LEAGUE

Binn. 130; 6 id. 483; 1 Phill. Ev. 221; 1 Stark. Ev. 123. But, in an examination in chief, questions may be put to lead the mind of the witness to the subject of inquiry; and they are allowed when it appears the witness wishes to conceal the truth or to favor the opposite party, or where, from the nature of the case, the mind of the witness cannot be directed to the subject of inquiry without a particular specification of such subject; Campb. 43; 1 Stark. 100.

In cross-examinations, the examiner has generally the right to put leading questions; 1 Stark. Ev. 132; 3 Chitty, Pr. 892; Rosc. Civ. Ev. 94; Whart. Ev. §§ 501-504; but not perhaps when the witness has a bias in his favor; Best, Ev. 805.

LEAGUE. A measure of length, which consists of three geographical miles. The jurisdiction of the United States extends into the sea a marine league.

gress of June 5, 1794, 1 Story, Laws, 352; and April 20, 1818, 3 Story, Laws, 1694; 1 Wait, State Papers, 195.

if he disposes of his entire interest it becomes an assignment, and is not a lease. In other words, the granting of a lease always supposes that the grantor reserves to himself a reversion in the leased premises.

And a distinction is to be noted between a lease and a mere agreement for a lease. The whole question, however, resolves itself into one of construction, and an instrument is to be considered either a lease or an agreement for a lease, according to what appears to be the intention of the parties; 1 Term, 735; 26 Pick. 401; 16 Barb. 621; 9 Ad. & E. 644; though, generally, if there are apt words of demise followed by possession, the instrument will be held a lease; 5 id. 74; 8 N. Y. 44; 3 C. & P. 441; 8 Bingh. 178; 102 Mass. 392; 4 Ad. & E. 225; 5 B. & A. and executed before the demise is to take effect 322; otherwise, if a fuller lease is to be prepared and possession to be given; 21 Vt. 172; 24 Wend. 201; 3 Stor. 325: 4 Conn. 238; 75 Ill. 44; L. R.

2 Ex. Div. 355; 5 B. & C. 41; 14 Abb. Pr. 372. The party who leases is called the lessor, he to

whom the lease is made the lessee, and the comSee Acts of Con-pensation or consideration of the lease is the rent. The words lease and demise are frequently used to signify the estate or interest conveyed; but they properly apply to the instrument of conveyance. When a lessee parts with the estate granted to him, reserving any portion thereof, however small, he makes an underlease; Taylor, Landl. & Ten. § 16; 5 Denio, 454; 36 N. Y. 569; 12 Iowa, 319; 16 Johns. 159.

A conspiracy to do an unlawful act.

term is but little used.

The

An agreement or treaty between states. Leagues between states are of several kinds: First, leagues offensive and defensive, by which two or more nations agree not only to defend each other, but to carry on war against their common enemies. Second, defensive, but not offensive, obliging each to defend the other against any foreign invasion. Third, leagues of simple amity, by which one contracts not to invade, injure, or offend the other: this usually includes the liberty of mutual commerce and trade, and the safeguard of merchants and traders in each other's domain. Bacon, Abr. Prerogative (D 4). See CONFEDERACY; CONSPIRACY; PEACE; TRUCE; WAR.

LEAKAGE. The waste which has taken place in liquids, by their escaping out of the casks or vessels in which they were kept. See 107 Mass, 140, 145.

By the act of March 2, 1799, s. 59, 1 Story, Laws, 625, it is provided that there be an allowance of two per cent. for leakage on the quantity which shall appear by the gauge to be contained in any cask of liquors subject to duty by the gallon, and ten per cent. on all beer, ale, and porter in bottles, and five per cent. on all other liquors in bottles, to be deducted from the invoice quantity, in lieu of breakage; or it shall be lawful to compute the duties on the actual quantity, to be ascertained by tale, at the option of the importer, to be made at the time of entry. LEAL. Loyal; that which belongs to the

law.

LEAP YEAR. See BISSEXTILE.

LEASE. A species of contract for the possession and profits of lands and tenements either for life or for a certain period of time, or during the pleasure of the parties.

