


                                     H.

HABEAS CORPORA, English practice. A writ issued out of the C. P. commending 
the sheriff to compel the appearance of a jury in the cause between the 
parties. It answers the same purpose in that court as the Distringas 
juratores answers in the K. B. For a form, see Bootes Suit at Law, 151. 

HABEAS CORPUS, remedies A writ of habeas corpus is an order in writing, 
signed by the judge who grants the same, and sealed with the seal of the 
court of he is a judge, issued in the name of the sovereign power where it 
is granted, by such a court or a judge thereof, having lawful authority to 
issue the same, directed to any one having a person in his custody or under 
his restraint, commanding him to produce, such person at a certain time and 
place, and to state the reasons why he is held in custody, or under 
restraint. 
     2. This writ was it common law considered as a remedy to remove the 
illegal restraint on a freeman. But anterior to the 31 Charles II. its 
benefit was, in a great degree, eluded by time-serving judges, who awarded 
it only in term time, and who assumed a discretionary power of awarding or 
refusing it. 3 Bulstr. 23. Three or four years before that statute was 
passed there had been two very great cases much agitated in Westminster 
Hall, upon writs of habeas corpus for private custody, viz: the cases of 
Lord Lei-ah: 2 Lev; 128; and Sir Robert Viner, Lord Mayor.of London. 3 
Keble, 434, 447, 470, 504; 2 Lev. 128; Freem. 389. But the court has wisely 
drew the line of distinction between civil constitutional liberty, as 
opposed to the power of the crown, and liberty as opposed to the violence 
and power of private persons. Wilmot's Opinions, 85, 86. 
     3. To secure the full benefit of it to the subject the statute 81 Car. 
II. c. 2, commonly called the habeas corpus act, was passed. This gave to 
the. writ the vigor, life, and efficacy requisite for the due protection of 
the liberty of the subject. In England this. is considered as a high 
prerogative writ, issuing out of the court of king's bench, in term time or 
vacation, and running into every part of the king's dominions. It is also 
grantable as a matter of right, ex debito justitae, upon the application of 
any person. 
     4. The interdict De homine libero exhibendo of the Roman law, was a 
remedy very similar to the writ of habeas corpus. When a freeman was 
restrained by another, contrary to good faith, the praetor ordered that such 
person should be brought before him that he might be liberated. Dig. 43, 29, 
1. 
     5. The habeas corpus act has been substantially incorporated into the 
jurisprudence of every state in the Union, and the right to the writ has 
been secured by most of the constitutions of the states, and of the United 
States. The statute of 31 Car. II. c. 2, provides that the person 
imprisoned, if he be not a prisoner convict, or in execution of legal 
process, or committed for treason or felony, plainly expressed in the 
warrant, or has not neglected willfully, by the space of two whole terms 
after his imprisonment, to pray a habeas corpus for his enlargement, may 
apply by any one in his behalf, in vacation time, to a judicial officer for 
the writ of habeas corpus, and the officer, upon view of the copy of the 
warrant of commitment, or upon proof of denial of it after due demand, must 
allow the writ to be directed to the person in whose custody the party is 
detained, and made returnable immediately before him. And, in term time, any 
of the said prisoners may obtain his writ of habeas corpus, by applying to 
the proper court. 
     6. By the habeas corpus law of Pennsylvania, (the Act of February 18, 
1785,) the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus is given in "all cases where 
any person, not being committed or detained for any criminal, or supposed 
criminal matter," Who "shall be confined or restrained of his or her 
liberty, under any color or pretence whatsoever." A similar provision is 
contained in the habeas corpus act of New York. Act of April 21, 1818, sect. 
41, ch. 277. 
     7. The Constitution of the United State art. 1, s. 9, n. 2, provides, 
that "the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may 
require it" and the same principle is contained in many of the state 
constitutions. In order still more to secure the citizen the benefit of this 
great writ, a heavy penalty is inflicted upon the judges who are bound to 
grant it, in case of refusal. 
     8. It is proper to consider, 1. When it is to be granted. 2. How it is 
to be served. 3. What return is to be made to it. 4. The bearing. 5. The 
effect of the judgment upon it. 
     9.-1. The writ is to be granted whenever a person is in actual 
confinement, committed or detained as aforesaid, either for a criminal 
charge, or, as in Pennsylvania and New York, in all cases where he is 
confined or restrained of his liberty, under any color or pretence 
whatsoever. But persons discharged on bail will not be considered as 
restrained of their liberty so as to be entitled to, a writ of habeas 
corpus, directed to their bail. 3 Yeates, R. 263; 1 Serg & Rawle, 356. 
    10.-2. The writ may be served by any free person, by leaving it with 
the person to whom it is directed, or left at the gaol or prison with any of 
the under officers, under keepers, or deputy of the said officers or 
keepers. In Louisiana, it is provided, that if the person to whom it is 
addressed shall refuse to receive the writ, he who is charged to serve it, 
shall inform him of its contents; if he to whom the writ is addressed 
conceal himself, or refuse admittance to the person charged to serve it on 
him, the latter shall affix the order on the exterior of the place where the 
person resides, or in which the petitioner is so confined. Lo. Code of 
Pract. art. 803. The service is proved by the oath of the party making it. 
    11.-3. The person to whom the writ is addressed or directed, is 
required to make a return to it, within the time prescribed; he either 
complies, or he does not. If, he complies, he must positively answer, 1. 
Whether he has or has not in his power or custody the person to be set at 
liberty, or whether that person is confined by him; if he return that he has 
not and has not had him in his power or custody, and the return is true, it 
is evident that a mistake was made in issuing the writ; if the return is 
false, he is liable to a penalty, and other punishment, for making such a, 
false return. If he return that he has such person in his custody, then he 
must show by his return, further, by what authority, and for what cause, he 
arrested or detained him. If he does not comply, he is to be considered in 
contempt of the court under whose seal the writ has been issued, and liable 
to a severe penalty, to be recovered by the party aggrieved. 
    12.-4. When the prisoner is brought, before the judge, his judicial 
discretion commences, and he acts under no other responsibility than that 
which belongs to the exercise of ordinary judicial power. The judge or court 
before whom the prisoner is brought on a habeas corpus, examines the return 
and Papers, if any, referred to in it, and if no legal cause be shown for 
the imprisonment or restraint; or if it appear, although legally committed, 
he has not been prosecuted or tried within the periods required by law, or 
that, for any other cause, the imprisonment cannot be legally continued, the 
prisoner is discharged from custody. In the case of wives, children, and 
wards, all the court does, is to see that they ire under no illegal 
restraint. 1 Strange, 445; 2. Strange, 982; Wilmot's Opinions, 120. 
    13. For those offences which are bailable, when the prisoner offers 
sufficient bail, he is to be bailed. 
    14. He is to be remanded in the following cases: 1. When it appears he, 
is detained upon legal process, out of some court having jurisdiction of 
criminal matters, 2. When he is detained by warrant, under the hand and seal 
of a magistrate, for some offence for which, by law, the prisoner is not 
bailable. 3. When he is a convict in execution, or detained in execution by 
legal civil process. 4. When he is detained for a contempt, specially and 
plainly charged in the commitment, by some existing court, having authority 
to commit for contempt. 5. When he refuses or neglects to give the requisite 
bail in a case bailable of right. The judge is not confined to the return, 
but he is to examine into the causes of the imprisonment, and then he is to 
discharge, bail, or remand, as justice shall require. 2 Kent, Com. 26; Lo. 
Code of Prac. art. 819. 
    15.-5. It is provided by the habeas corpus act, that a person set at 
liberty by the writ, shall not again be imprisoned for the same offence, by 
any person whomsoever, other than by the legal order and process of such 
court wherein he shall be bound by recognizance to appear, or other court 
having jurisdiction of the cause. 4 Johns. R. 318; 1 Binn. 374; 5 John. R. 
282. 
    16. The habeas corpus can be suspended only by authority of the 
legislature. The constitution of the United States provides, that the 
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when, 
in cases of invasion and rebellion, the public safety may require it. 
Whether this writ ought to be suspended depends on political considerations, 
of which the legislature, is to decide. 4 Cranch, 101. The proclamation of a 
military chief, declaring martial law, cannot, therefore, suspend the 
operation of the law. 1 Harr. Cond. Rep. Lo. 157, 159 3 Mart. Lo. R. 531. 
    17. There are various kinds of this writ; the principal of which are 
explained below. 
    18. Habeas corpus ad deliberandum et recipiendum, is a writ which lies 
to remove a prisoner to take his trial in the county where the offence was 
committed. Bac. Ab. Habeas Corpus, A. 
    19. Habeas corpus ad faciendum et recipiendum, is a writ which issues 
out of a court of competent jurisdiction, when a person is sued in an 
inferior court, commanding the inferior judges to produce the body of the 
defendant, together with the day and cause of his caption and detainer, 
(whence this writ is frequently denominated habeas corpus cum causa) to do 
and receive whatever the court or the judge issuing the writ shall consider 
in that behalf. This writ may also be issued by the bail of a prisoner, who 
has been taken upon a criminal accusation, in order to surrender him in his 
own discharge; upon. the return of this writ, the court will cause an 
exoneretur to be entered on the bail piece, and remand the prisoner to his 
former custody. Tidd's Pr. 405; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 182. 
    20. Habeas corpus ad prosequendum, is a writ which issues for the 
purpose of removing a prisoner in order to prosecute. 3 Bl. Com. 130. 
    21. Habeas corpus ad respondendum, is a writ which issues at the 
instance of a creditor, or one who has a cause of action against a person 
who is confined by the process of some inferior court, in order to remove 
the prisoner and charge him with this new action in the court above. 2 Mod. 
198; 3 Bl. Com. 107. 
    22. Habeas corpus ad satisfaciendum, is a writ issued at the instance of 
a plaintiff for the purpose of bringing up a prisoner, against whom a 
judgment has been rendered, in a superior court to charge him with the 
process of execution. 2 Lill. Pr. Reg. 4; 3 Bl. Com. 129, 130. 
    23. Habeas corpus ad subjiciendum, by way of eminence called the writ of 
habeas corpus, (q.v.) is a writ directed to the person detaining another, 
and commanding him to produce the body of the prisoner, with the day and 
cause of his caption and detention, ad faciendum, subjiciendum, et 
recipiendum, to do, submit to, and receive, whatsoever the judge or court 
awarding such writ shall consider in that behalf. 3 Bl. Com. 131; 3 Story, 
Const. Sec. 1333. 
    24. Habeas corpus ad testificandum, a writ issued for the purpose of 
bringing a prisoner, in order that he may testify, before the court. 3 Bl. 
Com. 130. 
    25. Habeas corpus cum causa, is a writ which may be issued by the bail 
of a prisoner, who has been taken upon a criminal accusation, in order to 
render him in their own discharge. Tidd's Pr. 405. Upon the return of this 
writ the court will cause an exoneretur to be entered on the bail piece, and 
remand the defendant to his former custody. Id. ibid.; 1 Chit. Cr. Law 132. 
Vide, generally, Bac. Ab. h.t.; Vin. Ab. h.t.; Com. Dig. h.t.; Nels. Ab. 
h.t.; the various American Digests, h.t.; Lo. Code of Prac. art. 791 to 
827; Dane's Ab. Index, h.t.; Bouv. Inst. Index, h.t. 

HABENDUM, conveyancing. This is a Latin word, which signifies to have. 
     2. In conveyancing, it is that part of a deed which usually declares 
what estate or interest is granted by it, its certainty, duration, and to 
what use. It sometimes qualifies the estate, so that the general implication 
of the estate, which, by construction of law, passes in the premises, may by 
the habendum be controlled; in which case the habendum may enlarge the 
estate, but not totally contradict, or be repugnant to it. It may abridge 
the premises. Perk. Sec. 170, 176; Br. Estate, 36 Cont. Co. Litt. 299. It 
may explain the premises. More, 43; 2 Jones, 4. It may enlarge the premises 
Co. Litt. 299; 2 Jones, 4. It may be frustrated by the premises, when they 
are general; Skin. 544 but it cannot frustrate the premises, though it may 
restrain them. Skin. 543. Its proper office is not to give anything, but to 
limit or define the certainty of the estate to the feoffee or grantee, who 
should be previously named in the premises of the deed, or it is void. Cro. 
Eliz. 903. In deeds and devises it is sometimes construed distributively, 
reddendo singula singulis. 1 Saund. 183-4, notes 3 and 4; Yelv. 183, and 
note 1. 
     3. The habendum commences in our common deeds, with the words "to have 
and to hold." 2 Bl. Com. 298.; 14 Vin. Ab. 143; Com. Dig. Fait, E 9; 2 Co. 
55 a; 8 Mass. R. 175; 1 Litt. R. 220; Cruise, Dig. tit. 32, c. 20, s. 69 to 
93; 5 Serg. & Rawle, 375; 2 Rolle, Ab. 65; Plowd. 153; Co. Litt. 183; 
Martin's N. C. Rep. 28; 4 Kent, Com. 456; 3 Prest. on Abstr. 206 to 210; 5 
Barnw. & Cres. 709; 7 Greenl. R. 455; 6 Conn. R. 289; 6 Har. & J. l32; 3 
Wend. 99. 

