A New Law Dictionary and Institute of the Whole Law

SUBTRACTION-continued. commuted into a corn rent-charge, under the provisions of the Tithe Commutation Act (6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 71). 2 Roll. Abr. 309.

(3.) Subtraction of conjugal rights is the withdrawing or withholding by a husband or wife of those rights and privileges which the law allows to either party. This is an offence peculiarly within the cognizance formerly of the Ecclesiastical Courts, and now of the Court for Matrimonial Causes, and the party injured seeks redress by bringing a suit to recover those rights of which he or she has been deprived, called a suit for the restitution of conjugal rights. Thus, where the husband leaves his wife, and lives separate from her, without any sufficient reason, the Court in question will compel him to return to cohabitation.

(4.) Subtraction of legacies is the withholding or detaining of legacies by an executor; and as such act deprives the legatees of the benefit which the law gives to them, and which the testator intended them to have, it is an offence of which the Courts which have a testamentary jurisdiction take notice. With them, however, the Courts of Equity hold a concurrent jurisdiction.

(5.) Subtraction of church-rates is the last and most familiar class of "subtraction," and consists in the refusal to pay the amount of rate at which any individual parishioner has been assessed for the necessary repairs of the parish church; and this, like the other species of this offence, is cognizable by the Courts Ecclesiastical. Roger's Ecc. Law, 983-999; 1 Curt. 372; 4 Ad. & E. 423; 1 Curt. 345; 12 Ad. & E. 233, 265; 1 Atk. 516; 2 Mad. 251.

SUCCESSION DUTY. This is a duty varying from one to ten per cent., payable under the stat. 16 & 17 Vict. c. 51, in respect chiefly of real estate and leaseholds, but generally in respect of all property (not already chargeable with legacy duty) devolving upon any one in consequence of any death. The duty is to be paid at the time the successor comes into possession or into the receipt of the rents or income of the property (Re Hillas, 2 Ir. Jur. 36), and, therefore, in the case of reversionary property, not until the same falls into possession by natural causes only. (Contrast LEGACY DUTY.) In case the reversionary property should devolve under several wills or intestacies before it falls into possession, a single duty only is payable, but that duty is to be at the highest rate of the several successions (16 & 17 Vict. c. 51, s. 14). (Contrast LEGACY DUTY.) If any succession is not wholly obtained by the successor in the first instance, the

SUCCESSION DUTY—continued. duty may be paid on the value of the part from time to time obtained, such value to be estimated as the property exists at the time it is obtained, and not at the time of the death (Att.-Gen. v. Cavendish, Wigh. 82). (Compare LEGACY DUTY.) If the succession is a gross sum (not being real or leasehold estate) vesting at once in the legatee, then, whether the same be or not given over on a contingency, duty on the whole amount is payable all at once, with a right to be recouped any over-payment in case the gift over takes effect, in which case the soccessor over becomes chargeable with the same, and at the higher rate, if his rate should be higher than that of the first legatee, 16 & 17 Vict. c. 51, s. 36 (compare LEGACY DUTY); but if the succession is not a gross sum, but an annuity for life or for years, then, whether the same be or not charged upon some other succession, and whether the same be or not given over on a contingency, duty is payable on the value only of the annuitants' interest calculated according to the tables of the Act 16 & 17 Vict. c. 51, and is to be paid by four saccesssive annual instalments, such instalments being payable with the four first successive payments of the annuity itself, with a right to be recouped any over pay ment in case the gift over takes effect; but in the case of a direction to purchase an annuity, or of a perpetual annuity, the duty is to be paid all at once on the value of the annuitant's interest calculated as aforesaid (16 & 17 Vict. c. 51, s. 32). (Compare LEGACY DUTY.) In the case of a gift of personal property producing income to several persons in succession,-(a.) If all the successors are chargeable with the same rate of duty, the whole duty is payable at once for the capital of the fund: and (b.) If the successors are chargeable with different rates of duty, the duty is to be calculated and paid upon each succes sive partial interest in the same mauner as if the same were an annuity, and last of all upon the ultimate interest (being the absolute interest), in the same manner as if the same were an immediate gift of the capital (16 & 17 Vict. c. 51, s. 32). pare LEGACY DUTY.) In the case of suecessors in joint tenancy, each is chargeable at his own rate of duty, in the first instance, upon his then share, and afterwards (if it should happen) upon his accrued share. (Compare LEGACY DUTY.) In the case of money directed to be laid out in the purchase of lands, see LEGACY DUTY under that head. In the case of successors to real property, each successor, whether for life or in fee, is chargeable at his own rate of duty upon the value of his life interest, as if the same were an annuity for

