Peculiars

See Court of Peculiars. PEC U LI U M (Lat.). In Civil Law. Private property. The most ancient kind of pecuhum was the peculium profcctitium of the Roman law, which signified that portion of the property acquired by a son or slave which the father or master allowed him, to be managed as he saw fit. In later civil law there are other kinds of pcculium, viz.: pecnlium castrense, which includes all movables given to a son by relatives and friends on bis going on a campaign, all the presents of comrades, and his military pay and the things bought with It: peculium quaei-castrense, which includes all acquired by a son by performing the duties of a public or spiritual office or of an advocate, and also gifts from the reigning prince; pecuhum adventitium, which includes the property of a son’s mother and relatives on that side of the bouse, and all which comes to him on a second marriage of his parents, and, in general, all his acquisitions which do not come from his father’s proporty and do not come under oastrense or quasi-castrense peculium. The pcculium profectitium remains the property of the father. The peculium castrense and quasicastrenae, are entirely the property of the son. The peculium adventitium belongs to the son; but he cannot alien it nor dispose of it by will; and the the father, mat. 2. 9. 1; Dig. 15. 1. 5. 3; Pothler, ad Pand. lib. 50, tit. 17, c. 2, art. 3. PECUNIA (Liat.). In Civil Law. Property, real or personal, corporeal or incorporeal. Things in general ( omnes res). The law of the Twelve Tables said, uti quisque pater familias legassit super pecunxa tutelave rei suae ita jus esto: in whatever manner a father of a family may have disposed of his property or of the tutorship of his things, let this disposition be law. 1 Lecons EUm. du Dr. Civ. Rom. 288. But Paulus, in 1. 5, D. de verb, signif., gives it a narrower sense than res, which he says means what is not included within patrimony, pecunxa what is. Vicat, Voc. Jur.

In a still narrower sense, it means those things only which have measure, weight, and number, and most usually strictly money. Id. The general sense of property occurs, also, in the old English law. Leg. Edw. Confess, c. 10. Flocks were the first riches of the ancients; and it is from p ecus that the words pectin ta, peculium, peculatus, are derived. In old English law pecunxa often retains the force of pecus. So often in Domesday: pastuia ibidem pecuniae villas, t. e. pasture for cattle of the village. So vxvce pecuniae, live stock. Leg. Edw. Confess, c. 10; Emendat. Wlllielmi Primi ad Leges Edw. Confess.; Cowell. PECUNIA NON-NUMERATA (Lat.)! Money not paid or numbered. The exceptio non-numcratae pecuniae (plea of money not paid) is allowed to the principal or surety by the creditor. Calvinus, Lex. PECUNIA NUMERATA (Lat.). Money given in payment of a debt. Properly used of the creditor, who is properly said to number, 4. e. count out, the money to the debtor which he must pay, and improperly of the debtor, who is said to number or count out the money to the creditor, i. e. to pay it Vicat, Voc. Jur.; Calvinus, Lex. PECUNIA TRAJECTITIA (Lat.). A loan of money which, either itself or in the shape of goods bought with it, Is to be carried over the sea, the lender to take the risk from the commencement of the voyage till arrival at the port of destination, and on that account to have higher interest; which interest is not essential to the contract, but, if reserved, is called foenus nauticum. Mackeldey, Civ. Law § 398 b. The term feenus nauticum is sometimes applied to the transaction as well as the interest, making it coextensive with pecunia trajectitia.