ENTRY. In Common Law. The act of setting down the particulars of a sale, or other transaction, in a merchant's or trades man's account-books : such entries are, in general, prima facie evidence of the sale and delivery, and of work done ; but unless the entry be the original one, it is not evidence.
See SHORT ENTRY; SINGLE ENTRY.
In Revenue Law. The submitting to the inspection of officers appointed by law, to collect customs, goods imported into the Unit ed States, together with a statement or de scription of such goods, and the original in voices of the same, for the purpose of esti mating the duties to be paid thereon.
The term "entry" in the acts of congress is used in two senses. In many of the acts it refers to the bill of entry,—the paper or declaration which the merchant or importer in the first instance hands to the entry clerk. In other statutes it is used to denote, not a document, but a transaction ; a series of acts which are necessary to the end to be accom plished, viz. the entering of the goods ; U. S. v. Cargo of Sugar, 3 Savvy. 46, Fed. Cas. No. 14,722.
In Criminal Law. The act of entering• a dwelling-house, or other building, in order to commit a crime. See BUROLARY.
Upon Real Estate. The act of going upon the lands of another, or lands claimed as one's own, with intent to take possession. See Guion v. Anderson, 8 Humph. (Tenn.) 306.
In general, any person who has a right of possession may assert it by a peaceable entry, without the formality of a legal ac tion, and, being so in possession, may retain it, and plead that it is his soil and freehold ; 3 Term 295. A notorious act of ownership of this kind was always equivalent to a feo dal investiture by the lord, and is now allow ed in all cases where the original entry of a wrong-doer was unlawful. But, in all cases where the first entry was lawful and an ap parent right of possession was thereby gain ed, the owner of the estate cannot thus enter, but is driven to his action at law ; 3 Bla. Com. 175. See RE-ENTRY; FORCIBLE ENTRY. ? At common law, no person could make a valid sale of land unless be had lawfully en tered, and could make livery of seisin,—that is, could make an actual delivery of posses sion to the purchaser. This provisidn was early incorporated into the English statutes, to guard against the many evils produced by selling pretended titles to land. A pretended title within the purview of the law is where one person claims land of which another is in possession holding adversely to the claim; 1 Plowd. 88 a; Littleton § 347 ; Livingston v. Iron Co., 9 Wend. (N. Y.) 511. And now in most of the states, every grant of land, ex cept as a release, is void as an act of main tenance, if, at the time it is made, the lands are in the actual possession of another per son claiming under a title adverse to that of the grantor ; 4 Kent 446 ; Williams v. Jack
son, 5 Johns. (N. Y.) 489 ; Wolcot v. Knight, 6 Mass. 418 ; Cornwell v. Clement, 87 Hun 50, 33 N. Y. Supp. 866 ; Sneed v. Hope (Ky.) 30 S. W. 20 ; contra, Hadduck v. Wilmarth, 5 N. H. 181, 20 Am. Dec. 570 ; Stoever v. Whitman's Lessee, 6 Binn. (Pa.) 420 ; Mat thews v. Hevner, 2 App. Cas. D. C. 349.
See CHAMPERTY; BUYING TITLES.
In a more limited sense, an entry signifies the simply going upon another person's prem ises for some particular purpose. The right to land is exclusive, and every unwarranted entry thereon without the owner's leave, whether it be enclosed or not, or unless the person entering have an authority given him by law, is a trespass; Adams v. Freeman, 12 Johns. (N. Y.) 408, 7 Am. Dec. 327; Wells v. Howell, 19 Johns. (N. Y.) 385. But the own e•'s license will sometimes be presumed, and then will continue in force until it is actually revoked by the owner ; Dexter v. Hazen, 10 Johns. (N. Y.) 246; Willes 195 ; Tayl. L. & T. 766. See LICENSE.
Authority to enter upon lands is given by law in many cases. See ARREST.
The proprietor of chattels may under wind circumstances enter the land of another up on which they are placed, and remove them, provided they are there without his default: as, where his tree has blown down into the adjoining close by the wind, or his fruit has fallen from a branch which overhung it ; 20 Vin. Abr. 418 ; 2 Greenl. Ev. § 627.
A landlord also may enter, to distrain or to demand rent, to see whether waste has been committed, or repairs made, and may go into the house for either purpose, provided the outer door be open ; Cro. Eliz. 876; 2 Greenl. Ev. § 627. So, if he is bound to re pair, he has a right of entry given him by law for that purpose ; Moore 889. Or if trees are excepted out of a demise, the lessee has a right of entering to prune or fell them ; 11 Co. 53 ; Tayl. L. & T. § 767. A tenant be comes a trespasser after the expiration of his term, though his holding is in good faith under color of a reasonable claim of right; and the landlord may forcibly enter thereon and eject him without legal process ; Free: man v. Wilson, 16 R. I. 524, 17 Atl. 921; Al len v. Kelly, 17 R. I. 731, 24 Atl. 776, 16 L. R. A. 798, 33 Am. St. Rep. 905.
So any man may throw down a public nui sance; and a private one may be thrown down by the party grieved, and this before any prejudice happens, but only from the probability that it may happen; Webb, Poll. Torts 513 ; 5 Co. 102. And see 1 Brownl. 212 ; 12 Mod. 510; W. Jones 221; 1 Stra. 683 ; Kiefer v. Carrier,_53 Wis. 404, 10 N. W. 562. To this end, the abator has authority to enter the close in which it stands. See