Воок І. were never of age, but subject to perpetual guardianship, unless when married, “nisi conveniffent in manum viri:" and, when that perpetual tutelage wore away in process of time, we find that, in females as well as males, full age was not till twenty five years *. Thus, by the constitutions of different kingdoms, this period, which is merely arbitrary, and juris positivi, is fixed at different times. Scotland agrees with England in this point; (both probably copying from the old Saxon constitutions on the continent, which extended the age of minority “ad annum vigefimum primum, “ et eo ufque juvenes fub tutelam reponunt'") but in Naples they are of full age at eighteen; in France, with regard to marriage, not till thirty; and in Holland at twenty five.

3. INFANTS have various privileges, and various disabilities: but their very disabilities are privileges; in order to secure them from hurting themselves by their own improvident acts. An infant cannot be sued but under the protection, and joining the name, of his guardian; for he is to defend him against all attacks as well by law as otherwise": but he may fue either by his guardian, or prochein amy, his next friend who is not his guardian. This prochein amy may be any person who will undertake the infant's cause; and it frequently happens, that an infant, by his prochein amy, institutes a suit in equity against a fraudulent guardian. In criminal cafes, an infant of the age of fourteen years may be capitally punished for any capital offence: but under the age of feven he cannot. The period between seven and fourteen is fubject to much incertainty: for the infant shall, generally speaking, be judged prima facie innocent; yet if he was dəli capax, and could difcern between good and evil at the time of the offence committed, he may be convicted and undergo judgment and execution of death, though he hath not attained to years of puberty

Pott. Antiq 1.4. c. 11. Cic. pro Mu- well as the subject, arrives at full age in modern Sweden. Mod. Un. Hift. xxxiii.

ren. 12.

or difcretion*. And fir Matthew Hale gives us two instances, one of a girl of thirteen, who was burned for killing her miftress; another of a boy still younger, that had killed his companion, and hid himself, who was hanged; for it appeared by his hiding that he knew he had done wrong, and could difcern between good and evil; and in fuch cafes the maxim of law is, that malitia fupplet actatem.

WITH regard to estates and civil property, an infant hath many privileges, which will be better understood when we come to treat more particularly of those matters : but this may be faid in general, that an infant shall lose nothing by non-claim, or neglect of demanding his right; nor shall any other laches or negligence be imputed to an infant, except in some very particular

cafes.

IT is generally true, that an infant can neither aliene his lands, nor do any legal act, nor make a deed, nor indeed any manner of contract, that will bind him. But still to all these rules there are some exceptions; part of which were just now mentioned in reckoning up the different capacities which they assume at different ages: and there are others, a few of which it may not be improper to recite, as a general specimen of the whole.. And, first, it is true, that infants cannot aliene their estates: but infant trustees, or mortgagees, are enabled to convey, under the direction of the court of chancery or exchequer, the estates they hold in trust or mortgage, to fuch perfon as the court shall appoint. Also it is generally true, that an infant can do no legal act: yet an infant who has an advowson, may present to the benefice when it becomes void2. For the law in this cafe difpenfes with one rule, in order to maintain others of far greater confequence : it permits an infant to present a clerk (who, if unfit, may be rejected by the bishop) rather than either suffer the church to be unserved till he comes of age, or permit the in

X

1 Hal. P. C. 26.

z Co. Litt. 172.

fant to be debarred of his right by lapse to the bishop. An infant may also purchase lands, but his purchase is incomplete: for, when he comes to age, he may either agree or disagree to it, as he thinks prudent or proper, without alleging any reason; and so may his heirs after him, if he dies without having completed his agreement. It is, farther, generally true, that an infant, under twenty one, can make no deed that is of any force or ef fect: yet he may bind himself apprentice by deed indented, or indentures, for seven years; and he may by deed or will appoint a guardian to his children, if he has any. Lastly, it is generally true, that an infant can make no other contract that will bind him: yet he may bind himself to pay for his necessary meat, drink, apparel, physic, and such other neceffaries; and likewise for his good teaching and instruction, whereby he may profit himself afterwards. And thus much, at present, for the privileges and disabilities of infants.

Co. Litt. 2.
Stat. 5 Eliz. C. 4.

• Stat. 12 Car. II. c. 24.
d Co. Litt. 172.

CHAPTER

THE

EIGHTEENтн.

OF CORPORATIONS.

W

E have hitherto confidered persons in their natural capacities, and have treated of their rights and duties. But, as all perfonal rights die with the perfon; and, as the necessary forms of investing a feries of individuals, one after another, with the fame identical rights, would be very inconvenient, if not impracticable; it has been found necessary, when it is for the advantage of the public to have any particular rights kept on foot and continued, to conftitute artificial persons, who may maintain a perpetual succession, and enjoy a kind of legal immortality.

THESE artificial perfons are called bodies politic, bodies corporate, (corpora corporata) or corporations: of which there is a great variety fubfifting, for the advancement of religion, of learning, and of commerce; in order to preferve entire and for ever those rights and immunities, which, if they were granted only to those individuals of which the body corporate is compofed, would upon their death be utterly loft and extinct. To shew the advantages of these incorporations, let us confider the case of a college in either of our universities, founded ad studendum et orandum, for the encouragement and support of religion and learning. If this was a mere voluntary assembly, the individuals which compose it might indeed read, pray, study, and perform scholaftic exercises together, so long as they could agree to do so: but they could could neither frame, nor receive, any laws or rules of their conduct; none at least, which would have any binding force, for want of a coercive power to create a fufficient obligation. Neither could they be capable of retaining any privileges or immunities: for, if such privileges be attacked, which of all this unconnected assembly has the right, or ability, to defend them? And, when they are dispersed by death or otherwise, how shall they transfer these advantages to another set of students, equally unconnected as themselves? So also, with regard to holding estates or other property, if land be granted for the purposes of religion or learning to twenty individuals not incorporated, there is no legal way of continuing the property to any other persons for the fame purposes, but by endless conveyances from one to the other, as often as the hands are changed. But, when they are confolidated and united into a corporation, they and their successors are then confidered as one person in law : as one person, they have one will, which is collected from the sense of the majority of the individuals: this one will may establish rules and orders for the regulation of the whole, which are a fort of municipal laws of this little republic; or rules and statutes may be prescribed to it at it's creation, which are then in the place of natural laws: the privileges and immunities, the estates and poffeffions, of the corporation, when once vested in them, will be for ever vested, without any new conveyance to new fucceffions; for all the individual members that have existed from the foundation to the present time, or that shall ever hereafter exist, are but one person in law, a person that never dies: in like manner as the river Thames is still the fame river, though the parts which compose it are changing every instant.

THE honour of originally inventing these political conftitutions entirely belongs to the Romans. They were introduced, as Plutarch says, by Numa; who finding, upon his acceffion, the city torn to pieces by the two rival factions of Sabines, and Romans, thought it a prudent and politic measure, to fubdivide these two into many smaller ones, by instituting separate societies of