(Com

SUCCESSION DUTY-continued. his life, and such duty is payable by eight half yearly instalments,-the first thereof at the end of one year; but a successor for life only, if he should die before all these instalments are paid pays no more, while on the other hand a successor in fee, if he should die in like manner, remains chargeable with the unpaid instalments. But corporations stand upon a different footing in this respect (16 & 17 Vict. c. 51, ss. 16-17). No succession duty is payable upon a fund which is specially provided for the payment of duty-" no duty upon duty”—(16 & 17 Vict. c, 51, s. 32). (Compare LEGACY DUTY.) In the case of legacies which are subject to powers of appointment, it is provided by 36 Geo. 3, c. 52, s. 18, as follows: (1.) Where the power is limited both the appointees and the persons taking interests, either prior or subject to such power, are chargeable; and (a) If the rate of each legatee is the same, the duty is payable at once upon the capital of the fund; but (b.) If the rates of the several parties are different the duty payable by each is calculated as for an annuity. (2.) Where the power is general—(a.) If the appointor is entitled in default of appointment, the appointor pays the duty, as upon an absolute gift to him; and (b.) If the appointor is not entitled in default, the rule is the same, whether he takes or not any interest prior to the power (16 & 17 Vict. c. 51, s. 4).

SUCCESSION TO CROWN, LAW OF. The law of succession in Anglo-Saxon times was a mixture of the hereditary with the elective principles, the Crown descending within the royal family, but not invariably to the individual pointed out by the strict rules of descent; for in very many instances the Wittenagemote seems to have approved as a successor an able uncle in preference to the infant son of his brother, e.g., Alfred excluded the son of his brother Ethelred, and Athelstan (although illegitimate) excluded the sons of his brother Edward the elder; and again, the sons of Edmund I. were postponed to their uncle Edred, and in their turn they excluded the sons of Edred. The frequency of these instances proves that the principle of election was as strong as that of hereditary descent, if, in fact, the former principle was not the stronger of the two.

This mode of succession survived into the Anglo-Norman times, although the elective principle was much impaired. Thus, upon the death of William I., his son William succeeded in exclusion of Robert; and again, upon the death of William II., his brother Henry I. succeeded, in exclusion also of Robert. Subsequently,

SUCCESSION TO CROWN, LAW OF-con. however, the rules of descent became fixed and strictly hereditary. It is true that John, who was the fifth son of Henry II., excluded his elder brother Geoffrey's son Arthur, but John appears to have done so with difficulty, and by means of artifice, for he claimed under a devise of the Crown from Richard I., who was elder than Geoffrey, it being probably at that epoch a moot point whether the Crown was or not devisable. However, upon the death of John the Crown descended upon Henry III., although he was a minor of nine years or so, and the subsidiary principle of a regency (under the Earl of Pembroke) was resorted to; so that the law of hereditary succession to the Crown appears by a somewhat natural coincidence to have become established at the same time and in the same reign that the principles of primogeniture and representation were established in the matter of the succession to real property.

The Crown of England has since descended according to the strictest rules of primogeniture and representation. However, the doctrine of the king's capacity to devise the Crown was revived in the reign of Henry VIII., that monarch having attempted to devise the Crown, and having also made a purported devise thereof in the 28th, 32nd, and 35th years of his reign, under enabling statutes passed in those years, in such manner as that the same should descend upon his decease otherwise than the law of inheritance pointed out, that is to say, to the issue of Anne Boleyn (i.e., Elizabeth) in exclusion of the issue of Queen Catharine (i.e., Mary), and subsequently to his son by Jane Seymour (i.e., Edward VI.), with remainder to the issue of the younger daughter of Henry VII. (ie., Mary of Suffolk, his sister) in exclusion of the issue of the elder daughter of Henry VII. (i.e., Margaret of Scotland, his sister). It is noteworthy, however, that all those attempts to alter the hereditary line of descent proved ineffectual, and that upon the death of Henry VIII. the Crown descended successively to Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, and afterwards to James I., who was the great grandson of Margaret, according to the strict principles of primogeniture and representation, and notwithstanding that there were at the time of each descent persons in existence who might have claimed under the devises before mentioned.

However, although the principle of hereditary succession to the Crown is now, and has long been, well established, still that principle is, or appears at any rate to be, subject to the constitutional maxim established at the Revolution of 1688, namely,

SUCCESSION TO CROWN, LAW OF—con. that the two Houses of Parliament may, with the consent of the people, but for reasons of overwhelming sufficiency, set aside or pass over the strict heir, and resort to the old principle of election within the royal family, and may even settle the descent of the Crown by Act of Parliament, as was done, for example, in the Bill of Rights, 1689. and again in the Act of Settlement, 1701, the present Brunswick dynasty holding, and claiming to hold, under the last-mentioned Act.