HABERDASHER. A dealer in miscellaneous goods and merchandise.

HABERE. To have. This word is used in composition.

HABERE FACIAS POSSESSIONEM, Practice, remedies. The name of a writ of 
execution in the action of ejectment. 
     2. The sheriff, is commanded by this writ that, without delay, he cause 
the plaintiff to have possession of the land in dispute which is therein 
described; a fi. fa. or ca. sa. for costs may be included in the writ. The 
duty of the sheriff in the execution and return of that part of the writ, is 
the same as on a common fi. fa. or ca. sa. The sheriff is to execute this 
writ by delivering a full and, actual possession of the premises to the 
plaintiff. For this purpose he may break an outer or inner door of the 
house, and, should he be violently opposed, he may raise the posse 
comitatus. Wats. on Sher. 60, 215; 5 Co. 91 b.; 1 Leon. 145; 3 Bouv. Inst. 
n. 3375. 
     3. The name of this writ is abbreviated hab. fa. poss. Vide 10 Vin. Ab. 
14; Tidd's Pr. 1081, 8th Engl. edit.; 2 Arch. Pr. 58; 3 Bl. Com. 412; Bing. 
on Execut. 115, 252; Bac. Ab. h.t. 

HABERE FACIAS SEISINAM, practice, remedies. The name of a writ of execution, 
used in most real actions, by which the sheriff is directed that he cause 
the demandant to have seisin of the lands which he has recovered. 3 Bouv. 
Inst. n. 3374. 
     2. This writ may be taken out at any time within a year and day after 
judgment. It is to be executed nearly in the same manner as the writ of 
habere facias possessionem, and, for this purpose, the officer may break 
open the outer door of a house to deliver seisin to the demandant. 5 Co. 91 
b; Com. Dig. Execution, E; Wats. Off. of Sheriff, 238. The name of this writ 
is abbreviated hab. fac. seis. Vide Bingh. on Exec. 115, 252; Bac. Ab. h.t. 

HABERE FACIAS VISUM, practice. The name of a writ which lies when a view is 
to be taken of lands and tenements., F. N. B. Index, verbo View. 

HABIT. A disposition or condition of the body or mind acquired by custom or 
a frequent repetition of the same act. See 2 Mart. Lo. Rep. N. S. 622. 
     2. The habit of dealing has always an important bearing upon the 
construction of commercial contracts. A ratification will be inferred from 
the mere habit of dealing between the parties; as, if a broker has been 
accustomed to settle losses on policies in a particular manner, without any 
objection being made, or with the silent approbation of his principal, and 
he should afterward settle other policies in the same manner, to which no 
objection should be made within a reasonable time, a just presumption would 
arise of an implied ratification; for if the principal did not agree to such 
settlement he should have declared his dissent. 2 Bouv. Inst. 1313-14. 

HABITATION, civil law. It was the right of a person to live in the house of 
another without prejudice to the property. 
     2. It differed from a usufruct in this, that the usufructuary might 
have applied the house to any purpose, as, a store or manufactory; whereas 
the party having the right of habitation. could only use it for the 
residence of himself and family. 1 Bro. Civ. Law, 184 Domat. l. 1, t. 11, s. 
2, n. 7. 

HABITATION, estates. A dwelling-house, a home-stall. 2 Bl. Com. 4; 4 Bl. 
Com. 220. Vide House. 

HABITUAL DRUNKARD. A person given to ebriety or the excessive use of 
intoxicating drink, who has lost the power or the will, by frequent 
indulgence, to control his appetite for it. 
     2. By the laws of Pennsylvania an habitual drunkard is put nearly upon 
the same footing with a lunatic; he is deprived of his property, and a 
committee is appointed by the court to take care of his person and estate. 
Act of June 13, 1836, Pamph. p. 589. Vide 6 Watts' Rep. 139; 1 Ashm. R. 71. 
     3. Habitual drunkenness, by statutory provisions in some of the states, 
is a sufficient cause for divorce. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 296. 

HABITUALLY. Customarily, by habit. or frequent use or practice, or so 
frequently, as to show a design of repeating the same act. 2 N. S. 622: 1 
Mart. Lo. R. 149. 
     2. In order to found proceedings in lunacy, it is requisite that the 
insanity should be habitual, yet it is not necessary that it should be 
continued. 1 Bouv. Inst.  n. 379. 

HAD BOTE, Engl. law.  A recompense or amends made for violence offered to a 
person in holy orders. 

HAEREDES PROXIMI. The children or descendants of the deceased. Dalr. Feud. 
Pr. 110; Spellm. Remains. 

HAEREDES REMOTIORES. The kinsmen other than children or descendants; Dalr. 
Feud. Pr. 110; Spellm. Remains. 

HAEREDITAS. An inheritance, or an estate which descends to one by 
succession. At common law an inheritance never ascends, haereditas nunquam 
ascendit. But in many of the states of the Union provision is made by 
statute in favor of ascendants. 

HAEREDITAS JACENS. This is said of an inheritance which is not taken by the 
heirs, but remains in abeyance. 

HAERES civil law. An heir, one who succeeds to the whole inheritance. 
     2. These are of various kinds. 1. Haeres natus, an heir born; the heir 
at law: he is distinguished from, 2. Haeres factus, or an heir created by 
will, a testamentary heir, to whom the whole estate of the testator is 
given. 3. Haeres fiduciarius, an heir to whom the estate is given in trust 
for another. Just. 2, 23, 1, 2. Haeres-legitimus, a lawful heir; this is one 
who is manifested by the marriage of his parents; haeres legitimus est quem 
nuptiae demonstrant; haeres suus, one's own heir, a proper heir; 
descendants. Just. 3, 1, 4, 5. 

HALF. One equal part of a thing divided into two parts, either in fact or in 
contemplation. A moiety. This word is used in composition; as, half cent, 
half dime, &c. 

HALF-BLOOD, parentage, kindred. When persons have only one parent in common, 
they are of the half-blood. For example, if John marry Sarah and has a son 
by that marriage, and after Sarah's death he marry Maria, and has by her 
another son, these children are of the half-blood; whereas two of the 
children of John and Sarah would be of the whole blood. 
     2. By the English common law, one related to an intestate of the half-
blood only, could never inherit, upon the presumption that he is not of the 
blood of the original purchaser; but this rule has been greatly modified by 
the 3 and 4 Wm. IV. c. 106. 
     3. In this country the common law principle on this subject may be 
considered as not in force, though in some states some distinction is still 
preserved between the whole and the half-blood. 4 Kent, Com. 403, n.; 2 
Yerg. 115; 1 M'Cord, 456; Dane's Ab. Index, h.t.; Reeves on Descents, 
passim. Vide Descents. 

HALF-BROTHER AND HALF-SISTER. Persons who have the same father but different 
mothers; or the same mother but different fathers. 

HALF CENT, money. A copper coin of the United States, of the value of one 
two-hundredth part of a dollar, or five mills. It weighs eighty-four grains. 
Act of January 18, 1837, s. 12, 4 Sharswood's cont. of Story's L. U. S. 
2523, 4. Vide Money. 

HALF DEFENCE, pleading. It is the peculiar form of a defence, which is as 
follows, "venit et defendit vim et injuriam, et dicit," &c. It differs from 
full defence. Vide Defence; Et cetera; 

HALF DIME, money. A silver coin of the United States, of the value of one- 
twentieth part of a dollar, or five cents. It weighs twenty grains and five-
eighths of a grain. Of one thousand parts, nine hundred are of pure silver, 
and one hundred are of alloy. Act of January 18, 1837, s. 8 and 9, 4 
Sharswood's cont. of Story's L. U. S. 2523, 4. Vide Money. 

HALF DOLLAR, money. A silver coin of the United States of the value of fifty 
cents. It weighs two hundred and six and one-fourth grains. Of one thousand 
parts, nine hundred are of pure silver, and one hundred of alloy. Act of 
January 18, 1837, S. 8 and 9, 4 Sharsw. cont. of Story's L. U. S. 2523, 4. 
Vide Money. 

HALF EAGLE, money. A gold coin of the United States, of the value of five 
dollars. It weighs one hundred and twenty-nine grains. Of one thousand 
parts, nine hundred are of pure gold, and one hundred of alloy. Act of 
January 18, 1837, 4 Sharsw. cont. of Story's L. U. S. 2523, 4. Vide Money. 

HALF PROOF, semiplena probatio, civil law. Full proof is that which is 
sufficient to end the controversy, while half proof is that which is 
insufficient, as the foundation of a sentence or decree, although in itself 
entitled to some credit. Vicat, voc. Probatio. 

HALF SEAL. A seal used in the English chancery for the sealing of 
commissions to delegates appointed upon any appeal, either in ecclesiastical 
or marine causes. 

HALF YEAR, In the computation of time, a half year consists of one hundred 
and eighty-two days. Co. Litt. 135 b; Rev. Stat., of N. Y. part 1, c. 19, t. 
1. Sec. 3. 

HALL. A public building used either for the meetings of corporations, 
courts, or employed to some public uses; as the city hall, the town hall. 
Formerly this word denoted the chief mansion or habitation. 

HALLUCINATION, med. jur. It is a species of mania, by which "an idea 
reproduced by the memory is associated and embodied by the imagination." 
This state of mind is sometimes called delusion or waking dreams. 
     2. An attempt has been made to distinguish hallucinations from 
illusions; the former are said to be dependent on the state of the 
intellectual organs and, the latter, on that of those of sense. Ray, Med. 
Jur. Sec. 99; 1 Beck, med. Jur. 538, note. An instance is given of a 
temporary hallucination in the celebrated Ben Johnson, the poet. He told a 
friend of his that he had spent many a night in looking at his great toe, 
about which he had seen Turks and Tartars, Romans and Carthagenians, fight, 
in his imagination. 1 Coll. on Lun. 34. If, instead of being temporary, this 
affection of his mind had been permanent, he would doubtless have been 
considered insane. See, on the subject of spectral illusions, Hibbert, 
Alderson and Farrar's Essays; Scott on Demonology, &c.; Bostock's 
Physiology, vol. 3, p. 91, 161; 1 Esquirol, Maladies Mentales, 159. 

HALMOTE. The name of a court among the Saxons. It had civil and criminal 
jurisdiction. 

HAMESUCKEN, Scotch law. The crime of hamesucken consists in "the felonious 
seeking and invasion of a person in his dwelling house." 1 Hume, 312; 
Burnett, 86; Alison's Princ. of the Cr. Law of Scotl. 199. 
     2. The mere breaking into a house, without personal violence, does not 
constitute the offence, nor does the violence without an entry with intent 
to, commit an assault. It is the combination of both which completes the 
crime. 1. It is necessary that the invasion of the house should have 
proceeded from forethought malice; but it is sufficient, if, from any 
illegal motive, the violence has been meditated, although it may not have 
proceeded from the desire of wreaking personal revenge, properly so called. 
2. The place where the assault was committed must have been the proper 
dwelling house of the party injured, and not a place of business, visit, or 
occasional residence. 3. the offence maybe committed equally in the day as 
in the night, and not only by effraction of the building by actual force but 
by an entry obtained by fraud, with the intention of inflicting personal 
violence, followed by its perpetration. 4. But unless the injury to the 
person be of a grievous and material, character, it is not hamesucken, 
though the other requisites to the crime have occurred. When this is the 
case, it is immaterial whether the violence be done lucri causƒ, or from 
personal spite. 5. The punishment of hamesucken in aggravated cases of 
injury, is death in cases of inferior atrocity, an arbitrary punishment. 
Alison's Pr. of Cr. Law of Scotl. ch. 6; Ersk. Pr. L. Scotl. 4, 9, 23. This 
term wag formerly used in England instead of the now modern term burglary. 4 
Bl. Com. 223. 