One of its essential properties is, that its duration must be for a shorter period than the duration of the interest of the lessor in the land; for

The estate created by a lease, when for years, is limited and determined,-its commencement is called a term (terminus), because its duration as well as its termination being ascertained by an express agreement of the parties. And this phrase signifies not only the limitation of time or period granted for the occupation of the premises, but includes also the estate or interest in the land that passes during such period. A term, however, is perfected only by the entry of the lessee; for previous to this the estate remains in the lessor, the lessee having a mere right to enter, which right is called an interesse termini; 1 Washb. R. P. 292, 297; 5 B. & C. 111; 5 Co. 123 b; Co. Litt. 46, B.; Cro. Jac. 60; 1 B. & Ald. 593; 1 Br. & B. 238.

Any thing corporeal or incorporeal lying in livery or in grant may be the subject-matter of a lease; and therefore not only lands and houses, but commons, ways, fisheries, franchises, estovers, annuities, rent charges, and all other incorporeal hereditaments, are included in the common-law rule; Shepp. Touchst. 268; 110 Mass. 175; 24 Mich. 279; 33 N. Y. 251; 66 Me. 229; 17 C. E. Green, 130; 27 Conn. 164. Rent cannot properly be said ever to issue out of chattels; 3 H. & M. 470; 35 Barb. 295; 15 Ohio, N. s. 186; 5 Rep. 16; but goods, chattels, or live stock upon or about real property may be leased with it and a rent contracted for, to issue from the whole, upon which an action for rent in arrear may be maintained as upon such lease; Co. Litt. 57 a; 31 Penn. 20; 24 Wend. 76; 9 Paige, 310.

Leases are made either by parol or by deed. The former mode embraces all cases where the parties agree either orally or by a writing not under seal. The technical words generally made use of in the written instrument are, "demise, grant, and to farm let;" but no particular form of expression is required

in any case to create an immediate demise; 8 Bing. 182; 9 Ad. & E. 650; 5 Term, 168; 4 Burr. 2208; 5 Scott, 531; 15 Wend. 379; 111 Mass. 30; 71 Ill. 317; 7 Blackf. 403; 12 Me. 135; 6 Watts, 362; 1 Denio, 602; Williams, R. P. 327. Any permissive holding is, in fact, sufficient for the purpose, and it may be contained in any written memorandum by which it appears to have been the intention of one of the parties voluntarily to dispossess himself of the premises for any given period, and of the other to assume the possession for the same period; Taylor, Landl. & Ten. § 26; 1 Washb. R. P. 300. The English statute of frauds (29 Charles II. c. 3), first required all leases exceeding three years to be in writing. In Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Oregon, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming, Virginia, and Wisconsin, leases for one year only are excepted from the requirement that they should be in writing. In Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, the law is as in England. It is two years in Florida. While in Vermont, Ohio, New Hampshire, Missouri, Massachusetts, Maine, and Indiana, all leases not in writing are declared mere estates at will. See Browne on Stat. of Frauds, App.

A written agreement is generally sufficient to create a term of years. But in England, by statute, all leases that are required to be in writing must also be under seal; 8 & 9 Vict. c. 106. In Massachusetts and Maryland, leases for more than seven years must be by deed. So in Virginia, of those for more than five, and in Delaware, Rhode Island, and Vermont, of those for more than one.

to authorize a lessee to demand possession for the want of a possessory title in his lessor, it will still operate by way of estoppel, and enure to his benefit if the lessor afterwards comes into possession of the land before the expiration of the lease; Bacon, Abr. Leases (14); Cro. Eliz. 109; 28 Barb. 240; 61 N.Y. 6; 7 M. & G. 701; 3 Pick. 52; 18 How. 82; 6 Watts, 60; 2 Hill, N.Y. 554; 16 Johns. 110, 201; 5 Ark. 693.

The power to lease will, of course, depend upon the extent of the lessor's estate in the premises; and if he has but an estate for life, his lease can only be coextensive therewith; when for a term of years, its commencement as well as its termination must be ascertained, for certainty in these respects is of the essence of a term of years. But although this term may not at first appear to be certain, it may be rendered so by reference to some fact or event; id certum est quod certum reddi potest. Thus, if a lease be made to a man for so many years as he has in the manor of Dale, and he happens to have a term of two years in that manor, the lease will be good for that period; Co. Litt. 45 b: 3 Term, 463; 4 East, 29; 1 M. & W. 533; 3 Co. 346; 97 Mass. 206; 102 Mass. 93; 10 R. I. 355.