See titles BILL OF RIGHTS, and SET

TLEMENT, ACT OF.

SUE (from Latin sequor, to follow). To prosecute by law; to commence legal proceedings against a party. It is applied almost exclusively to prosecuting a civil action against one. He who has had process issued against him is said to have been sued.

SUFFERANCE. A tenant at sufferance is he who holds lands or tenements by the implied permission of the owner. Thus, if a man takes a lease for a year, and after the year is expired continues to hold the premises without any fresh leave of the owner, such man is called a tenant at sufferance, and the estate which he continues to hold is then called an estate at sufferance. And generally, a tenant at sufferance is one who comes in by right and holds over by wrong, i.e., without right. See Rouse's Case, Tud. Conv. 1.

SUFFERING A RECOVERY. A recovery, as has been explained under that title, was a mode of conveyance formerly in use, which was effected by the party wishing to convey the land suffering a fictitious action to be brought against him by the party to whom the land was to be conveyed (who was called the demandant), and allowing the demandant to recover a judgment against him for the land in question. The vendor, or conveying party, in thus assisting or permitting the demandant so to recover a judgment against him was thence technically said to "suffer a recovery."

See title RECOVERY.

SUFFRAGAN (from suffragari, to help, or assist). Bishops who in former times were appointed to supply the place of others during their absence on embassies or other business were so termed. They were consecrated as other bishops were, and were anciently called "chorepiscopi, or bishops of the county," in contradistinction to the regular bishops of the city or see. The practice of creating suffragan bishops after having long been discontinued was recently re

SUFFRAGAN-continued.

vived; and such bishops are now assistants of the bishops generally and at all times.

SUGGESTIONS, ENTRY OF, ON THE ROLL. In actions at law, whenever, by the provision of an Act of Parliament or otherwise, a person not a party to the record is to be affected by a judgment, or where the judgment upon the record is to be such as would not be ordinarily warranted by the previous proceedings on the record, the proper course is to enter a suggestion on the roll, so that the party to be affected by it may demur if he thinks the facts suggested are insufficient in point of law; or to plead if he means to deny them. As where there are two or more plaintiff's or defendants, and one or more of them die, the action will not be abated, but such death being suggested on the record, the action may be continued by or against the survivors, with or without the representatives of the deceased party. A suggestion is also entered upon the record where a person not a party to the action is to be affected by the judgment, under the provisions of an Act of Parliament (as the members of a company by a judgment against the secretary), or where the judgment is to be such as would not be ordinarily warranted by the proceedings on the record, or where the sheriff to whom the venire is to be awarded is interested in the suit, or where, by the order of the Court, the venue in a local action is removed to another county, and in many similar cases, where the circumstances involve a deviation from the ordinary course of proceeding. C. L. P. Act, 1852, and Jurisdiction in Chancery Amendment Act, 1852; 2 Arch. Pract. 1566; 2 Dan. Ch. Prac. 1393.

SUICIDE: See title FELO DE SE.

SUIT. This word has various significations. As applied to proceedings at Law, it originally signified a number of persons or witnesses which a plaintiff produced to establish the truth of the allegations made in his declaration; and this practice of producing a suit gave rise to the very ancient formula almost invariably used at the conclusion of a declaration, et inde producit sectam (and therefore he brings his suit); and thus, though the actual production has for many centuries fallen into disuse, still the formula until recently remained. The other meaning to which the word "suit" is applied will be found under the following titles. Steph. Pl. 461.

SUIT AT LAW: See title ACTION.

SUIT IN EQUITY: See title BILL IN CHANCERY.

SUIT OF COURT. This phrase denoted the duty of attending the Lord's Court, and, in common with fealty, was and is one of the incidents of a feudal holding,

SUIT OF THE KING'S PEACE (secta pacis regis). The pursuing a man for breach of the king's peace by treasons, insurrections, or trespasses. Cowel.

SUITORS' FUND IN CHANCERY was a fund standing in the name of the Accountant-General of the Court of Chancery, and arising out of the interest which accrued from the large sums of money paid into the name of the Accountant-General by the suitors of that Court. There appear to have been two principal accounts kept at the Bank of England by the AccountantGeneral of Chancery with regard to the Suitors' Fund. The one was intituled "Account of the moneys placed out for the benefit and better security of the suitors of the High Court of Chancery," and the other, "Account of securities purchased with surplus interest arising from securities carried to an account of moneys placed out for the benefit and better security of the suitors of the High Court of Chancery." In cases of poverty, the Court would sometimes allow the costs of a defendant's contempt to be paid out of the "Suitors' Fund" (1 Daniell, Ch. Pr. 425). Now, however, under the statutes 32 & 33 Vict. c. 91 (Courts of Justice Salaries and Funds Act, 1869), and 35 & 36 Vict. c. 44 (Court of Chancery Funds Act, 1872), and the Chancery Funds Rules, 1872, the Suitors' Fund has been reduced to a varying amount, and vested in an officer called the Paymaster-General, who has been substituted for the Accountant-General, and the surplus moneys have been transferred to the Treasury in trust for the public and on their indemnity.