HAMLET, Eng. law. A small village; a part or member of a vill. 

HANAPER OFFICE, Eng.law. This is the name of one of the offices belonging to 
the English court of chancery. 3 Bl. Com. 49. 

HAND. That part of the human body at the end of the arm. 
     2. Formerly the hand was considered as the symbol of good faith, and 
some contracts derive their names from the fact that the hand was used in 
making them; as handsale, (q.v.) mandatum, (q.v.) which comes from a 
mandata. The hand is still used for various legal or forensic purposes. When 
a person is accused of a crime and he is arraigned, and he is asked to hold 
up his right hand; and when one is sworn as a witness, he is required to lay 
his right hand on the Bible, or to hold it up. 
     3. Hand is also the name of a measure of length used in ascertaining 
the height of horses. It is four inches long. See Measure: Ell. 
     4. In a figurative sense, by hand is understood a particular form of 
writing; as if B writes a good hand. Various kinds of hand have been used, 
as, the secretary hand, the Roman hand, the court hand, &c. Wills and 
contracts may be written in any of these, or any other which is 
intelligible. 

HANDBILL. A printed or written notice put up on walls, &c., in order to 
inform those concerned of something to be done. 

HANDSALE, contracts. Anciently, among all the northern nations, shaking of 
hands was held necessary to bind a bargain; a custom still retained in 
verbal contracts; a sale thus made was called handsale, venditio per mutuam 
manum complexionem. In process of time the same word was used to signify the 
price or earnest which was given immediately after the shaking of hands, or 
instead thereof. In some parts of the country it is usual to speak of hand 
money as the part of the consideration paid or to be paid at the execution 
of a contract of sale. 2 Bl. Com. 448. Heineccius, de Antique Jure 
Germanico, lib. 2, Sec. 335; Toull. Dr. Civ. Fr. liv. 3, t. 3, c. 2, n. 33. 

HANDWRITING, evidence. Almost every person's handwriting has something 
whereby it may be distinguished from the writing of others, and this 
difference is sometimes intended by the term. 
     2. It is sometimes necessary to prove that a certain instrument or name 
is in the handwriting of a particular person; that is done either by the 
testimony of a witness, who saw the paper or signature actually written, or 
by one who has by sufficient means, acquired such a knowledge of the general 
character of the handwriting of the party, as will enable him to swear to 
his belief, that the handwriting of the person is the handwriting in 
question. 1 Phil. Ev. 422; Stark. Ev. h.t.; 2 John. Cas. 211; 5 John. R. 
144; 1 Dall. 14; 2 Greenl. R. 33; 6 Serg. & Rawle, 668; 1 Nott & M'Cord, 
554; 19 Johns. R. 134; Anthon's N. P. 77; 1 Ruffin's R. 6; 2 Nott & M'Cord, 
400; 7 Com. Dig. 447; Bac. Ab. Evidence, M; Dane's Ab. Index, h.t. 

HANGING, punishment. Death by the halter, or the suspending of a criminal, 
condemned to suffer death, by the neck, until life is extinct. A mode of 
capital punishment. 

HANGMAN. The name usually given to a man employed by the sheriff to put a 
man to death, according to law, in pursuance of a judgment of a competent 
court, and lawful warrant. The same as executioner. (q.v.) 

HAP. An old word which signifies to catch; as, "to hap the rent," to hap the 
deed poll." Techn. Dict. h.t. 

HARBOR. A place where ships may ride with safety; any navigable water 
protected by the surrounding country; a haven. (q.v.) It is public 
property. 1. Bouv. Inst. n. 435. 

TO HARBOR, torts. To receive clandestinely or without lawful authority a 
person for the purpose of so concealing him that another having a right to 
the lawful custody of such person, shall be deprived of the same; for 
example, the harboring of a wife or an apprentice, in order to deprive the 
husband or the master of them; or in a less technical sense, it is the 
reception of persons improperly. 10 N. H. Rep. 247; 4 Scam. 498. 
     2. The harboring of such persons will subject the harborer to an, 
action for the injury; but in order to put him completely in the wrong, a 
demand should be made for their restoration, for in cases where the harborer 
has not committed any other wrong than merely receiving the plaintiff's 
wife, child, or apprentice, he may be under no obligation to return them 
without a demand. 1 Chit. Pr. 564; Dane's Ab. Index, h.t.; 2 N. Car. Law 
Repos. 249; 5 How. U. S. Rep. 215, 227. 

HARD LABOR, punishment. In those states where the penitentiary system has 
been adopted, convicts who are to be imprisoned, as part of their 
punishment, are sentenced to perform hard labor. This labor is not greater 
than many freemen perform voluntarily, and the quantity required to be 
performed is not at all unreasonable. In the penitentiaries of Pennsylvania 
it consists in being employed in weaving, shoemaking, and such like 
employments. 

HART. A stag or male deer of the forest five years old complete.

HAT MONEY, mar. law. The name of a small duty paid to the captain and 
mariners of a ship, usually called primage. (q.v.) 

TO HAVE. These words are used in deeds for the conveyance of land, in that 
clause which usually declared for what estate the land is granted. The same 
as Habendum. (q.v.) Vide Habendum; Tenendum. 

HAVEN. A place calculated for the reception of ships, and so situated, in 
regard to the surrounding land, that the vessel may ride at anchor in it in 
safety. Hale, de Port. Mar. c. 2; 2 Chit. Com. Law, 2; 15 East, R. 304, 5. 
Vide Creek; Port; Road. 

HAWKERS. Persons going from place to place with goods and merchandise for 
sale. To prevent impositions they are generally required to take out 
licenses, under regulations established by the local laws of the states. 

HAZARDOUS CONTRACT, civil law. When the performance of that which is one of 
its objects, depends on an uncertain event, the contract is said to be 
hazardous. Civ. Co. of Lo. art. 1769 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 707. 
     2. When a contract is hazardous, and the lender may lose all or some 
part of his principal, it is lawful for him to charge more than lawful 
interest for the use of his money. Bac. Ab. Usury D; 1 J. J. Marsh, 596; 3 
J. J. Marsh, 84. 

HEAD BOROUGH, English law. Formerly he was a chief officer of a borough, but 
now he is an officer subordinate to constable. St. Armand, Hist. Essay on 
the Legisl. Power of Eng. 88. 

HEALTH. Freedom from pain or sickness; the most perfect state of animal 
life. It may be defined, the natural agreement and concordant dispositions 
of the parts of the living body. 
     2. Public health is an object of the utmost importance and has 
attracted the attention of the national and state legislatures. 
     3. By the act of Congress of the 25th of February, 1799, 1 Story's L. 
U. S. 564, it is enacted: 1. That the quarantines and other restraints, 
which shall be established by the laws of any state, respecting any vessels 
arriving in or bound to any port or district thereof, whether coming from a 
foreign port or some other part of the United States, shall be observed and 
enforced by all officers of the United States, in such place. Sect. 1. 2. In 
times of contagion the collectors of the revenue may remove, under the 
provisions of the act, into another district. Sect. 4. 3. The judge of any 
district court may, when a contagious disorder prevails in his district, 
cause the removal of persons confined in prison under the laws of the United 
States, into another district. Sect. 5. 4. In case of the prevalence of a 
contagious disease at the seat of government, the president of the United 
States may direct the removal of any or all public offices to a place of 
safety. Sect. 6. 5. In case of such contagious disease, at the seat of 
government, the chief justice, or in case of his death or inability, the 
senior associate justice of the supreme court of the United States, may 
issue his warrant to the marshal of the district court within which the 
supreme court is by law to be holden, directing him to adjourn the said 
session of the said court to such other place within the same or adjoining 
district as he may deem convenient. And the district judges may, under the 
same circumstances, have the same power to adjourn to some other part of 
their several districts. Sect. 7. 
     3. Offences against the provisions of the health laws are generally 
punished by fine and imprisonment. These are offences against public health, 
punishable by the common law by fine and imprisonment, such for example, as 
selling unwholesome provisions. 4 Bl. Com. 162; 2 East's P. C. 822; 6 East, 
R.133 to 141; 3 M. & S. 10; 4 Campb. R. 10. 
     4. Private injuries affecting a man's health arise upon a breach of 
contract, express or implied; or in consequence of some tortious act 
unconnected with a contract. 
     5.-1. Those injuries to health which arise upon contract are, 1st. 
The misconduct of medical men, when, through neglect, ignorance, or wanton 
experiments, they injure their patients. 1 Saund. 312, n. 2. 2d. By the sale 
of unwholesome food; though the law does not consider a sale to be a 
warranty as to the goodness or quality of a personal chattel, it is 
otherwise with regard to food and liquors. 1 Rolle's Ab. 90, pl. 1, 2. 
     6.-2. Those injuries which affect a man's health, and which arise 
from tortious acts unconnected with contracts, are, 1st. Private nuisances. 
2d. Public nuisances. 3d. Breaking quarantine. 4th. By sudden alarms, and 
frightening; as by raising a pretended ghost. 4 Bl. Com. 197, 201, note 25; 
1 Hale, 429; Smith's Forens. Med. 37 to 39; 1 Paris & Fonbl. 351, 352. For 
private injuries affecting his health a man may generally have an action on 
the case. 

HEALTH OFFICER. The name of an officer invested with power to enforce the 
health laws. The powers and duties of health officers are regulated by local 
laws. 

HEARING, chancery practice. The term, hearing is given to the trial of a 
chancery suit. 
     2. The hearing is conducted as follows. When the cause is called on in 
court, the pleadings on each side are opened in a brief manner to the court 
by the junior counsel for the plaintiff; after which the plaintiff's leading 
counsel states the plaintiff's case, and the points in issue, and submits to 
the court his arguments upon them. Then the depositions (if any) of the 
plaintiff's witnesses, and such parts of the defendant's answer as support 
the plaintiff's case are read by the plaintiff's solicitor; after which the 
rest of the plaintiff's counsel address the court; then the same course of 
proceedings is observed on the other side, excepting that no part of the 
defendant's answer can be read in his favor, if it be replied to; the 
leading counsel for the plaintiff is then heard in reply; after which the 
court pronounces the decree, Newl. Pr. 153, 4; 14 Vin. Ab. 233; Com. Dig. 
Chancery, T. 1, 2, 3. 

HEARING, crim. law. The examination of a prisoner charged with a crime or 
misdemeanor, and of the witnesses for the accuser. 
     2. The magistrate should examine with care all the witnesses for the 
prosecution, or so many of them as will satisfy his mind that there is 
sufficient ground to believe the prisoner guilty, and that the case ought to 
be examined in court and the prisoner ought to be tried. If, after the 
hearing of all such witnesses, the offence charged is not made out, or, if 
made out, the matter charged is not criminal, the magistrate is bound to 
discharge the prisoner. 
     3. When the magistrate cannot for want of time, or on account of the 
absence of a witness, close the hearing at one sitting, he may adjourn the 
case to another day, and, in bailable offences, either take bail from the 
prisoner for his appearance on that day, or commit him for a further 
hearing. See Further hearing. 
     4. After a final hearing, unless the magistrate discharge the prisoner, 
it is his duty to take bail in bailable offences, and he is the sole judge 
of the amount of bail to be demanded this, however, must not be excessive. 
He is the sole judge, also, whether the offence be bailable or not. When the 
defendant can give the bail required, he must be discharged; when not, he 
must be committed to the county prison, to take his trial, or to be 
otherwise disposed of according, to law. See 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 72, ch. 2. 

