traitor dies before judgment pronounced, or is killed in open rebellion, or is hanged by martial law, it works no forfeiture of his lands, for he never was attainted of treason.

In petit treason and felony, the offender also forfeits all his chattel interests absolutely, and the profits of all estates of freehold during life; and, after his death, all his lands and tenements in feesimple (but not those in tail) to the crown, for a very short period of time: for the king shall have them for a year and a day, and may commit therein what waste he pleases, which is called the king's year, day, and waste. This year, day, and waste are now usually compounded for, but otherwise they regularly belong to the crown, and after the expiration, the land would naturally have descended to the heir, (as in gavelkind tenure it still does) did not its feodal quality intercept such descent, and give it by way of escheat to the lord. These forfeitures for felony do also arise only upon attainder, and therefore a felo de se, forfeits no lands of inheritance or freehold, for he never is attainted as a felon. They likewise relate back to the time of the offence committed, as well as forfeitures for treason; so as to avoid all intermediate charges and conveyances,

These are all the forfeitures of real estates, created by the common law, as consequential upon attainders by judgment of death or outlawry. But I shall just mention, as a part of the forfeiture of real estates, the forfeiture of the lands during life, which extends to two other instances, besides those

already spoken of; misprision of treason, and striking in Westminster-hall; or drawing a weapon upon a judge there, sitting in the courts of justice.

The forfeiture of goods and chattels accrues in every one of the higher kinds of offence: in high treason or misprision thereof, petit treason, felonies of all sorts, whether clergyable or not, self-muider or felony de se, petty larceny, standing mute, and the above-mentioned offences of striking, &c. in Westminster-hall. For flight also, on an accusation of treason, felony, or even petit larceny, whether the party be found guilty or acquitted, if the jury find the flight, the party shall forfeit his goods and chattels.

There is a remarkable difference or two between the forfeiture of lands, and of goods and chattels. 1. Lands are forfeited upon attainder, and not before: goods and chattels are forfeited by conviction. Because in many of the cases where goods are forfeited there never is any attainder, which happens only where judgment of death or outlawry is given, therefore in those cases the forfeiture must be upon conviction or not at all; and, being necessarily upon conviction in those, it is so ordered in all other cases, for the law loves uniformity. 2. In outlawries for treason or felony, lands are forfeited only by the judgment; but the goods and chattels are forfeited by a man's being first put in the exigent, without staying till he is quinto exactus, or finally outlawed; for the secreting himself so long from justice is construed a flight in law. 3. The forfeiture of lands has a relation to the time of the

fact committed, so as to avoid all subsequent sales and encumbrances: but the forfeiture of goods and chattels has no relation backwards; so that those only which a man has at the time of conviction shall be forfeited. Yet if they be collusively and not bona fide parted with, merely to defraud the crown, the law (and particularly the statute 13 Eliz. c. 5.) will reach them; for they are all the while truly and substantially the goods of the offender: and as he, if acquitted, might recover them himself, as not parted with for a good consideration, so in case he happens to be convicted the law will recover them for the king.

II. Another immediate consequence of attainder is the corruption of blood, both upwards and downwards; so that an attainted person can neither inherit lands or other hereditaments from his ancestors, nor retain those he is already in possession of, nor transmit them by descent to any heir; but the same shall escheat to the lord of the fee, subject to the king's superior right of forfeiture: and the person attainted shall also obstruct all descents to his posterity, wherever they are obliged to derive a title through him to a remoter ancestor. Especially, as by the afore-mentioned statute of 7 Ann. c. 21. after the death of the sons of the late Pretender, no attainder for treason will extend to the disinheriting any heir, nor the prejudice of any person, other than the offender himself; which virtually abolishes all corruption of blood for treason, though (unless the legislature should interpose) it will still continue for many sorts of felony.

CHAPTER XXX.

OF REVERSAL OF JUDGMENT.

We are next to consider how judgments, with their several connected consequences, of attainder, forfeiture, and corruption of blood, may be set aside; either by falsifying or reversing the judgment, or else by reprieve or pardon.

A judgment may be falsified, reversed, or avoided, in the first place, without a writ of error, for matters foreign to or dehors the record, that is, not apparent upon the face of it; so that they cannot be assigned for error in the superior court, which can only judge from what appears in the record itself.

Secondly, a judgment may be reversed; by writ of error: which lies from all inferior criminal jurisdictions to the court of king's bench, and from the king's bench to the house of peers; and may be brought for notorious mistakes in the judgment or other parts of the record. These writs of error, to reverse judgments in case of misdemeanors, are not to be allowed of course, but on sufficient probable cause shewn to the attorney general; and then they are understood to be grantable of common right, and ex debito justitiæ. But writs of error to reverse attainders in capital cases are only allowed ex gratia; and not without express warrant under the king's sign manual, or at least by the

consent of the attorney general. and more effectual way, is,—

But the easier

Lastly, to reverse the attainder by act of parlia

ment.

The effect of falsifying, or reversing, an outlawry is that the party shall be in the same plight as if he had appeared upon the capias: and, if it be before plea pleaded, he shall be put to plead to the indictment; if after conviction, he shall receive the sentence of the law: for all the other proceedings, except only the process of outlawry for his non-appearance, remain good and effectual as before. But when judgment, pronounced upon conviction, is falsified or reversed, all former proceedings are absolutely set aside, and the party stands as if he had never been at all accused; restored in his credit, his capacity, his blood, and his estates; with regard to which last, though they be granted away by the crown, yet the owner may enter upon the grantee, with as little ceremony as he might enter upon a disseisor. But he still remains liable to another prosecution for the same offence: for, the first being erroneous, he never was in jeopardy thereby.