A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States

comm. law, equal. It is used to denote a state of equality or equal value. Bills of exchange, stocks, and the like, are at par when they sell for their nominal value; above par or

Equality of name or blood, but more especially of land in the partition of an inheritance among co-heirs, hence comes disparage and disparagement. Co. Litt. 166.

That which i is superior. It is usually applied to the highest lord of the fee, of lands, tenements, or hereditaments. F. N. B. 135. Where A lets lands to B, and he underlets them

Thename given to all such things as a woman has a right to retain as her own property, after her husband’s death, which she used personally during his life: they consist generally

Tenant paravail is the lowest tenant of the fee, or he who is the immediate tenant to one sumed he has the avails or profits of the land. F.N. B. 135; 2 Inst. 296.

estates, is a part of the estate. 1 Com. Dig. Abatement, H 51, p- 1383; 5 Com. Dig. Grant, E 10, p. 545.

The state or condition of holding title to lands jointly by parceners, before the com- mon inheritance has been divided. Litt. sect. 56.

Engl. law, are the daughters of a man or woman seised of lands and tenements in fee simple or fee tail, on whom, after the death of such ancestor, such landsand tenements descend,

Engl. law. The name of a writ against one who violently. breaks a pound, and takes from thence beasts which, for some trespass done or some other just cause, were lawfully impounde

kindred. Vide 1; 7 Term R. 350, 351, o.; 3 Branch, Line. Johns. Cas. 60; 1 Chit. Pl. 68.

a man’s equals; his peers, ' 466, ch. 10, s. 1. (q. v-); 3 Bl. Com. 349. PARRICIDE, a term used in the

crim. law. In;civil law, is one who murders his a similar offence or crime; equal in: father; itis applied by extension to guilt. A person who tn pari delicto! one who murders his

By the same, punished by being scourged, and afgradation. terwards sewed in a sort of sack

eccles. law. One who has full possession of all the rights of a parochial church. He is so called because by his person the church, which is an invisible body, _ig represented: in

A share; a purpart, (q- v.), PARTICEPS CRIMINIS, in crim. law, are partners in crime, whether in the same degree or in part delicto, (q. v.) or in different degree: for one may be

is an estate which is carved out of a larger as, an estate for years to A, remainder to B for life; or anestate for life to A, remainder to B in tail: this precedent estate 1s call

conveyancing. A deed of partition is one by which lands held in joint tenancy, co-parcenary, or in common, are divided into distinct portions, and allotted to the several parties,

This officer is appointed by the secretary of state; his duties are to attend to the business of the office under the superintendence of the secretary; and when the secretary shall

A way over water: a voyage made over the sea or great river, as, the Sea-Gull had a quick passage; the money paid for the transportation of a person over the sea, as, my passage to

comm. law. A book used by merchants with their customers, in which an entry of goods sold and delivered to a customer is made. It is kept by the buyer and sent to the merchant when

civil law. One who was sui juris, and consequently was not either under parental power, or under that of a master; a child in his cradle, therefore, could have been pater familias,

What belongs to the father or comes from him; as, paternal power, paternal relation, paternal estate, paternal line. Vide Line.

This expression 1s used in the French law to signify that in a succession, the property coming from the father of the deceased, descends to his paternal relations.

The state or condition of a father. The husband is prima facie presumed to be the father of his wife's children, born during coverture, or within a competent time afterwards; pater

The country; the men of the neighbourhood competent to serve ona jury; a jury. This is with re nen synonymous. PAT (q¥.)

eccles. lac. He who has the disposition and gift of an ecclesiastical benefice.

The right of appointing to office; as the patronage of the president of the United States, if abused, may endanger the liberties of the people. In the ecclesiastical law, it signif

One so poor that he must be supported at the public expense. The statutes of the several states make ainple provisions for the support of the poor. It is not within the plan of thi

Contribution or tax for paving the streets or highways.

Vide Pledge. PAWN-BROKER One who is lawfully authorised to. lend money, and actually lends it, usually in small sums, upon pawn or pledge.