HEARSAY EVIDENCE. The evidence of those who relate, not what they know 
themselves, but what they have heard from others. 
     2. As a general rule, hearsay evidence of a fact is not admissible. If 
any fact is to be substantiated against a person, it ought to be proved in 
his presence by the testimony of a witness sworn or affirmed to speak the 
truth. 
     3. There are, however, exceptions to the rule. 1. Hearsay is admissible 
when it is introduced, not as a medium of proof in order to establish a 
distinct fact, but as being in itself a part of the transaction in question, 
when it is a part of the res gestae. 1 Phil. Ev. 218; 4 Wash. C. C. R. 729; 
14 Serg. & Rawle, 275; 21 How. St. Tr. 535; 6 East, 193. 
     4.-2. What a witness swore on a former trial, between the same 
parties, and where the same point was in issue as in the second action, and 
he is since dead, what he swore to is in general, evidence. 2 Show. 47; 11 
John. R. 446; 2 Hen. & Munf. 193; 17 John. R. 176; But see 14 Mass. 234; 2 
Russ. on Cr. 683, and the notes. 
     5.-3. The dying declarations of a person who has received a mortal 
injury, as to the fact itself, and the party by whom it was committed, are 
good evidence under certain circumstances. Vide Declarations, and 15 John. 
R. 286; 1 Phil. Ev. 215; 2 Russ. on Cr. 683. 
     6.-4. In questions concerning public rights, common reputation is 
admitted to be evidence. 
     7.-5. The declarations of deceased persons in cases where they appear 
to have been made against their interest, have been admitted. 
     8.-6. Declarations in cases of birth and pedigree are also to be 
received in evidence. 
     9.-7. Boundaries may be proved by hearsay evidence, but, it seems, it 
must amount to common tradition or repute. 6 Litt. 7; 6 Pet. 341; Cooke, R 
142; 4 Dev. 342; 1 Hawks 45; 4 Hawks, 116; 4 Day, 265. See 3 Ham. 283; 3 
Bouv. Inst. n. 3065, et seq. 10. There are perhaps a few more exceptions 
which will be found in the books referred to below. 2 Russ. on Cr. B. 6, c. 
3; Phil. Ev. ch. 7, s. 7; 1 Stark. Ev. 40; Rosc. Cr. Ev. 20; Rosc. Civ. Ev. 
19 to 24; Bac. Ab. Evidence, K; Dane's Ab. Index, h.t. Vide also, Dig. 39, 
3, 2, 8; Id. 22, 3, 28. see Gresl. Eq. Ev. pt. 2, c. 3, s. 3, p. 218, for 
the rules in courts of equity, as to receiving hearsay evidence 20 Am. Jur. 
68. 

HEDGE-BOTE. Wood used for repairing hedges or fences. 2 Bl. Com. 35; 16 
John. 15. 

HEIFER. A young cow, which has not had a calf. A beast of this kind two 
years and a half old, was held to be improperly described in the indictment 
as a cow. 2 East, P. C. 616; 1 Leach, 105. 

HEIR. One born in lawful matrimony, who succeeds by descent, and right of 
blood, to lands, tenements or hereditaments, being an estate of inheritance. 
It is an established rule of law, that God alone can make an heir. Beame's 
Glanville, 143; 1 Thomas, Co. Lit. 931; and Butler's note, p. 938. Under the 
word heirs are comprehended the heirs of heirs in infinitum. 1 Co. Litt. 7 
b, 9 a, 237 b; Wood's Inst. 69. According to many authorities, heir may be 
nomen collectivuum, as well in a deed as in a will, and operate in both in 
the same manner, as heirs in the plural number. 1 Roll. Abr. 253; Ambl. 453; 
Godb. 155; T. Jones, 111; Cro, Eliz. 313; 1 Burr. 38; 10 Vin. Abr. 233, pl. 
1; 8 Vin. Abr. 233; sed vide 2 Prest. on, Est. 9, 10. In wills, in order to 
effectuate the intention of the testator, the word heirs is sometimes 
construed to mean next of kin; 1 Jac. & Walk. 388; and children, Ambl. 273. 
See further, as to the force and import of this word, 2 Vent. 311; 1 P. Wms. 
229; 3 Bro. P. C. 60, 454; 2 P. Wms. 1, 369; 2 Black. R. 1010; 4 Ves. 26, 
766, 794; 2 Atk. 89, 580; 5 East Rep. 533; 5 Burr. 2615; 11 Mod. 189; 8 Vin. 
Abr. 317; 1 T. R. 630; Bac. Abr. Estates in fee simple, B. 
     2. There are several kinds of heirs specified below.
     3. By the civil law, heirs are divided into testamentary or instituted 
heirs legal heirs, or heirs of the blood; to which the Civil Code of 
Louisiana has added irregular heirs. They are also divided into 
unconditional and beneficiary heirs. 
     4. It is proper here to notice a difference in the meaning of the word 
heir, as it is understood by the common and by, the civil law. By the civil 
law, the term heirs was applied to all persons who were called to the 
succession, whether by the act of the party or by operation of law. The 
person who was created universal successor by a will, was called the 
testamentary heir; and the next of kin by blood was, in cases of intestacy, 
called the heir at law, or heir by intestacy. The executor of the common law 
is, in many respects, not unlike the testamentary heir of the civil law. 
Again, the administrator in many respects corresponds with the heir by 
intestacy. By the common law, executors unless expressly authorized by the 
will and administrators, have no right, except to the personal estate of the 
deceased; whereas, the heir by the civil law was authorized to administer 
both the personal and real estate. 1 Brown's Civ. Law, 344; Story, Confl. of 
Laws, Sec. 508. 
     5. All free persons, even minors, lunatics, persons of insane mind or 
the like, may transmit their estates as intestate ab intestato, and inherit 
from others. Civ. Code of Lo., 945; Accord, Co. Lit. 8 a. 
     6. The child in its mother's womb, is considered as born for all 
purposes of its own interest; it takes all successions opened in its favor, 
after its conception, provided it be capable of succeeding at the moment of 
its birth. Civ. Code of Lo. 948. Nevertheless, if the child conceived is 
reputed born, it is only in the hope of its birth; it is necessary then that 
the child be born alive, for it cannot be said that those who are born dead 
ever inherited. Id. 949. See In ventre sa mere. 

HEIR. APPARENT. One who has an indefeasible right to the inheritance, 
provided he outlive the ancestor. 2 Bl. Com. 208. 

HEIR, BENEFICIARY. A term used in the civil law. Beneficiary heirs are those 
who have accepted the succession under the benefit of an inventory regularly 
made. Civ. Code of Lo. art. 879. If the heir apprehend that the succession
will be burdened with debts beyond its value, he accepts with benefit of 
inventory, and in that case he is responsible only for the value of the 
succession. See inventory, benefit of. 

HEIR, COLLATERAL. A collateral heir is one who is not of the direct line of 
the deceased, but comes from a collateral line; as, a brother, sister, an 
uncle and aunt, a nephew, niece, or cousin of the deceased. 

HEIR, CONVENTIONAL, civil law. A conventional heir is one who takes a 
succession by virtue of a contract; for example, a marriage contract, which 
entitles the heir to the succession. 

HEIR, FORCED. Forced heirs are those who cannot be disinherited. This term 
is used among the civilians. Vide Forced heirs 

HEIR, GENERAL. Heir at common in the English law. The heir at common law is 
he who, after his father or ancestor's death has a right to, and is 
introduced into all his lands, tenements and hereditaments. He must be of 
the whole blood, not a bastard, alien, &c. Bac. Abr. Heir, B 2; Coparceners; 
Descent. 

HEIR, IRREGULAR. In Louisiana, irregular heirs are those who are neither 
testamentary nor legal, and who have been established by law to take the 
succession. See Civ. Code of Lo. art. 874. When the deceased has left 
neither lawful descendants nor ascendants, nor collateral relations, the law 
calls to his inheritance either the surviving husband or wife, or his or her 
natural children, or the state. Id. art., 911. This is called an irregular 
succession. 

HEIR AT LAW. He who, after his ancestor's death intestate, has a right to 
all lands, tenements, and hereditaments, which belonged to him, or of which 
he was seised. The same as heir general. (q.v.) 

HEIR, LEGAL, civil law. A legal heir is one who is of the same blood of the 
deceased, and who takes the succession by force of law; this is different 
from a testamentary or conventional heir, who takes the succession in virtue 
of the disposition of man. See Civil, Code of Louis. art. 873, 875; Dict. de 
Jurisp., Heritier legitime. There are three classes of legal heirs, to wit; 
the children and other lawful descendants; the fathers and mothers and other 
lawful ascendants; and the collateral kindred. Civ. Code of Lo. art. 883. 

HEIR LOOM, estates. This word seems to be compounded of heir and loom, that 
is, a frame, viz. to weave in. Some derive the word loom from the Saxon 
loma, or geloma, which signifies utensils or vessels generally. However this 
may be, the word loom, by time, is drawn to a more general signification, 
than it, at the first, did bear, comprehending all implements of household; 
as, tables, presses, cupboards, bedsteads, wainscots, and which, by the 
custom of some countries, having belonged to a house, are never inventoried 
after the decease of the owner, as chattels, but accrue to the heir, with 
the house itself minsheu[?]. The term heir looms is applied to those 
chattels which are considered as annexed and necessary to the enjoyment of 
an inheritance. 
     2. They are chattels which, contrary to the nature of chattels, descend 
to the heir, along with the inheritance, and do not pass to the executor of 
the last proprietor. Charters, deeds, and other evidences of the title of 
the land, together with the box or chest in which they are contained; the 
keys of a house, and fish in a fish pond, are all heir looms. 1 Inst. 3 a; 
Id. 185 b; 7 Rep. 17 b; Cro. Eliz. 372; Bro. Ab. Charters, pl. 13; 2 Bl. 
Com. 28; 14 Vin. Ab. 291. 

HEIR PRESUMPTIVE. A presumptive heir is one who, in the present 
circumstances, would be entitled to the inheritance, but whose rights may be 
defeated by the contingency of some nearer heir being born. 2 B1 Com. 208. 
In Louisiana, the presumptive heir is he who is the nearest relation of the 
deceased, capable of inheriting. This quality is given to him before the 
decease of the person from whom he is to inherit, as well as after the 
opening of the succession, until he has accepted or renounced it. Civ. Code 
of Lo. art. 876. 

HEIR, TESTAMENTARY, civil law. A testamentary heir is one who is constituted 
heir by testament executed in the form prescribed by law. He is so called to 
distinguish him from the legal heirs, who are called to the succession by 
the law; and from conventional heirs, who are so constituted by a contract 
inter vivos. See Haeres factus; Devisee. 

HEIR, UNCONDITIONAL. A term used in the civil law, adopted by the Civil Code 
of Louisiana. Unconditional heirs are those who inherit without any 
reservation, or without making an inventory, whether their acceptance be 
express or tacit. Civ. Code of Lo. art. 878. 

HEIRESS. A female heir to a person having an estate of inheritance. When 
there is more than one, they are called co-heiresses, or co-heirs. 

HEPTARCHY, Eng. law. The name of the kingdom or government established by 
the Saxons, on their establishment in Britain so called because it was 
composed of seven kingdoms, namely, Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East 
Anglia, Mercia, and Northumberland. 

HERALDRY, civil and canon law. The art or office of a herald. It is the art, 
practice, or science of recording genealogies, and blazoning arms or ensigns 
armorial. It also teaches whatever relates to the marshaling of cavalcades, 
processions, and other public ceremonies. Encyc.; Ridley's View of the Civil 
and Canon Law, pt. 2, c. 1, Sec. 6. 

HERBAGE, English Law, A species of easement, which consists in the right to 
feed one's cattle on another man's ground. 

HEREDITAMENTS, estates. Anything capable of being inherited, be it corporeal 
or incorporeal, real, personal, or mixed and including not only lands and 
everything thereon, but also heir looms, and certain furniture which, by 
custom, may descend to the heir, together with the land. Co. Litt. 5 b; 1 
Tho. Co. Litt. 219; 2 Bl. Com. 17. By this term such things are denoted, as 
may be the subject-matter of inheritance, but not the inheritance itself; it 
cannot therefore, by its own intrinsic force, enlarge an estate, prima facie 
a life estate, into a fee. 2 B. & P. 251; 8 T. R. 503; 1 Tho. Co. Litt. 219, 
note T. 
     2. Hereditaments are divided into corporeal and incorporeal. Corporeal 
hereditaments are confined to lands. (q.v.) Vide Incorporeal hereditaments, 
and Shep. To. 91; Cruise's Dig. tit. 1, s. 1; Wood's Inst. 221; 3 Kent, Com. 
321; Dane's Ab. Index, h.t.; 1 Chit. Pr. 203-229; 2 Bouv. Inst. n. 1595, et 
seq. 

HEREDITARY. That which is inherited.

HERESY, Eng. law. The adoption of any erroneous religious tenet, not 
warranted by the established church. 
     2. This is punished by the deprivation of certain civil rights, and by 
fine and imprisonment. 1 East, P. C. 4. 
     3. In other countries than England, by heresy is meant the profession, 
by Christians, of religious opinions contrary to the dogmas approved by the 
established church of the respective countries. For an account of the origin 
and progress of the laws against heresy, see Giannoni's Istoria di Napoli, 
vol. 3, pp, 250, 251, &c. 
     4. in the United State, happily, we have no established religion; there 
can, therefore, be no legal heresy. Vide Apostacy; Christianity. 

