thereof, by the sale or mortgage of or a terminable charge on that property or any part thereof. And a person having a limited interest in any property, who pays the Estate duty in respect of that property, shall be entitled to the like charge, as if the Estate duty in respect of that property had been raised by means of a mortgage to him.

No Estate duty is payable where the principal value of the estate does not exceed 1007., or in respect of the effects of common seamen, marines or soldiers, who are slain or die in the Queen's service (see sects. 8 (1), 17, and p. 423, n.), or in respect of a single annuity not exceeding 257. purchased or provided by the deceased for the life of himself and of some other person and the survivor of them, or to arise on his own death in favour of some other person (see sect. 15 (1)); and there are a few other exceptions (see sect. 15 (2— 4)). Where the gross value of the property chargeable with Estate duty on some death, exclusive of property settled otherwise than by the will of the deceased, does not exceed 3001., representation to the deceased may be obtained on payment of a fixed duty of 30s. only, and where such gross value exceeds 3007. but not 5007. on payment of a duty of 50s. only (see sect. 16 (1), and p. 423, n.). Where the net value of the property, real and personal, in respect of which Estate duty is payable on the death of the deceased, exclusive of property settled otherwise than by the will of the deceased, does not exceed one thousand pounds, such property, for the purpose of Estate duty, shall not be aggregated with any other property, but shall form an estate by itself; and where the fixed duty or Estate duty has been paid upon the principal value of that estate, the settlement Estate duty and the legacy and succession duties shall not be payable under the will or intestacy of the deceased in respect of that estate.

By sect. 20 (1), where the Commissioners are satisfied that in a British possession to which this section applies, duty is payable by reason of a death in respect of any property situate in such possession and passing on such death, they shall allow a sum equal to the amount of that duty to be deducted from the Estate duty payable in respect of that property on the same death.

(2) Nothing in this act shall be held to create a charge for Estate duty on any property situate in a British possession, while so situate, or to authorise the Commissioners to take any proceedings in a British possession for the recovery of any Estate duty.

(3) Her Majesty the Queen may, by Order in Council, apply this section to any British possession, where Her Majesty is satisfied that by the law of such possession, either no duty is leviable in respect of property situate in the United Kingdom when passing on death, or that the law of

such possession as respects any duty so leviable is to the like effect as the foregoing provisions of this section.

(4) Her Majesty in Council may revoke any such Order, where it appears that the law of the British possession has been so altered that it would not authorise the making of an Order under this section.

By sect. 21, Estate duty shall not be payable on the death of a deceased person in respect of personal property settled by a will or disposition made by a person dying before the 2nd August, 1894, in respect of which property probate or account duty has been paid or is payable, unless in either case the deceased was at the time of his death, or at any time since the will or disposition took effect had been, competent to dispose of the property. Where an interest in expectancy in any property has, before 2nd August, 1894, been bona fide sold or mortgaged for full consideration in money or money's worth, then no other duty on such property shall be payable by the purchaser or mortgagee when the interest falls into possession, than would have been payable if this act had not passed; and in the case of a mortgage, any higher duty payable by the mortgagor shall rank as a charge subsequent to that of the mortgagee. The settlement Estate duty of one per cent. shall not be payable in respect of property settled by a disposition which has taken effect before the 2nd August, 1894. And where a husband or wife is entitled, either solely or jointly with the other, to the income of any property settled by the other under a disposition which has taken effect before the 2nd August, 1894, and on his cr her death the survivor becomes entitled to the income of the property settled by such survivor, Estate duty shall not be payable in respect of that property until the death of the survivor.

Page 392, note (1).

,, 393, note (b).

567.

Add "see Wegg Prosser v. Evans, 1894, 2 Q. B. 101."

Add a reference to Robinson v. Geisel, 10 Times L. R.

398, note (c). Add a reference to Re Head, 1894, 1 Q. B. 638; Re Budgett, W. N. 1894, p. 99.

,,401, note (d). Rouse v. Bradford Banking Co. is now reported, 1894, 2 Ch. 32.

,, 410, note (s). Substitute a reference to sects. 169-177 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894.