Lord Coke states that, originally, express terms could not endure beyond an ordinary generation of forty years, lest men might be disinherited; but the doctrine had become antiquated even in his day, and at the present time there is no limitation to a term of years except in the state of New York, where land cannot be leased for agricultural purposes for a longer period than twelve years; see Co. Litt. 45 b, 46 a; 9 Mod. 101; 13 Ohio, 334; 1 Platt, Leas. 3; 1 Washb. R. P. 310; 41 N. Y. 480; 62 N. Y. 524.

In all leases of uncertain duration, or if no time has been agreed upon for the continuation of the term, or if after the expiration of a term the tenant continues to hold over, without any effort on the part of the landlord to remove him, the tenancy is at the will of either party. And it remains at will until after the payment and receipt of rent on account of a new tenancy, or until the parties concur in some other act which recognizes the existence of a tenancy, from which event it becomes a tenancy from year to year, invested with the qualities and incidents of the original tenancy. After this, neither party has a right to terminate it before the expiration of the current year upon which they have entered, nor then without having first given due notice to the other party of his intention to do so. The length of this notice is regulated by the statutes of the different states; 11 Wend. 616; 13 Johns. 109; 8 Term, 3; 4 Ired. 294; 3 Zabr. 111. See LANDLORD AND TENANT.

All persons seised of lands or tenements may grant leases of them, unless they happen to be under some legal disability: as, of unsound mind, immature age, or the like; 8 C. & P. 679. See, as to infants, 10 Pet. 65; 7 Cow. 179; 11 Johns. 539; 3 Mod. 310. Contracts by them are voidable only and not void, and may be affirmed or disaffirmed by them on attaining their majority; 17 Wend. 119; 12 Vt. 28; 11 Johns. 539; 6 Conn. 494. As to persons of unsound mind, see 3 Camp. 126; 51 N. Y. 384; 11 Pick. 304; 8 C. & P. 679 intoxicated persons, 2 Paige, 30; 18 Ves. 16; 4 Harr. 285; married women, Smith, Landl, & T. 48; 1 Taylor, Landl. & T. 101. See PARTIES; CONTRACTS. But it is essential to the validity of a lease that the lessor has, at the time he undertakes to make the grant, possession of the premises; otherwise, whatever he does will amount to nothing more than the assignment of a chose in action; Cro. Car. 109; Shep. The formal parts of a lease by deed are: Touchst. 269. But possession is always pre-first, the date, which will fix the time for its sumed to follow the title unless there is a commencement, unless some other period is clearly marked adverse possession. specified in the instrument itself for that purpose; but if there is no date, or an impossible

And although a lease may not be sufficient

66

LEASE

69

59

LEASING-MAKING

lord's damages are a mere matter of computation and can be readily compensated by money; 7 Johns. 235; 4 Munf. 332; 2 Price, 200; 44 Vt. 285; 9 Hare, 683; 5 R. I. 144; 60 Penn. 131; 20 Vt. 415; 31 Conn. 468; 40 N. H. 434. But in case of a forfeiture for the non-payment of rent, the proviso is allowed to operate simply as a security for rent, and the tenant will be relieved from its effects at any time by paying the landlord or bringing into court the amount of all arrears of rent, with interest and costs.