HERISCHILD. A species of English military service, or knight's fee. 

HERIOTS, Eng. law. A render of the best beast or other goods, as the custom 
may be, to the lord, on the death of the tenant. 2 Bl. Com. 97. 
     2. They are usually divided into two sorts, heriot service, and heriot 
custom; the former are such as are due upon a special reservation in the 
grant or lease of lands, and therefore amount to little more than a mere 
rent; the latter arise upon no special reservation whatsoever, but depend 
merely upon immemorial usage and custom. These are defined to be a customary 
tribute of goods and chattels, payable to the lord of the fee, on the 
decease of the owner of the land. 2 Bl. Com. 422. Vide Com. Dig. Copyhold, K 
18; Bac. Ab. h.t.; 2 Saund. Index, h.t.; 1 Vern. 441. 

HERITAGE. By this word is understood, among the civilians, every species of 
immovable which can be the subject of property, such as lands, houses, 
orchards, woods, marshes, ponds, &c., in whatever mode they may have been 
acquired, either by descent or purchase. 3 Toull. 472. It is something that 
can be inherited. Co. Litt. s. 731. 

HERMAPHRODITES. Persons who have in the sexual organs the appearance of both 
sexes. They are adjudged to belong to that which prevails in them. Co. Litt. 
2, 7; Domat, Lois Civ. liv. 1, t. 2, s. 1, n.. 9. 
     2. The sexual characteristics in the human species are widely 
separated, and the two sexes are never, perhaps, united in the same 
individual. 2 Dunglison's Hum. Physiol. 304; 1 Beck's Med. Jur. 94 to 110. 
     3. Dr. William Harris, in a lecture delivered to the Philadelphia 
Medical Institute, gives an interesting account of a supposed hermaphrodite 
who came under his own observation in Chester county, Pennsylvania. The 
individual was called Elizabeth, and till the age of eighteen, wore the 
female dress, when she threw it off, and assumed the name of Rees, with the 
dress and habits of a man; at twenty-five, she married a woman, but had no 
children. Her clitoris was five or six inches long, and in coition, which 
she greatly enjoyed, she used this instead of the male organ. She lived till 
she was sixty years of age, and died in possession of a large estate, which 
she had acquired by her industry and enterprise. Medical Examiner, vol. ii. 
p, 314. Vide 1 Briand, M‚d. L‚g. c. 2, art. 2, Sec. 2, n. 2; Dict. des 
Sciences M‚d. art. Hypospadias, et art. Impuissance; Guy, Med. Jur. 42, 47. 

HIDE, measures. In England, a hide of land, according to some ancient
manuscripts, contained one hundred and twenty acres. Co. Litt. 5; Plowd. 
167; Touchst. 93. 

HIERARCHY, eccl. law. A hierarchy signified, originally, power of the 
priest; for in the beginning of societies, the priests were entrusted with 
all the power but, among the priests themselves, there were different 
degrees of power and authority, at the summit of which was the sovereign 
pontiff, and this was called the hierarchy. Now it signifies, not so much 
the power of the priests as the border of power. 

HIGH. This word has various significations: 1. Principal or chief, as high 
constable, high sheriff. 2. Prominent, in a bad sense, as high treason. 3. 
Open, not confined, as high seas. 

HIGH CONSTABLE. An officer appointed in some cities bears this name. His 
powers are generally limited to matters of police, and are not more 
extensive in these respects than those of constables. (q.v.) 

HIGH COURT OF DELEGATES, English law. The name of a court established by 
stat. 25 Hen. VIII. c. 19, s. 4. No permanent judges are appointed, but in 
every case of appeal to this court, there issues a special commission, under 
the great seal of Great Britain, directed to such persons as the lord 
chancellor, lord keeper, or lords commissioners of the great seal, for the 
time being, shall think fit to appoint to bear and determine the same. The 
persons usually appointed, are three puisne judges, one from each court of 
common law, and three or more civilians; but in special cases, a fuller 
commission is sometimes issued, consisting of spiritual and temporal peers, 
judges of the common law, and civilians, three of each description. In case 
of the court being equally divided, or no common law judge forming part of 
the majority, a commission of adjuncts issues, appointing additional judges 
of the same description. 1 Hagg. Eccl. R. 384; 2 Hagg. Eccl. R. 84; 3 Hagg. 
@Eccl. R. 471; 4 Burr. 2251. 

HIGH SEAS. This term, which is frequently used in the laws of the United 
States signifies the unenclosed waters of the ocean, and also those waters 
on the sea coast which are without the boundaries of low water mark. 1 Gall. 
R. 624; 5 Mason's R. 290; 1 Bl. Com. 110; 2 Haze. Adm. R. 398; Dunl. Adm. 
Pr. 32, 33. 
     2. The Act of Congress of April 30 1790, s. 8, 1 Story'S L. U. S. 84, 
enacts, that if any person shall commit upon the high seas, or in any river, 
haven, basin, or bay, out of the jurisdiction of any particular state, 
murder, &c., which, if committed within the body of a county, would, by the 
laws of the United States, be punishable with death, every such offender, 
being thereof convicted, shall suffer death and the trial of crimes 
committed on the high seas, or in any place out of the jurisdiction of any 
particular state, shall be in the district where the offender is 
apprehended, or into which he may first be brought. See 4 Dall. R. 426; 3 
Wheat. R. 336; 5 Wheat 184, 412; 3 W. C. C. R. 515; Serg. Const. Law, 334; 
13 Am. Jur. 279 1 Mason, 147, 152; 1 Gallis. 624. 

HIGH TREASON, English law. Treason against the king, in contradistinction 
with petit treason, which is the treason of a servant towards his master; a 
wife towards her husband; a secular or religious man against his prelate. 
See Petit treason; Treason. 

HIGH WATER MARK. That part of the shore of the sea to which the waves 
ordinarily reach when he tide is at its highest. 6 Mass. R. 435; 1 Pick. R. 
180; 1 Halst. R. 1; 1 Russ. on Cr. 107; 2 East, P. C. 803. Vide Sea shore; 
Tide. 

HIGHEST BIDDER, contracts. He who, at an auction, offers the greatest price 
for the property sold. 
     2. The highest bidder is entitled to have the article sold at his bid, 
provided there has been no unfairness on his part. A distinction has been 
made between the highest and the best bidder. In judicial sales, where the 
highest bidder is unable to pay, it is said the sheriff may offer the 
property to the next highest, who will pay, and he is considered the highest 
best bidder. 1 Dall. R. 419. 

HIGHWAY. A passage or road through the country, or some parts of it, for the 
use of the people. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 442. The term highway is said to be a 
generic name for all kinds of public ways. 6 Mod R, 255. 
     2. Highways are universally laid out by public authority and repaired 
at the public expense, by direction of law. 4 Burr. Rep. 2511. 
     3. The public have an easement over a highway, of which the owner of 
the land cannot deprive them; but the soil and freehold still remain in the 
owner, and he may use the land above and below consistently with the 
easement. He may, therefore, work a mine, sink a drain or water course, 
under the highway, if the easement remains unimpaired. Vide Road; Street; 
Way; and 4 Vin. Ab. 502; Bac. Ab. h.t.; Com. Dig. Chemin; Dane's Ab. Index, 
h.t.; Egremont on Highways; Wellbeloved on Highways; Woolrych on Ways; 1 N. 
H. Rep. 16; 1 Conn. R. 103; 1 Pick. R. 122; 1 M'Cord's R. 67; 2 Mass. R. 
127; 1 Pick. R. 122; 3 Rawle, R. 495; 15 John. R. 483; 16 Mass. R. 33; 1 
Shepl. R. 250; 4 Day, R. 330; 2 Bail. R. 271; 1 Yeates, Rep. 167. 
     4. The owners of lots on opposite sides of a highway, are prima facie 
owners, each of one half of the highway,, 9 Serg. & Rawle, 33; Ham. Parties, 
275; Bro. Abr. Nuisance, pl. 18 and the owner may recover the possession in 
ejectment, and have it delivered to him, subject to the public easement. 
Adams on Eject. 19, 18; 2 Johns. Rep. 357; 15 Johns. Rep. 447; 6 Mass. 454; 
2 Mass. 125. 
     5. If the highway is impassable, the public have the right to pass over 
the adjacent soil; but this rule does not extend to private ways, without an 
express grant. Morg. Vad. Mec. 456-7; 1 Tho. Co. Lit. 275; note 1 Barton, 
Elem. Conv. 271; Yelv. 142, note 1. 

HIGHWAYMAN. A robber on the highway.

HILARY TERM, Eng. law. One of the four terms of the courts, beginning the 
11th and ending the 31st day of January in each year. 

HIGLER, Eng. law. A person who carries from door to door, and sells by 
retail, small articles of provisions, and the like. 

HIRE, contracts. A bailment, where a compensation is to be given for the use 
of a thing, or for labor or services about it. 2 Kent's Com. 456; 1 Bell's 
Com. 451; Story on Bailm. Sec. 369; see 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 980, et seq; 
Pothier, Contrat de Louage, ch. 1, n. 1; Domat, B. 1, tit. 4 Sec. 1, n. 1 
Code Civ. art.. 1709, 1710; Civ. Code of Lo., art. 2644, 2645. See this 
Dict. Hirer; Letter. 
     2. The contract of letting and hiring is usually divided into two 
kinds; first, Locatio, or Locatio conductio rei, the bailment of a thing to 
be used by the hirer, for a compensation to be paid by him. 
     3. Secondly, Locatio operis, or the hire of the labor and services of 
the hirer, for a compensation to be paid by the letter. 
     4. And this last kind is again subdivided into two classes: 1. Locatio 
operis faciendi, or the hire of labor and work to be done, or care and 
attention to be bestowed on the goods let by the hirer, for a compensation; 
or, 
     5.-2. Locatio operis mercium vehendarum, or the hire and carriage of 
goods from one place to another, for a compensation. Jones' Bailm. 85, 86, 
90, 103, 118; 2 Kent's Com. 456; Code Civ. art. 1709, 1710, 1711. 
     6. This contract arises from the principles of natural law; it is 
voluntary, and founded in consent; it involves mutual and reciprocal 
obligations; and it is for mutual benefit. In some respects it bears a 
strong resemblance to the contract of sale, the principal difference between 
them being, that in cases of sale, the owner, parts with the whole 
proprietary interest in the thing; and in cases of hire, the owner parts 
with it only for a temporary use and purpose. In a sale, the thing itself is 
the object of the contract; in hiring, the use of the thing is its object. 
Vinnius, lib. 3, tit. 25, in pr.; Pothier, Louage, n. 2, 3, 4; Jones Bailm. 
86; Story on Bailm. Sec. 371. 
     7. Three things are of the essence of the contract: 1. That there 
should be a thing to be let. 2. A price for the hire. 3. A contract 
possessing a legal obligation. Pothier, Louage, n. 6; Civ. Code of Lo. art. 
2640. 
     8. There is a species of contract in which, though no price in money be 
paid, and which, strictly speaking, is not the contract of hiring, yet 
partakes of its nature. According to Pothier, it is an agreement which must 
be classed with contracts do ut des. (q.v.) It frequently takes place among 
poor people in the country. He gives the following example: two poor 
neighbors, each owning a horse, and desirous to plough their respective 
fields, to do which two horses are required, one agrees that he will let the 
other have his horse for a particular time, on condition that the latter 
will let the former have his horse for the same length of time. Du Louage n. 
458. This contract is not a hiring, strictly speaking, for want of a price; 
nor is it a loan for use, because there is to be a recompense. It has been 
supposed to be a partnership; but it is different from that contract, 
because there is no community of profits. This contract is, in general, 
ruled by, the same principles which govern the contract of hiring. 19 Toull. 
n. 247. 
     9. Hire also, means the price given for the use of the thing hired; as, 
the hirer is bound to pay the hire or recompense. Vide Domat. liv. 1, tit. 
4; Poth. Contrat de Louage; Toull. tomes 18, 19, 20; Merl. Repert. mot 
Louage; Dalloz, Dict. mot Louage; Argou, Inst. liv. 3, c. 27. 