425. Under the Finance Act, 1894, probate duty and estate duty are no longer payable on the value of the personal estate of any person dying after the 1st August, 1894: but all property, which passes on the death of any such person, is charged with a new duty, called Estate Duty; see Addenda to p. 381.

Page 428, note (b). Add "see also Order LIV.A; W. N. 9th Dec.

1893."

430, note (t). Legacy duty at the rate of 17. per cent. is not payable on legacies payable out of or consisting of any property on the value whereof the Estate Duty charged by the Finance Act, 1894, has been paid. And no legacy duty is now payable where the net value of the deceased's real and personal property does not exceed 10007., and the fixed duty or Estate Duty has been paid thereon; see Addenda to p. 381.

449. See Addenda to pp. 381, 425.

479, note (o).

529, note (s).

Re Hodson is now reported, 1894, 2 Ch. 421.
Mack v. Postle is now reported, 1894, 2 Ch. 449.

PRINCIPLES

OF THE

LAW OF PERSONAL PROPERTY.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

OF THE OBJECTS AND NATURE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY.

§1. Of the difference between Real and Personal

Property.

PROPERTY in English law is divided into two classes, Real and personal real property and personal property, and these are property. governed by very different rules. This great classification (a) has its origin in the fact that after the Norman Conquest land, then the main source of public wealth, became subject to the law of feudal tenure, which was not applied to moveable things known as chattels or goods (b). This caused a great distinction to be Distinction. drawn between property in land and property in property in chattels. For the first principle of the law of feudal land and tenure is that the supreme ownership of all land chattels, property in belongs to the Crown, and no subject can be the absolute owner of land. Subjects can at most hold freely of the King or some mesne lord the hereditary

(a) For a full account of the origin and history of the classifi cation of property as real or personal, the reader is referred to Principles of the Law of Real Property, Introductory Chapter,

W.P.P.

17th ed., by the present editor.
This book is hereinafter referred
to as 66
Williams, R. P."
(b) Williams, R. P. 9-15, 17th

ed.

B

between

of alienation.

As to liberty estates called fees, or estates in fee simple (c). The law of feudal tenure, moreover, was restrictive of alienation; and although tenants in fee simple acquired the power of disposing of their estates by act inter vivos at a comparatively early time (d), it was not until a much later period that they were enabled to devise their estates by will (e). Chattels on the other hand remained the object of a direct and absolute ownership resembling the dominion over corporeal things conceived in Roman law (f). Nor were they ever subjected to any restriction upon alienation; they were always transferable as well by will as in the owner's lifetime: though it is true that in early times the owner of chattels could not bequeath away more than a part of them, if he left a widow or child (g). Chattels too were not only the objects of the right of free disposition, which is incident to absolute ownership, but they were also liable to satisfy their owner's debts after his death as well as in his lifetime; a liability which was not fully imposed on fees until a very modern date (h).

As to succession after death.

Another difference between fees and chattels was in the mode of succession after death. Fee simple estates passed at common law to the heir of the tenant who died possessed of them. And the heir was ascertained from amongst the tenant's nearest blood relations by rules, of which the most prominent preferred males to females in the same degree of relationship, and of males equally related selected the eldest as heir to the exclusion of all others (). Originally, it would seem,

(c) Williams, R. P. 6, 7, 18, 31, 17th ed.

(d) After the statute 18 Edw. I. c. 1; see Williams, R. P. 37, 38, 62-70, 17th ed.

(e) After stats. 32 Hen. VIII. c. 1, and 12 Car. II. c. 24; ib. 70, 71, 221, 222.

(f) See Gai. Comm. 1. ii. S 40 et seq.; 1. iv. §§ 3, 41, 45, 47,

48; Inst. 1. i. tit. i. §§ 11 et seq. 40; 1. iv. tit. vi. § 1; Co. Litt. 145 b, 351 b.

(g) Williams, R. P. 15, 19, 17th ed.; post, Part III. ch. III. (h) Williams, R. P. 2, 19, 244 -259, 17th ed.

(2) Williams, R. P. 18, 81, 82, 203, 204, 205, 17th ed.