one, the time will be considered as having commenced from the delivery of the deed; 2 Johns. 230; 15 Wend. 656; 4 B. & C. 908; 17 Wend. 103. Second, the names of the parties, with respect to which the law knows but one Christian name; and therefore the middle letter of the name of either party is immaterial, and a person may always show he is as well known by one name as another; 14 Pet. 322; 36 Ill. 362; 55 N. Y. 380. The entire omission of the lessee's name from a lease will render the instrument simply void; 11 Com. 129; 8 Md. 118; 24 N. Y. 336; 6 A lease may also be terminated before the Allen, 305; 19 Iowa, 290; 2 Wall. 24. prescribed period if the premises are required Third, recitals of title or other circumstances to be taken for public uses or improvements, of the case. Fourth, some consideration or the subject-matter of demise wholly permust appear, although it need not be what is ishes or is turned into a house of ill fame; technically called rent, or a periodical render 24 Wend. 454; 29 Barb. 116; 119 Mass. 28; of compensation for the use of the premises; 46 N. Y. 297; 38 Mo. 143; 58 Penn. 271; but it may be a sum in gross, or the natural 118 Mass. 125; 38 Cal. 259; 11 Cush. 600; affection which one party has for the other. 5 Ohio, 303. The same result will follow It may also consist in grain, animals, or the when the tenant purchases the fee, or the fee personal services of the lessee; 3 Hill, N. Y. descends to him as heir at law; for in either 345; 1 Speers, 408; Taylor, Landl. & T. § case the lease is merged in the inheritance; 152. Fifth, the operative words of the lease since there would be a manifest inconsistency are usually demise, grant, lease, and to farm in allowing the same person to hold two dislet" 50 N. Y. 414; 53 N. H. 513; 27 tinct estates immediately expectant on each Md. 173. Sixth, the description of the other, while one of them includes the time premises need not specify all the particulars of both, thus uniting the two opposite characof the subject-matter of the demise, for the ters of landlord and tenant; 10 Johns. 482; accessories will follow the principal thing 2 C. & P. 347; 26 Ill. 19; 6 Johns. Ch. 417; named: thus, the garden is parcel of a dwelling-house, and the general description of a farm includes all the houses and lands appertaining to the farm; 9 Conn. 374; 5 Johns. 446; 11 C. E. Green, 82; 4 Rawle, 330; 9 Cow. 747. But whether certain premises are parcel of the demise or not is always matter of evidence; 14 Barb. 434; 3 B. & C. 870; 14 B. Mon. 8. Seventh, the rights and liabilities of the respective parties are regulated by law in the absence of any particular agreement in respect thereto; but express covenants are usually inserted in a lease, for the purpose of limiting or otherwise defining their rights and duties in relation to repairs, taxes, insurance renewals, residence on the premises, modes of cultivation, fixtures, and the like. Certain covenants are also implied in law from the use of certain technical terms in leases.

In every well-drawn lease, provision is made for a forfeiture of the term in case the tenant refuses to pay rent, commits waste, or is guilty of a breach of the covenant to repair, insure, reside upon the premises, or the like. This clause enables the lessor or his assigns to re-enter in any such event upon the demised premises and eject the tenant, leaving both parties in the same condition as if the lease were a nullity; but in the absence of a proviso for re-entry the lessor would possess no such power, the mere breach of a covenant enabling him to sue for damages only; 11 Mod. 61; 3 Wils. 127; 2 Cow. 591; 2 Overton, 233; 1 Dutch. 285; 15 Cal. 233. The forfeiture will generally be enforced by the courts, except where the land

13 Penn. 16; Taylor, Landl. & T. § 502. See LANDLORD AND TENANT.

LEASE AND RELEASE. A species of conveyance much used in England, consisting theoretically of two instruments, but which are practically united in the same in

strument.

after the enactment of the statute of uses. It was invented by Sergeant Moore, soon It is thus contrived: a lease, or rather bargain and sale upon some pecuniary considerathe freehold to the lessee or bargainee. This, tion for one year, is made by the tenant of

without

stand seised to the use of the bargainee, and any enrolment, makes the bargainor vests in the bargainee the use of the term for one year, and then the statute immediately annexes the possession. Being thus in possession, he is capable of receiving a release of the freehold and reversion, which must be made to the tenant in possession, and accordingly the next day a release is granted to him.

The lease and release, when used as a conof a single conveyance; 2 Bla. Com. 339; 4 veyance of the fee, have the joint operation Kent, 482; Co. Litt. 207; Cruise, Dig. tit.

32, c. 11.

LEASEHOLD. The estate held by virtue of a lease. In practice the word is generally applied to an estate for a fixed term of years.

LEASING-MAKING. In Scotch Law. Verbal sedition, viz.: slanderous and untrue speeches to the disdain, reproach, and contempt of his majesty, his council and pro

ceedings, etc. Bell, Dict.; Erskine, Inst. 254; 2 id. 181; 5 Ves. Ch. 461; 19 id. 83; Comyns, Dig. Chancery (I 4).

A specific legacy is a bequest of a speciAn absolute legacy is one given without fied part of the testator's personal estate, condition, to vest immediately; 1 Vern. Ch. | distinguished from all others of the same