HIRER, contracts. Called, in the civil law, conductor, and, in the French 
law conducteur, procureur, locataire, is he who takes a thing from another, 
to use it, and pays a compensation therefor. Wood's Inst. B. 3, c. 5, p. 
236; Pothier, Louage, n. 1; Domat, B. 1, tit. 4, Sec. 1, n. 2; Jones' Bailm. 
70; see this Dict. Letter. 
     2. There is, on the part of the hirer, an implied obligation, not only 
to use the thing with due care and moderation but not to apply it to any 
other use than that for which it is hired; for example, if a horse is hired 
as a saddle, horse; the hirer has no right to use the horse in a cart, or to 
carry loads, or as a beast of burden. Pothier Louage, n. 189; Domat, B. 1, 
tit. 4, Sec. 2, art. 2, 3; Jones' Bailm. 68, 88; 2 Saund. 47 g, and note; 1 
Bell's Com. 454; 1 Cowen's R. 322; 1 Meigs, R. 459. If a carriage and horses 
are hired to go from Philadelphia to New York, the hirer has no right to go 
with them on a journey to Boston. Jones' Bailm. 68; 2 Ld. Raym. 915. So, if 
they are hired for a week, he has no right to use them for a month, Jones' 
Bailm. 68; 2 Ld. Raym. 915; 5 Mass. 104. And if the thing be used for a 
different purpose from that which was intended by the parties, or in a 
different manner, or for a longer period, the hirer is not only responsible 
for all damages, but if a loss occur, although by inevitable casualty, he 
will be responsible therefor. 1 Rep. Const. C. So. Car. 121; Jones' Bailm. 
68, 121; 2 Ld. Raym. 909, 917. In short, such a misuser is deemed a 
conversion of the property, for which the hirer is deemed responsible. Bac. 
Abr. Bailment, C; Id. Trover, C, D, E; 2 Saund. 47 g; 2 Bulst. 306, 309. 
     3. The above rules apply to cases where the hirer has the possession as 
well as the use of the thing hired when the owner or his agents retain the 
possession, the hirer is not in general responsible for an injury done to 
it. For example, when the letter of a carriage and a pair of horses sent his 
driver with them and an injury occurred, the hirer was held not to be 
responsible. 9 Watts, R. 556, 562; 5 Esp. R. 263; Poth. Louage n. 196; 
Jones, Bailm. 88; Story., Bailm. Sec. 403. But see 1 Bos. & P. 404, 409; 5 
Esp. N. P. c 35; 10 Am. Jur. 256. 
     4. Another implied obligation of the hirer is to restore the thing 
hired, when the bailment, is determined. 4 T. R. 260; 3 Camp. 5, n.; 13 
Johns. R. 211. 
     5. The time, the place, and the mode of restitution of the thing hired, 
are governed by the circumstances of each case depend and depend upon rules 
of presumption of the intention of the parties, like those in other cases of 
bailment. Story on Bailm.  Sec. 415 
     6. There is also an implied obligation on the part of the hirer, to pay 
the hire or recompense. Pothier, Louage, n. 134; Domat, B. 2, tit. 2, Sec. 
2, n. 11 Code Civ; art. 1728. 
     See, generally, Bouv. Inst. Index, h.t.; Employer; Letter.

HIS EXCELLENCY. A title given by the constitution of Massachusetts to the 
governor of that commonwealth. Const. part 2, c. 2, s. 1, art. 1. This title 
is customarily given to the governors of the other states, whether it be the 
official designation in their constitutions and laws or not. 

HIS HONOR. A title given by the constitution of Massachusetts to the 
lieutenant governor of that commonwealth. Const. part 2, c. 2, s. 2, art. 1. 
It, is also customarily given to some inferior magistrates, as the mayor of 
a city. 

HISTORY, evidence. The recital of facts written and given out for true. 
     2. Facts stated in histories may be read in evidence, on the ground of 
their notoriety. Skin. R. 14; 1 Ventr. R. 149. But these facts must be of a 
public nature, and the general usages and customs of the country. Bull. P. 
248; 7 Pet. R. 554; 1 Phil. & Am. Ev. 606; 30 Howell's St. Tr. 492. 
Histories are not admissible in relation to matters not of a public nature, 
such as the custom of a particular town, a descent, the boundaries of a 
county, and the like. 1 Salk. 281; S. C. Skin. 623; T. Jones, 164; 6 C. & P. 
586, note. See 9 Ves. 347; 10 Ves. 354; 3 John. 385; 1 Binn. 399; and 
Notoriety. 

HODGE-PODGE ACT. A name given to a legislative act which embraces many 
subjects. Such acts, besides being evident proofs of the ignorance of the 
makers of them, or of their want of good faith, are calculated to create a 
confusion which is highly prejudicial to the interests of justice. Instances 
of this wretched legislation are everywhere to be found. See Barring on the 
Stat. 449. Vide Title; Legislation. 

HOERES FACTUS, civil law. An heir instituted by testament; one made an heir 
by the testator. Vide Heir. 

HOERES NATUS, civil law. An heir by intestacy; he on whom an estate descends 
by operation of law. Vide Heir. 

HOGSHEAD. A measure of wine, oil, and the like, containing half a pipe; the 
fourth part of a tun, or sixty-three gallons. 

TO HOLD. These words are now used in a deed to express by what tenure the 
grantee is to have the land. The clause which commences with these words is 
called the tenendum. Vide Habendum; Tenendum. 
     2. To hold, also means to decide, to adjudge, to decree; as, the court 
in that case held that the husband was not liable for the contract of the 
wife, made without his express or implied authority. 
     3. It also signifies to bind under a contract, as the obligor is held 
and firmly bound. In the constitution of the United States, it is provided, 
that no person held to service or labor in one state under the laws thereof, 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation 
therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up 
on the claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. Art. 4, 
sec. 3, Sec. 3; 2 Serg. & R. 306; 3 Id. 4; 5 Id. 52; 1 Wash. C. C. R. 500; 2 
Pick. 11; 16 Pet. 539, 674. 

HOLDER. The holder of a bill of exchange is the person who is legally in the 
possession of it, either by endorsement or delivery, or both, and entitled 
to receive payment either from the drawee or acceptor, and is considered as 
an assignee. 4 Dall. 53. And one who endorses a promissory note for 
collection, as an agent, will be considered the holder for the purpose of 
transmitting notices. 2 Hall, R. 112; 6 How. U. S. 248; 20 John. 372. Vide 
Bill of Exchange. 

HOLDING OVER. The act of keeping possession by the tenant, without the 
consent of the landlord of premises which the latter, or those under whom he 
claims, had leased to the former, after the term has expired. 
     2. When a proper notice has been given, this injury is remedied by, 
ejectment, or, under local regulations, by summary proceedings. Vide 2 
Yeates' R. 523; 2 Serg. & Rawle, 486; 5 Binn. 228; 8 Serg. & Rawle, 459; 1 
Binn. 334, a.; 5 Serg. & Rawle 174; 2 Serg. & Rawle, *50; 44 Rawle, 123. 

HOLOGRAPH. What is written by one's own hand. The same as Olograph. Vide 
Olograph. 

HOMAGE, Eng. law. An acknowledgment made by the vassal in the presence of 
his lord, that he is his man, that is, his subject or vassal. The form in 
law French was, Jeo deveigne vostre home. 
     2. Homage was liege and feudal. The former was paid to the king, the 
latter to the lord. Liege, was borrowed from the French, as Thaumas informs 
us, and seems to have meant a service that was personal and inevitable. 
Houard, Cout. Anglo Norman, tom. 1, p. 511; Beames; Glanville, 215, 216, 
218, notes. 

HOME PORT. The port where the owner of a ship resides; this is a relative 
term. 

HOMESTALL. The mansion-house.

HOMESTEAD. The place of the house or home place. Homestead farm does not 
necessarily include all the parcels of land owned by the grantor, though 
lying and occupied together. This depends upon the intention of the parties 
when the term is mentioned in a deed, and is to be gathered from the 
context. 7 N. H. Rep. 241; 15 John. R. 471. See Manor; Mansion. 

HOMICIDE, crim. law. According to Blackstone, it is the killing of any human 
creature. 4 Com. 177. This is the most extensive sense of this word, in 
which the intention is not considered. But in a more limited sense, it is 
always understood that the killing is by human agency, and Hawkins defines 
it to be the killing of a man by a man. 1 Hawk. c. 8, s. 2. See Dalloz, 
Dict. h.t. Homicide may perhaps be described to be the destruction of the 
life of one human being, either by himself, or by the act, procurement, or 
culpable omission of another. When the death has been intentionally caused 
by the deceased himself, the offender is called felo de se; when it is 
caused by another, it is justifiable, excusable, or felonious. 
     2. The person killed must have been born; the killing before birth is 
balled foeticide. (q.v.) 
     3. The destruction of human life at any period after birth, is 
homicide, however near it may be to extinction, from any other cause. 
     4.-1. Justifiable homicide is such as arises, 1st. From unavoidable 
necessity, without any will, intention or desire, and without any 
inadvertence in the party killing, and therefore without blame; as, for 
instance, the execution, according to law, of a criminal who has been 
lawfully sentenced to be hanged; or, 2d. It is committed for the advancement 
of public justice; as if an officer, in the lawful execution of his office, 
either in a civil or criminal case, should kill a person who assaults and 
resists him. 4 Bl. Com. 178-1 80. See Justifiable Homicide. 
     5.-2. Excusable homicide is of two kinds 1st. Homicide per 
infortunium. (q.v.) or, 2d. Se defendendo, or self defence. (q.v.) 4 Bl. 
Com. 182, 3. 
     6.-3. Felonious homicide, which includes, 1. Self-murder, or suicide; 
2. Man-slaughter, (q.v.); and, 3. Murder. (q.v.) Vide, generally, 3 Inst. 
47 to 57; 1 Hale P. C. 411 to 602; 1 Hawk. c. 8; Fost. 255 to 837; 1 East, 
P. C. 214 to 391; Com. Dig. Justices, L. M.; Bac. Ab. Murder and Homicide; 
Burn's Just. h.t.; Williams' Just. h.t.; 2 Chit. Cr. Law, ch. 9; Cro. C. 
C. 285 to 300; 4 Bl. Com. to 204; 1 Russ. Cr. 421 to 553; 2 Swift's Dig. 267 
to 292. 

HOMINE CAPTO IN WITHERNAM, Engl. law.. The name of a writ directed to the 
sheriff, and commanding him to take one who has taken any bondsman, and 
conveyed him out of the country, so that he cannot be replevied. Vide 
Withernam; Thesaurus, Brev. 63. 

HOMINE ELIGENDO, English law. The name of a writ directed to a corporation, 
requiring the members to make choice of a new man, to keep the one part of a 
seal appointed for statutes merchant. Techn. Dict. h.t. 

HOMINE REPLEGIANDO. When a man is unlawfully in custody, he may be restored 
to his liberty by writ de homine replegiando, upon giving bail; or by a writ 
of habeas, corpus, which is the more usual remedy. Vide Writ de homine 
replegiando. 

HOMO. This Latin word, in its most enlarged sense, includes both man and 
woman. 2 Inst. 45. Vide Man. 

HOMOLOGATION, civil law. Approbation, confirmation by a court of justice, a 
judgment which orders the execution of some act; as, the approbation of an 
award, and ordering execution on the same. Merl. Repert. h.t.; Civil Code 
of Louis. Index, h.t.; Dig. 4, 8; 7 Toull. n. 224. To homologate, is to say 
the like, similiter dicere. 9 Mart. L. R. 324. 

HONESTY. That principle which requires us to give every one his due. Nul ne 
doit slenrichir aux de ens du droit d'autrui. 
     2. The very object of social order is to promote honesty, and to 
restrain dishonesty; to do justice and to prevent injustice. It is no less a 
maxim of law than of religion, do unto others as you wish to be done by. 

HONOR. High estimation. A testimony of high estimation. Dignity. Reputation. 
Dignified respect of character springing from probity, principle, or moral 
rectitude. A duel is not justified by any insult to our honor. Honor is also 
employed to signify integrity in a judge, courage in a soldier, and chastity 
in a woman. To deprive a woman of her honor is, in some cases, punished as a 
public wrong, and by an action for the recovery of damages done to the 
relative rights of a husband or a father. Vide Criminal conversation. 
     2. In England, when a peer of parliament is sitting judicially in that 
body, his pledge of honor is received instead of an oath; and in courts of 
equity, peers, peeresses, and lords of parliament, answer on their honor 
only. But the courts of common law know no such distinction. It is needless 
to add, that as we are not encumbered by a nobility, there is no such 
distinction in the United States, all persons being equal in the eye of the 
law. 

HONOR, Eng. law. The seigniory of a lord paramount. 2 Bl. Com. 9f. 

