Action. In Personal Or Mixed Actions, Where The Object Is To Recover Damages, The Conclusion Is, Properly, To The Damage Of The Plaintiff, Etc. Comyns, ...
Condemnation
Condemnation. The Sentence Of A Competent Tribunal Which Declares A Ship Unfit For Service. This Sentence May Be Re Examined And Litigated By The Parties Inte Rested In Disputing It. 5 Esp. 65 ; Abbott, Shipp. 4. The Judgment, Sentence, Or Decree By Which Property Seized And Subject To Forfeit ...
Condition
Condition. In Civil Law. The Situation Of Every Person In Some One Of The Different Orders Of Persons Which Compose The General Order Of Society And Allot To Each Per Son Therein A Distinct, Separate Rank. Domat, Tom. Ii. 1. 1, Tit. 9, Sec. I. Art. Viii. A Paction Or ...
Condonation
Condonation. The Conditional For Giveness Or Remission, By A Husband Or Wife, Of A Matrimonial Offence Which The Other Has Committed. 2. While The Condition Remains Unbroken, Condonation, On Whatever Motive It Proceeded, Is An Absolute Bar To The Remedy For The Par Ticular Injury Condoned. Bishop, Marr. & D. ...
Confederacy
Confederacy. In Criminal Law. An Agreement Between Two Or More Persons To Do An Unlawful Act Or An Act Which, Though Not Unlawful In Itself, Becomes So By The Confederacy. The Technical Term Usually Employed To Signify This Offence Is Conspiracy. In Equity Pleading. An Improper Com Bination Alleged To ...
Confession
Confession. In Criminal Law. The Voluntary Declaration Made By A Person Who Has Committed A Crime Or Misdemeanor, To Another, Of The Agency Or Participation Which He Had In The Same. An Admission Or Acknowledgment By A Prisoner, When Arraigned For An Offence, That He Committed The Crime With Which ...
Confidential Communica Tions
Confidential Communica Tions. Those Statements With Regard To Any Legal Transaction Made By One Person To Another During The Continuance Of Some Rela Tion Between Them Which Calls For Or War Rants Such Communications. 2. At Law, Certain Classes Of Such Com Munications Are Held Not To Be Proper Sub ...
Confiscate
Confiscate. To Appropriate To The Use Of The State. Especially Used Of The Goods And Property Of Alien Enemies Found In A State In Time Of War. 1 Kent, 52 Et Seq. Bona Confiscate And Foriefacta Are Said To Be The Same (1 Blackstone, Comm. 299), And The Result To ...
Conflict Of Laws
Conflict Of Laws. A Contrariety Or Opposition In The Laws Of States In Those Cases Where, From Their Relations To Each Other Or To The Subject•matter In Dispute, The Rights Of The Parties Are Liable To Be Affected By The Laws Of Both Jurisdictions. As A Term Of Art, It ...
Congress
Congress. An Assembly Of Deputies Convened From Different Governments To Treat Of Peace Or Of Other International Affairs. The Name Of The Legislative Body Of The United States, Composed .of -the Senate And House Of Representatives. U. S. Const. Art. 1, S. 1. 2. Congress Is Composed Of Two Independent ...
Connecticut
Connecticut. The Name Of One Of The Original States Of The United States Of America. 2. It Was Not Until The Year 1865 That The Whole Territory Now Known As The State Of Connecticut Was Under One Colonial Government. The Charter Was Granted By Charles Ii. In April, 1662. Pre ...
Conquest
Conquest (lat. Eanquiro, To Seek For), In Feudal Law. Purchase ; Any Means Of Obtaining An Estate Out Of The Usual Course Of Inheritance. The Estate Itself So Acquired. According To Blackstone And Sir Henry Spelmon, The Word In Its Original' Meaning Was Entirely Dis Sociated From Any Connection With ...
Consanguinity
Consanguinity (lat. Consanguis, Blood Together). The Relation Subsisting Among All The Dif Ferent Persons Descending From The Same Stock Or Common Ancestor. Collateral Consanguinity Is The Relation Subsisting Among Persons Who Descend From The Same Common Ancestor, But Not From Each Other. It Is Essential, To Constitute This Relation, That ...
Consideration L
,consideration (l. Latin, Consi Deratio). The Material Cause Which Moves A Contracting Party To Enter Into A Contract. 2 Blackstone, Comm. 443. The Price, Motive, Or Matter Of Inducement To A Oontract,—whether It Be The Compensa Tion Which Is Paid, Or The Inconvenience Which Is Suffered By The Party From ...
Conspiracy
Conspiracy (lat. Con, Together, To Breathe). In Criminal Law. A Comination Of Two Or More Persons By Some Concerted Action To Accomplish Some Criminal Or Unlawful Purpose, Or To Accomplish Some Purpose, Not In Itself Criminal Or Unlawful, By Criminal Or Unlawful Means. 2 Mass. 337, 538; 4 Mete. Mass. ...
Constable
Constable. An Officer Whose Duty It Is To Keep The Peace In The District Which Is Assigned To Him. The Most Satisfactory Derivation Of The Term And History Of The Origin Of This Office Is That Which De Duces It From The French Conieetable (lat. Contee-ata Beli),.who Was An Officer ...
Constitution
Constitution. The Fundamental Law Of A Free Country Which Characterizes The Organism Of The Country And Secures The Rights Of The, Citizen And Determines His Main Duties As A Freeman. 2. Conetitution, In The Former Law Of The European Oontinent, Signified As Much As Decree,—a Decree Of Importance, Especially Ecolesiastioal ...
Constitution Op The United
Constitution Op The United States Or America. The Supreme Law The United States. 2. It Was Framed By A Convention Of The Representatives Of Thepeople, Who Met At Philadelphia, And Finally Adopted It On The 17th Day Of September, 1787. It Became The Law Of The Land On The First ...
Constitutions Of Clarendon
Clarendon, Constitutions Of. 'the Constitutions Of Clarendiu Were Cei•tain• Statutes 'made, In• The Reign Of Henry H. Of England, At A Pai•itinient Held Tendon; By Which Checked The'p'oweir Of The Pope And His Clergy, And Greatly Towed The 'exemption They Claimed From .sectt. Bar Jurisdiction: . "previuus To This' Itrib, ...
Construction
Construction (lat. Construere, To Put Together). In Praotice. Determining The Meaning And Application As To The Case In Question Of The Provisions Of A Constitution, Statute, Will, Or Other Instrument, Or Of An Oral Agreement. Drawing Conclusions Respecting Subjects That Lie Beyond The Direct Expressions Of The Term. Lieber, Leg. ...
Consul
Consul. A Commercial Agent Appointed By A Government To Reside In A Sea-port Of 'a Foreign Country, And Commissioned To Watch Over The Commercial Rights And Privileges Of The Nation Deputing Him. A Vice-consul Is One Acting In The Place Of A Consul. Among The Romans, Consuls Were Chief Magie ...
Contempt
Contempt. A Wilful Disregard Or Dis Obedience Of A Public Authority. 2. By The Constitution Of The United States, Each House Of Congress May Determine The Rules Of Its_proceedings, Punish Its Members For Disorderly Behavior, And, With The Concur Rence Of Two-thirds, Expel A Member. The Same Provision Is Substantially ...
Continuance
Continuance (lat. Continuere, To Continue). In Practice The Adjournment Of A Cause From One Day To Another Of The Same Or A Sub Sequent Term. The Postponement Of The Trial Of A Cause. In The Ancient Practice, Continuances Were En Tered Upon The Record, And A Variety Of Forms Adapted ...