SUMMARY CONVICTIONS. Summary proceedings directed by several Acts of Parliament for the conviction of offenders, and the inflicting of certain penalties created by those Acts of Parliament. In these proceedings there is no intervention of a jury, but the party accused is acquitted or condemned by the suffrage of such person only as the statute has appointed to be his judge, and who is usually the magistrate, or bench of magistrates. See Oke on Summary Convictions; Greenwood and Martin, 1874.

SUMMONS. The process used for bringing a party before a justice of the peace on summary conviction is termed a summons. It is also sometimes called a warrant, but the latter term commonly

SUMMONS-continued.

denotes that instrument which authorizes the apprehension of the accused, which a summons does not generally do.

In the pro

SUMMONS AND ORDER. gress of an action at law it frequently becomes necessary to obtain the order of the Court upon some matter of minor importance; and as such matters are of very frequent occurrence, it would be inconvenient in many respects to permit the party seeking such an order to make an application for the same in open Court; in consequence of which, one of the judges usually sits at his own chambers for the purpose of hearing and disposing of such minor matters. The party who wishes to obtain a judge's order must usually summon the attorney or agent of the opposite party before the judge, which he does by obtaining a judge's summons, and serving it on such opposite party, which summons requires him to attend before the judge at a specified time, to shew cause why the party applying for the order should not have it granted him. The order of the judge, when granted, usually orders or grauts liberty to the applicant to have what he seeks. 2 Arch. Pract. 1598.

SUMMONS, WRIT OF. The writ or process used for the commencement of all personal actions in the Courts of Law. It is a judicial writ (ie., a writ issuing out of the Court in which the defendant is to be sued, and witnessed in the name of its chief judge), and is directed to the defendant, whom it commands to appear in Court at the suit of the plaintiff. By the C. L. P. Acts, 1852 and 1851, six general forms of this writ were provided, viz.,

I. Where defendant is within the jurisdiction, and the writ bears no special indorsement;

II. Where defendant is within the jurisdiction, and the writ bears a special indorsement; III. Where defendant, being a British

subject, is out of the jurisdiction; IV. Where defendant, not being a British

subject, is out of the jurisdiction; V. Where the plaintiff seeks a mandamus (C. L. P. Act, 1854, s. 68); and Where the plaintiff seeks an injune

VI.

tion. C. L. P. Act, 1854, ss. 79-82, And under the Summary Procedure on Bills of Exchange Act, 1855, where that process is set in motion, it is by means of a writ of summons specially provided for the purpose. See 18 & 19 Vict c. 67.

Under the Judicature Act, 1873, a writ of summons is prescribed for the commencement of all proceedings in the Court of Chancery.

SUMPTUARY LAWS. Laws made for restraming excess of expenditure in clothes abi appurei, e. Cowel

SUNDAY. Contracts made on Sundays by persons in their usual trades are invalid under the stat. 29 Car. 2. c. 7 (Blozsome v. W.3 B. & C. 232 The statute apples to trulemen, artificers, workmen, labourers, and ct der persons whatsoever but it does not extend to per pie not falling within these cate 2ories, e to a stagecoach, ower (Sandiman v. Brench, 7 B. & C. 96); ani works of necessity are expressly excepted.

SUPERIOR COURTS. The Courts of the highest and most extensive jurisdiction, viz, the Court of Chancery and the tree Courts of Common Law, ie, the Queen's Beach, the Common Pleas, and the Exchequer, which sit in Westminster Hall, are commonly so termed. 4 Steph. Pl. 368, 369, 5th ed. See also Peacock v. Bell, 1 Saund. 73; 12 Ad. & E. 256; 4 Ad. & E. 433, 446.

See title COURTS OF JUSTICE. SUPERSEDE. To stay, stop. interfere with, or annul. Thus, the proceedings of outlawry may be superseded at any time before the return of the exigent by the entry of the defendant's appearance with the clerk of the outlawries. So the Lord Chancellor or Court of Appeal in Chancery would supersede or annul a fiat in bankruptcy, if it had been improperly issued, as where the bankrupt was discovered not to be a trader within the bankruptcy laws (10 Bing. 544; 1 Mont. & Ayr. Bankruptcy, 514-557; 5 & 6 Vict. c. 122, s. 4).

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