TO HONOR, contr. To accept a bill of exchange; to pay a bill accepted, or a 
promissory note, on the day it becomes due. 7 Taunt. 164; 1 T. R. 172. Vide 
To Dishonor. 

HONORARIUM. A recompense for services rendered. It is usually applied only 
to the recompense given to persons whose business is connected with science; 
as the fee paid to counsel. 
     2. It is said this honorarium is purely voluntary, and differs from a 
fee, which may be recovered by action. 5 Serg. & Rawle, 412; 3 Bl. Com. 28; 
1 Chit. Rep. 38; 2 Atk. 332; but see 2 Penna. R. 75; 4 Watts' R. 334. Vide 
Dalloz, Dict. h.t., and Salary. See Counsellor at law. 

HORS DE SON FEE, pleading in the ancient English law. These words signify 
out of his fee. A plea which was pleaded, when a person who pretended to be 
the lord, brought an action for rent services, as issuing out of his land: 
because if the defendant could prove the land was out of his fee, the action 
failed. Vide 9 Rep. 30; 2 Mod. 104; 1 Danvers' Ab. 655; Vin. Ab. h.t. 

HORSE. Until a horse has attained the age of four years, he is called a 
colt. (q.v.) Russ. & Ry. 416. This word is sometimes used as a generic name 
for all animals of the horse kind. 3 Brev. 9. Vide Colt; Gender; and Yelv. 
67, a. 

HOSTAGE. A person delivered into the possession of a public enemy in the 
time of war, as a security for the performance of a contract entered into 
between the belligerents. 
     2. Hostages are frequently given as a security for the payment of a 
ransom bill, and if they should die, their death would not discharge the 
contract. 3 Burr. 1734; 1 Kent, Com. 106; Dane's Ab. Index, h.t. 

HOSTELLAGIUM, Engl. law. A right reserved to the lords to be lodged and 
entertained in the houses of their tenants. 

HOSTILITY. A state of open enmity; open war. Wolff, Dr. de la Rat. Sec. 
1191. Hostility, as it regards individuals, may be permanent or temporary; 
it is permanent when the individual is a citizen or subject of the 
government at war, and temporary when he happens to be domiciliated or 
resident in the country of one of the belligerents; in this latter case the 
individual may throw off the national character he has thus acquired by 
residence, when he puts himself in motion, bona fide, to quit the country 
sine animo revertendi. 3 Rob. Adm. Rep. 12; 3 Wheat. R. 14. 
     2. There may be a hostile character merely as to commercial purposes, 
and hostility may attach only to the person as a temporary enemy, or it may 
attach only to the property of a particular description. This hostile 
character in a commercial view, or one limited to certain intents and 
purposes only, will attach in, consequence of having possessions in the 
territory of the enemy, or by maintaining a commercial establishment there, 
or by a personal residence, or, by particular modes of traffic, as by 
sailing under the enemy's flag of passport. 9 Cranch, 191 5 Rob. Adm. Rep. 
21, 161; 1 Kent Com. 73; Wesk. on Ins. h.t.; Chit. Law of Nat. Index, h.t. 

HOTCHPOT, estates. This homely term is used figuratively to signify the 
blending and mixing property belonging to different persons, in order to 
divide it equally among those entitled to it. For example, if a man seised 
of thirty acres of land, and having two children, should, on the marriage of 
one of them, give him ten acres of it, and then die intestate seised of the 
remaining twenty; now, in order to obtain his portion of the latter, the 
married child, must bring back the ten acres he received, and add it to his 
father's estate, when an equal division of the whole will take place, and 
each be entitled to fifteen acres. 2 Bl. Com. 190. The term hotchpot is also 
applied to bringing together all the personal estate of the deceased, with 
the advancements he has made to his children, in order that the same may be 
divided agreeably to the provisions of the statute for the distribution of 
intestate's estates. In bringing an advancement into hotchpot, the donee is 
not required to account for the profits of the thing given; for example, he 
is not required to bring into hotchpot the produce of negroes, nor the 
interest of money. The property must be accounted for at its value when 
given. 1 Wash. R. 224; 17 Mass. 358; 2 Desaus. 127.; 3 Rand. R. 117; 3 Pick. 
R. 450; 3 Rand. 559; Coop. Justin. 575. 
     2. In Louisiana the term collation is used instead of hotchpot. The 
collation of goods is the supposed or real return to the mass of the 
succession, which an heir makes of property which he received in advance of 
his share or otherwise, in order that such property maybe divided, together 
with the other effects of the succession. Civ. Code of Lo. art. 1305; and 
vide from that article to article 1367. Vide, generally, Bac. Ab. 
Coparceners, E; Bac. Ab. Executors, &c., K; Com. Dig. Guardian, G 2, 
Parcener, C 4; 8 Com. Dig. App. tit. Distribution, Statute of, III. For the 
French law, see Merl. Repert. mots Rapport a succession. 

HOUR measure of time. The space of sixty minutes, or the twenty-fourth part 
of a natural day. Vide Date; Fraction; and Co. Litt. 135; 3 Chit. Pr. 110. 

HOUSE, estates. A place for the habitation and dwelling of man. This word 
has several significations, as it is applied to different things. In a grant 
or demise of a house, the curtilage and garden will pass, even without the 
words "with the appurtenances," being added. Cro. Eliz. 89; S. C.; 3 Leon. 
214; 1 Plowd. 171; 2 Saund. 401 note 2; 4 Penn. St. R; 93. 
     2. In a grant or demise of a house with the appurtenances, no more, will 
pass, although other lands have been occupied with the house. 1 P. Wms. 603; 
Cro. Jac. 526; 2 Co. 32; Co. Litt. 5 d.; Id. 36 a. b.; 2 Saund. 401, note 2. 
     3. If a house, originally entire, be divided into several apartments, 
with an outer door to each apartment and no communication with each other 
subsists, in such case the several apartments are considered as distinct 
houses. 6 Mod. 214; Woodf. Land. & Ten. 178. 
     4. In cases of burglary, the mansion or dwelling-house in which the 
burglary might be committed, at common law includes the outhouses, though 
not under the same roof or adjoining to the dwelling-house provided they 
were within the curtilage, or common fence, as the dwelling or mansion 
house. 3 Inst. 64; 1 Hale, 558; 4 Bl. Com. 225; 2 East, P. C. 493; 1 Hayw. 
N. C. Rep. 102, 142; 2 Russ. on Cr. 14. 
     5. The term house, in case of arson, includes not only the dwelling but 
all the outhouses, as in the case of burglary. It is a maxim in law that 
every man's house is his castle, and there he is entitled to perfect 
security; this asylum cannot therefore be legally invaded, unless by an 
officer duly authorized by legal process; and this process must be of a 
criminal nature to authorize the breaking of an outer door; and even with 
it, this cannot be done, until after demand of admittance and refusal. 5 Co. 
93; 4 Leon. 41; T. Jones, 234. The house may be also broken for the purpose 
of executing a writ of habere facias. 5 Co. 93; Bac. Ab. Sheriff, N 3. 
     6. The house protects the owner from the service of all civil process 
in the first instance, but not if he is once lawfully arrested and he takes 
refuge in his own house; in that case, the officer may pursue him and break 
open any door for the purpose. Foster, 320; 1 Rolle, R. 138; Cro. Jac. 555; 
Bac. Ab. ubi sup. In the civil law the rule was nemo de domo sua extrahi 
debet. Dig. 50, 17, 103. Vide, generally, 14 Vin. Ab. 315; Yelv. 29 a, n. 1; 
4 Rawle, R. 342; Arch. Cr. Pl. 251; and Burglary. 
     7. House is used figuratively to signify a collection of persons, as 
the house of representatives; or an institution, as the house of refuge; or 
a commercial firm, as the house of A B & Co. of New Orleans; or a family, 
as, the house of Lancaster, the house of York. 

HOUSE OF COMMONS, Eng. law. The representatives of the people, in 
contradistinction to the nobles, taken collectively are called the house of 
commons. 
     2. This house must give its consent to all bills before they acquire 
the authority of law, and all laws for raising revenue must originate there. 

HOUSE OF CORRECTIONS. A prison where offenders of a particular class are 
confined. The term is more common in England than in the United States. 

HOUSE OF LORDS. Eng. law. The English lords, temporal and spiritual, when 
taken collectively and forming a branch of the parliament, are called the 
House of Lords. 
     2. Its assent is required to all laws. As a court of justice, it tries 
all impeachments. 

HOUSE OF REFUGE, punishment. The name given to a prison for juvenile 
delinquents. These houses are regulated in the United States on the most 
humane principles, by special local laws. 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, government. The popular branch of the legislature. 
     2. The Constitution of the United States, art. 1, s. 2, 1, provides, 
that "the house of representatives shall be composed of members chosen every 
second year by the people of, the several states; and the electors of each 
state, shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the state legislature." 
     3. The general qualifications of electors of the assembly, or most 
numerous branch of the legislature, in the several state governments, are, 
that they be of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, and free resident 
citizens of the state in which they vote, and have paid taxes: several of 
the state constitutions have prescribed the same or higher qualifications, 
as to property, in the elected, than in the electors. 
     4. The constitution of the United States, however, requires no evidence 
of property in the representatives, nor any declarations as to his religious 
belief. He must be free from undue bias or dependence, by not holding any 
office under the United States. Art. 1, s. 6, 2. 
     5. By the constitutions of the several states, the most numerous branch 
of the legislature generally bears the name of the house of representatives. 
Vide Story on Constitution of the United States, chap. 9 1 Kent's Com. 228. 
     6. By the Act of June 22, 1842, c. 47, it is provided, 
     Sec. 1. That from and after the third day of March, one thousand eight 
hundred and forty-three, the house of representatives shall be composed of 
members elected agreeably to a ratio of one representative for every seventy 
thousand six hundred and eighty persons in each state, and of one additional 
representative for each state having a fraction greater than one moiety of 
the said ratio, computed according to the rule prescribed by the 
constitution of the United States; that is to say: within the state of 
Maine, seven; within the state of New Hampshire, four; within the state of 
Massachusetts, ten; within the state of Rhode Island, two within the state 
of Connecticut, four; within the state of Vermont, four; within the state of 
New York, thirty-four; within the state of New Jersey, five; within the 
state of Pennsylvania, twenty-four; within the state of Delaware, one; 
within the state of Maryland, six; within the state of Virginia, fifteen; 
within the state of North Carolina, nine; within the state of South 
Carolina, seven; within the state of Georgia, eight; within the state of 
Alabama, seven; within state of Louisiana, four; within the state of 
Mississippi, four; within the state of Tennessee, eleven; within the state 
of Kentucky, ten; within the state of Ohio, twenty-one; within the state of 
Indiana, ten; within the state of Illinois, seven; within the state of 
Missouri, five; within the state of Arkansas, one; within the State of 
Michigan, three. 
     7.-2. That in every case where a state is entitled to more than one 
representative, the number to which each state shall be entitled under this 
apportionment shall be elected by districts. composed of contiguous 
territory, equal in number to the number of representatives to which said 
state may be entitled, no one district electing more than one 
representative. 
     8. For the constitutions of the houses of representatives in the 
several states, the reader is referred to the names of the states in this 
work. Vide Congress. 

HOUSE-BOTE. An allowance of necessary timber out of the landlord's woods, 
for the repairing and support of a house or tenement. This belongs of 
common-right to any lessee for years or for life. House-bote is said to be 
of two kinds, estoveriam aedificandi et ardendi. Co. Litt. 41. 

HOUSEKEEPER. One who occupies a house.
     2. A person who occupies every room in the house, under a lease, except 
one, which is reserved for his landlord, who pays all the taxes, is not a 
housekeeper. 1 Chit. Rep. 502. Nor is a person a housekeeper, who takes a 
house, which be afterwards underlets to another, whom the landlord refuses 
to accept as his tenant; in this case, the under-tenant aid the, taxes and 
let to the tenant the, first floor of the house, and the rent was paid for 
the whole house to the tenant, who paid it to the landlord. Id. note. 
     3. In order to make the party a house-keeper, he must be in actual 
possession of the house; 1 Chit. Rep. 288 and must occupy a whole house. 1 
Chit. Rep. 316. See 1 Barn. & Cresw. 178; 2 T. R. 406; 1 Bott, 5; 3 Petersd, 
Ab. 103, note; 2 Mart. Lo. R. 313. 

HOVEL. A place used by husbandmen to set their ploughs, carts, and other 
farming utensils, out of the rain and sun. Law Latin Dict. A shed; a 
cottage; a mean house. 