The country. Trial jon pays, is a trial by the ieee ee by jury. Vide Pats.

civil law. Is the unlawful appropriation ‘by a deposttary of public funds, to his own or that of others, of the pro-

civil law. The savings which were made by a son or slave with the consent of his father or master. Inst. 2, 9,1; Dig. 15. 1, 5, 3; Poth. ad Pand. lib. 50, tit. 17, c. 2, art. 3.

civil law, property. By this term was understood, 1, money; and 2, every thing which constituted the private property of an individual, or which was a part of his fortune; a slave,

That which relates to money. Pecuniary punishment, is one which imposes a fine on a convict; a pecuniary legacy is one which entitles the legatee to receive a sum of money, and not

are persons who travel about the country with merchandise, for the purpose of selling it. They are obliged under the laws of perhaps all the states to take out licenses; and to con

Equal. A man’s peers are his equals. A man is to be tried by his peers. In England and some other countries, this is a title of nobility; as, peers of the realm. In the United Stat

Eng. law, a punishment formerly inflicted in England, on a person who, being arraigned of felony, refused to plead and put himself on his trial, and stubbornly stood mute. He was t

The wool pulled off the skin or pelt of a dead sheep.

Are those which inflict a penalty for the violation of some of their provisions. It is a rule of law that such statutes must be construed strictly. 1 Bl. Com. 88; Esp. on Pen. Acti

contr., is a clause in an agreement, by which the obligor agrees to pay a certain sum of money, if he shall fail to fulfil the contract contained in another clause cult, in many ca

crimes, the act of inserting the penis in the female organs of generation. This has been denied to be sufficient to constitute a rape without emission. (q- v-) See on this subject,

One who is supported by an allowance at the will of another. It is more usually applied to him who receives an annuity or pension from the government.

It signifies a state, as, the people of the state of New York; a nation in its collective and political capacity. 4 T. R. 783; see 6 Pet. S. C. Rep. 467. The word people occurs in

by the head or polls. This term is applied when an estate is to be divided share and share alike. Vide 1 Rop. on Leg. 126, 130. or by misadventure is said to take place when a man

measure. The length of sixteen feet and a half: a pole or rod of that length. Forty perches in length and four in breadth make Engl. law. A pardon for a man who for contempt in not

Absolute; positive. A final determination to act without bope of renewing or altering. Joined to a substantive, this word is frequently used in law; as peremptory action, F. N. B.

A license or warrant to do something not forbidden by law; as, to land goods imported into the United States, after the duties have been paid or secured to be paid. Act of Cong. of

Scotch law. Barter. Exchange of one movable subject for another.

By every part or parcel and by the whole. A joint tenant of lands is said to be seised per my et per tout. Litt. s. 288.

This word, which is derived from the French prendre, to take, signifies a taking or receiving.

he who receives the profits of Jands, &c. A cestut que use, who is legally entitled and actually does receive the profits, is the pernor of profits. PERPETUATING TESTI-

in estates, may be defined to be any limitation tending to take the subject of it out of commerce for a longer period, than a life or lives in being, and twentyone years beyond; an

In its most extensive sense perquisites signifies any thing gotten by industry, or purchased with money, different from that which descends from a father or ancestor. Bract. lib. 2

pleading, by which, whereby. When the plaintiff sues for an injury to his relative rights, as for beating his wife, his child, or his servant, it is usual to lay the injury with a

This word is applied to men, women, and children, who are called natural persons. It is also used to denote a corporation, which is an artificial person. 1 Bl. Com. 123. Natural pe

is a fiction of the law, the effect of which is to put the representative in the place, degree, or right of the person represented. The hcir represents his ancestor. Bac. Abr. Heir

Having the capacities of a person; for example, the defendant was judged personable to maintain this action. Old Nat. Brev. 142. This word is obsolete.

belonging to the person. This adjective is frequently employed in connexion with substantives, things, goods, chattels, actions, right, duties, and the like; as personal estate, pu

is the right or interest which a man has in things personal; it consists of things temporary and movable, and includes all subjects of property not of a freehold nature, nor de- -

by stock; by roots. When, for example, a man dies intestate, leaving children and grandchildren, whose parents are deceased, the estate is to be divided not per capita, that is by

The act of in, be true. va fluencing by expostulation or re- PETTY AVERAGE. Vide quest. While the persuasion is con- Average. fined within those limits which leave PETTY-BAG. Engl.

is a seat in a church separated from all others, with a convenient space to stand therein. It is an incorporeal interest in the real property. And, although a. man has the exclusiv

A light house or beacon. It is derived from Pharus, a small island at the mouth of the Nile, on which was built a watch-tower.

One engaged in the practice of medicine.. A physi- ‘cian in England cannot recover for fees, as his practice is altogether honorary. Peake C. N. P. 96, 123; 4 T. R. 317. But in Pen

med. jur., is the science which treats of the functions of animals; it is the science of life. The legal practitioner who expects to rise to eminence, must acquire some acquaintanc

mer. law. This word has two meanings. It signifies, first, an officer serving on board of a ship during the course of a voyage, and having the charge of the helm and of the ship’s

contracts, is_ the compensation given to a pilot for conducting a vessel in or out of port. Poth. Des Avaries, n. 147.