HOYMAN. The master or captain of a hoy. 
     2. Hoymen are liable as common carriers. Story, Bailm. Sec. 496. 

HUE AND CRY, Eng. law. A mode of pursuing felons, or such as have 
dangerously wounded any person, or assaulted any one with intent to rob him, 
by the constable, for the purpose of arresting the offender. 2 Hale, P. C. 
100. 

HUEBRA, Spanish law. An acre of land or as much as can be ploughed in a day 
by two oxen. Sp. Dict.; 2 White's Coll. 49. 

HUISSIER. An usher of a court. In France, an officer of this name performs 
many of the duties which in this country devolve on the sheriff or 
constable. Dalloz, Dict. h.t. See 3 Wend. 173. 

HUNDRED, Eng. law. A district of country originally comprehending one 
hundred families. In many cases, when an offence is committed within the 
hundred, the inhabitants tire civilly responsible to the party injured. 
     2. This rule was probably borrowed from the nations of German origin, 
where it was known. Montesq. Esp. des Lois, ]iv. 30, c. 17. It was 
established by Clotaire, among the Franks. 11 Toull. n. 237. 
     3. To make the innocent pay for the guilty, seems to be contrary to the 
first principles of justice, and can be justified only by necessity. In some 
of the United States laws have been passed making cities or counties 
responsible for, the destruction of property by a mob. This can be justified 
only on the ground that it is the interest of every one that property should 
be protected, and that it is for the general good such laws should exist. 

HUNDRED GEMOTE. The name of a court among the Saxons. It was holden every 
month, for the benefit of the inhabitants of the hundred. 

HUNDREDORS. In England they are inhabitants of a local division of a county, 
who, by several statutes, are held to be liable in the cases therein 
specified, to make good the loss sustained by persons within the hundred, by 
robbery or other violence, therein also specified. The principal of these 
statutes are, 13 Edw. I. st. 2, c. 1, s. 4; 28 Edw. III. c. 11; 27 Eliz. c. 
13; 29 Car. II. c. 7; 8 Geo. II. c. 16; 22 Geo. II. c. 24. 

HUNGER. The desire for taking food. Hunger is no excuse for larceny. 1 Hale, 
P. C. 54; 4 Bl. Com. 31. But it is a matter which applies itself strongly to 
the consciences of the judges in mitigation of the punishment. 
     2. When a person has died, and it is suspected he has been starved to 
death, an examination of his body ought to be made, to ascertain whether or 
not he died of hunger. The signs which usually attend death from hunger are 
the following: The body is much emaciated, and a foetid, acrid odor exhales 
from it, although death may have been very recent. The eyes are red and 
open, which is not usual in other causes of death. The tongue and throat are 
dry, even to aridity, and the stomach and intestines are contracted and 
empty. The gall bladder is pressed with bile, and this fluid is found 
scattered over the stomach and intestines, so as to tinge them very 
extensively. The lungs are withered, but all the other organs are generally 
in a healthy state. The blood vessels are usually empty. Foder‚, tom. ii. p. 
276, tom. iii. p. 231; 2 Beck's Med. Jur. 52; see Eunom. Dial. 2, Sec. 47, 
p. 142, and the note at p. 384. 

HUNTING. The act of pursuing and taking wild animals; the chase.
     2. The chase gives a kind of title by occupancy, by which the hunter 
acquires a right or property in the game which he captures. In the United 
States, the right of hunting is universal, and limited only so far as to 
exclude hunters from committing injuries to private property or to the 
public; as, by shooting on public roads. Vide Feroe naturae; Occupancy. 

HURDLE, Eng. law. A species of sledge, used to draw traitors to execution. 

HUSBAND, domestic relations. A man who has a wife. 
     2. The husband, as such, is liable to certain obligations, and entitled 
to certain rights, which will be here briefly considered. 
     3. First, of his obligations. He is bound to receive his wife at his 
home, and should furnish her with all the necessaries and conveniences which 
his fortune enables him to do, and which her situation requires; but this 
does not include such luxuries as, according to her fancy, she deems 
necessaries; vide article Cruelty, where this matter is considered. He is 
bound to love his wife, and to bear with her faults, and, if possible, by 
mild means to correct them and he is required to fulfill towards her his 
marital promise of fidelity, and can, therefore, have no carnal connexion 
with any other woman, without a violation of his obligations. As he is bound 
to govern his house properly, he is liable for its misgovernment, and he may 
be punished for keeping a disorderly house, even where his wife had the 
principal agency, and he is liable for her torts, as for her slander or 
trespass. He is also liable for the wife's debts, incurred before coverture, 
provided they are recovered from him during their joint lives; and generally 
for such as are contracted by her after coverture, for necessaries, or by 
his authority, express or implied. See 5 Whart. 395; 5 Binn. 235; 1 Mod. 
138; 5 Taunt. 356; 7 T. R. 166; 3 Camp. 27; 3 B. & Cr. 631; 5 W. & S. 164. 
    4. Secondly, of his rights. Being the head of the family, the husband 
has a right to establish himself wherever he may please, and in this he 
cannot be controlled by his wife; he may manage his affairs his own way; buy 
and sell all kinds of personal property, without any control, and he may buy 
any real estate he may deem proper, but, as the wife acquires a right in the 
latter, he cannot sell it, discharged of her dower, except by her consent, 
expressed in the manner prescribed by the laws of the state where such lands 
lie. At common law, all her personal property, in possession, is vested in 
him, and he may dispose of it as if he had acquired it by his own contract 
this arises from the principle that they are considered one person in law; 2 
Bl. Com. 433 and he is entitled to all her property in action, provided he 
reduces it to possession during her life. Id. 484. He is also entitled to 
her chattels real, but these vest in him not absolutely, but sub modo; as, 
in the case of a lease for years, the husband is entitled to receive the 
rents and profits of it, and may, if he pleases, sell, surrender, or dispose 
of it during the coverture, and it is liable to be taken in execution for 
his debts and, if he survives her, it is, to all intents and purposes, his 
own. In case his wife survives him, it is considered as if it had never been 
transferred from her, and it belongs to her alone. In his wife's freehold 
estate, he has a life estate, during the joint lives of himself and wife; 
and, at common law, when he has a child by her who could inherit, he has an 
estate by the curtesy. But the rights of a husband over the wife's property, 
are very much abridged in some of the United States, by statutes. See Act of 
Pennsylvania, passed April 11, 1848. 
     5. The laws of Louisiana differ essentially from those of the other 
states, as to the rights and duties of husband and wife, particularly as it 
regards their property. Those readers, desirous of knowing, the legislative 
regulations on this subject, in that state, are referred to the Civil Code 
of Louis. B. 1, tit. 4; B. 3, tit. 6. 
    Vide, generally, articles Divorce; Marriage; Wife; and Bac. Ab. Baron 
and Feme; Rop. H. & W.; Prater on H. & W.; Clancy on the Rights, Duties and 
Liabilities of Husband and Wife Canning on the Interest of Husband and Wife, 
&c.; 1 Phil. Ev. 63; Woodf. L. & T. 75; 2 Kent, Com. 109; 1 Salk. 113 to 
119Ø; Yelv. 106a, 156a, 166a; Vern. by Raithby, 7, 17, 48, 261; Chit. Pr. 
Index, h.t. Poth. du Contr. de Mar. n. 379; Bouv. Inst. Index, h.t. 

HUSBAND, mar. law. The name of an agent who is authorized to make the 
necessary repairs to a ship, and to act in relation to the ship, generally, 
for the owner. He is usually called ship's husband. Vide Ship's Husband. 

HUSBRECE, old Eng. law. The, ancient name of the offence now called 
burglary. 

HUSTINGS, Engl. law. The name of a court held before the lord mayor and 
aldermen of London; it is the principal and supreme court of the city., See 
2 Inst. 327; St. Armand, Hist. Essay on the Legisl. Power of England, 75. 

HYDROMETER. An instrument for measuring the density of fluids; being 
immersed in fluids, as in water, brine, beer, brandy, &c., it determines the 
proportion of their densities, or their specific gravities, and thence their 
qualities. 
     2. By, the Act of Congress of January 12, 1825, 3 Story's' Laws U. S. 
1976, the secretary of the treasury is authorized, under the direction of 
the president of the United States, to adopt and substitute such hydrometer 
as he may deem best calculated to promote the public interest, in lieu of 
that now prescribed by law, for the purpose of ascertaining the proof of 
liquors; and that after such adoption and substitution, the duties imposed 
by law upon distilled spirits shall be levied, collected and paid, according 
to the proof ascertained by any hydrometer so substituted and adopted. 

HYPOBOLUM, civ. law. The name of the bequest or legacy given by the husband 
to his wife, at his death, above her dowry. Techn. Dict. h.t. 

HYPOTHECATION, civil law. This term is used principally in the civil law; it 
is defined to be a right which a creditor has over a thing belonging to 
another, and which consists in the power to cause it to be sold, in order to 
be paid his claim out of the proceeds. 
     2. There are two species of hypothecation, one called pledge, pignus, 
and, the other properly denominated hypothecation. Pledge is that species, 
of hypothecation which is contracted by the delivery of the debtor to the 
creditor, of the thing hypothecated. Hypothecation, properly so called, is 
that which is contracted without delivery of the thing hypothecated. 2 
Bell's Com. 25, 5th ed. 
     3. Hypothecation is further divided into general and special when the 
debtor hypothecates to his creditor all his estate and property, which he 
has, or may have, the hypothecation is general; when the hypothecation is 
confined to a particular estate, it is special. 
     4. Hypothecations are also distinguished into conventional, legal, and 
tacit. 1. Conventional hypothecations are those which arise by the agreement 
of the parties. Dig. 20, 1, 5. 
     5.-2. Legal hypothecation is that which has not been agreed upon by 
any contract, express or implied; such as arises from the effect of 
judgments and executions. 
     6.-3. A tacit, which is also a legal hypothecation, is that which the 
law gives in certain cases, without the consent of the parties, to secure 
the creditor; such as, 1st. The lien which the public treasury has over the 
property of public debtors. Code, 8, 15, 1. 2d. The landlord has a lien on 
the goods in the house leased, for the payment of his rent. Dig. 20, 2, 2; 
Code, 8, 15, 7, 3d. The builder has a lien, for his bill, on the house he 
has built. Dig. 20, 1. 4th, The pupil has a lien on the property of the 
guardian for the balance of his account. Dig. 46, 6, 22; Code, 6, 37, 20. 
5th. There is hypothecation of the goods of a testator for the security of a 
legacy he has given. Code, 6, 43, 1. 
     7. In the common law, cases of hypothecation, in the strict sense of 
the civil law, that is, of a pledge of a chattel, without possession by the 
pledgee, are scarcely to be found; cases of bottomry bonds and claims for 
seamen's wages, against ships are the nearest approach to it; but these are 
liens and privileges rather than hypothecations. Story, Bailm. Sec. 288. It 
seems that chattels not in existence, though they cannot be pledged, can be 
hypothecated, so that the lien will attach, as soon as the chattel has been 
produced. 14 Pick. R. 497. 
     Vide, generally, Poth. de l'Hypoth‚que; Poth. Mar. Contr. translated by 
Cushing, note. 26, p. 145; Commercial Code of France, translated by Rodman, 
note 52, p. 351; Merl. R‚pertoire, mot Hypoth‚que, where the subject is 
fully considered; 2 Bro. Civ. Law, 195; Ayl. Pand. 524; 1 Law Tracts, 224; 
Dane's Ab. h.t.; Abbott on Ship. Index, h.t.; 13 Ves. 599; Bac. Ab. 
Merchant, &c. G; Civil Code of Louis. tit. 22, where this sort of security 
bears the name of mortgage. (q.v.) 

HYPOTHEQUE, French law. Properly, the right acquired by the creditor over 
the immovable property which has been assigned to him by his debtor, as 
security for his debt, although he be not placed in possession of it. The 
hypotheque might arise in two was. 1. By the express agreement of the 
debtor, which was the conventional hypotheque. 2. By disposition of law, 
which was the implied or legal hypotheque. This was nothing but a lien or 
privilege which the creditor enjoyed of being first paid out of the land 
subjected to this incumbrance. For example, the landlord had hypotheque on 
the goods of his tenant or others, while on the premises let. A mason had 
the same on the house he built. A pupil or a minor on the land of his tutor 
or curator, who had received his money. Domat, Loix Civiles, 1. 3, & 1; 2 
Bouv. Inst. 1817.