Engl. law. ‘The name of} upon the high seas, should commit a roll in the exchequer otherwise; the crime of as piracy defined by the called the Great Roll. law of nations, he should

pleadings.— This is a technical word, essential to charge the crime of piracy in an indictment, which cannot be supplied by another word, or any circumlocution.. Hawk. B. 1. c. 37,

is the right of fishing in the waters of another. 5 Bac. Ab. 318; 5 Com. Dig. 366. Vide Fishery.

pleading, evidence. A particular portion of space; locality. In local actions, the plaintiff must lay his venue in the county in which the action arose. It is a general rule, that

Eng. ay is the exhibiting of any action, real or personal, in writing; the party maki his plaint is called the plaintiff.

practice, he who, in a personal action, seeks a remedy for an injury to his rights. Ham. on Parties, h. t.; 1 Chit. Pi. Index, h. t.; Chit. Pr. Index, h. t.; 1 Com. Dig. 36, 205, 3

in practice, is the defendant’s answer by matter of fact, to the plaintiff’s declaration. It is distinguished from a demurrer which opposes matter of law to the declaration. Steph.

(SHAM.) A sham plea is one which is known to the pleader to be false, and is entered for the purpose of delay. There are certain pleas of this kind, which in conseuence of their ha

as distinguished from a plea in avoidance, is one which admits the demand, and instead of avoiding the matter of fact. Such are pleas of payment, release and the like.

is one which admits the demand or complaint stated in the declaration, but excuses the non-compliance of the laintiff’s claim, or the commission of the act of which he complains, o

is one in which the defendant professes purposely to have done the acts which are the subject of the plaintiff’s suit, in order to exercise that right which he considers he ceives

pleading. It was anciently necessary to find pledges or sureties to prosecute a suit, and -the names of the pledges were added at the foot of the declaration; but in the course of

practice. The plaintiff has not found pledge. The return made by the sheriff to a writ directed to him with this clause, namely, si A facerit B securum de clamore suo guishes robbe

pleading, is a plea in bar entered by an executor or administrator by which he afhrms that he had not in ins possession, at the time of the commencement of the suit, nor has had at

is an allowance made to a rural tenant of wood sufficient for ploughs, harrows, carts, and other instruments of husbandry.

mar. law. The embezzlement of goods on board of a ship, is known by the name of plunderage. ‘The rule of the maritime law in such cases is, that the whole crew shall be responsible

in practice, is a term by which a writ issued subsequently to an alias of the same kind is denominated. The pluries writ is made by adding after we command you, the words, “ as oft

in the Scotch law, is that diligence, affecting movable subjects, by which their property is carried directly to the creditor. Poinding is real or personal. Ersk. Pr. L. Scot. 3, 6

PERSONAL, in the Scotch law, is a poinding of the goods belonging to the debtor, and of those goods only. It may have for its warrant either letters of horning, containing a clause

REAL, or poinding of the ground, in the Scotch law, though it be properly a diligence, is generally considered by lawyers as a species of real action, and is so called to distingui

construction. Marks in writing and in print, to denote the stops that ought to be made in reading, and to point out the sense. Points are not usually put in legislative acts or in

crim. law. Those substances which, when applied to the organs of the body, are capable of altering or destroying, in a majority of cases, some or all of the functions When administ

in contracts, is an instrument in writing by which the contract of insurance is effected and reduced into form. The term policy of insurance, or assurance, as it is sometimes calle

A head. Hence poll tax is the name of a tax imposed upon the people at so much a head. To poll a jury is to require that each juror shall himself declare what is his verdict.

the place where electors cast in their votes.

crim. law, is the act of a person who knowing he has two or more wives, or she has two or more husbands living, marries another. It ditfers from bigamy, (q. v-) Com. Dig. Justices,

English practice, is an original writ issuing out of chancery for the purpose of removing a plaint from an inferior court into the superior courts at Westminster. The word signifie

A contribution towards the maintenance, rebuilding taken for this purpose also bears this name. Obsolete.

punishment. An action given by statute to any one who will sue for the penalty. A qui tam action.

A place to which the officers of the customs are appropriated, and which include the privileges and guidance of all members and creeks which are allotted to them. 1 Chit. Com. Law,

Engl.law. In some places in England an officer bearing this name is the chief magistrate of a port town. Jacob’s Dict. - t.

is that part of a parent’s estate, or the estate of one standing, in loco parentis, which is given to a child. 1 Vern. 204. Vide 8 Com. Dig. 539; 16 Vin. Ab. 432; 1 Suppl. to Ves.