E CONVERSO. On the other side or hand; on the contrary.
E PLURIBUS UNUM. One from more. The motto of the arms of the United
States.
EAGLE, money. A gold coin of the United States, of the value of ten
dollars. It weighs two hundred and fifty-eight grains. Of one thousand parts,
nine hundred are of pure gold, and one hundred of all Act of January 18, 1837, 4
Sharsw. Cont. of Story's L. U. S. 2523, 4. Vide Money.
EAR-WITNESS. One who attests to things he has heard himself.
EARL, Eng. law. A title of nobility next below a marquis and above a
viscount.
2. Earls were anciently called comites, because they were wont comitari
regem, to wait upon the king for counsel and advice. He was also called
shireman, because each earl had the civil government of a shire.
3. After the Norman conquest they were called counts, whence the shires
obtained the names of counties. They have now nothing to do with the government
of counties, which has entirely devolved on the sheriff, the earl's deputy, or
vice comes.
EARLDOM. The seigniory of an earl; the title and dignity of an
earl.
EARNEST, contracts. The payment of a part of the price of goods sold,
or the delivery of part of such goods, for the purpose of binding the
contract.
2. The effect of earnest is to bind the goods sold, and upon their being paid
for without default, the buyer is entitled to them. But notwithstanding the
earnest, the money must be paid upon taking away the goods, because no other
time for payment is appointed; earnest only binds the bargain, and gives the
buyer a right to demand, but a demand without payment of the money is void;
after earnest given the vendor cannot sell the goods to another, without a
default in the vendee, and therefore if the latter does not come and pay, and
take the goods, the vendor ought to go and request him, and then if he does not
come, pay for the goods and take them away in convenient time, the agreement is
dissolved, and he is at liberty to sell them to any other person. 1 Salk. 113: 2
Bl. Com. 447; 2 Kent, Com. 389; Ayl. Pand. 450; 3 Campb. R. 426.
EASEMENTS, estates. An easement is defined to be a liberty privilege
or advantage, which one man may have in the lands of another, without profit; it
may arise by deed or prescription. Vide 1 Serg. & Rawle 298; 5 Barn. &
Cr. 221; 3 Barn. & Cr. 339; 3 Bing. R. 118; 3 McCord, R. 131, 194; 2 McCord,
R. 451; 14 Mass. R. 49 3 Pick. R. 408.
2. This is an incorporeal hereditament, and corresponds nearly to the
servitudes or services of the civil law. Vide Lilly's Reg. h. t. 2 Bouv. Inst.
n. 1600, et seq.; 3 Kent, Com. 344: Cruise, Dig. t. 31, c. 1, s. 17; 2 Hill. Ab.
c. 5; 9 Pick. R. 51; 1 Bail. R. 56; 5 Mass. R. 129; 4 McCord's R. 102; Whatl. on
Eas. passim; and the article Servitude.
EASTER TERM, Eng. law. One of the four terms of the courts. It is now
a fixed term beginning on the 15th of April and ending the 8th of May in every
year. It was formerly a movable term.
EAT INDE SINE DIE. Words used on an acquittal, or when a prisoner is
to be discharged, that he may go without day, that is, that he be dismissed.
Dane's Ab. Index, h. t.
EAVES-DROPPERS, crim. law. Persons as wait under walls or windows or
the eaves of a house, to listen to discourses, and thereupon to frame
mischievous tales.
2. The common law punishment for this offence is fine, and finding sureties
for good behaviour. 4 Bl. Com. 167; Burn's Just. h. t.; Dane's Ab. Index, h. t.;
1 Russ. Cr. 302.
3. In Tennessee, an indictment will not lie for eaves-dropping. 2 Tenn. R.
108.
ECCHYMOSIS, med. jur. Blackness. It is an extravasation of blood by
rupture of capillary vessels, and hence it follows contusion; but it may exist,
as in cases of scurvy, and other morbid conditions, without the latter. Ryan's
Med. Jur. 172.
ECCLESIA. In classical Greek this word signifies any assembly, and in
this sense it is used in Acts xix. 39. But ordinarily, in the New Testament, the
word denotes a Christian assembly, and is rendered into English by the word
church. It occurs thrice only in, the Gospels, viz. in Matt. xvi. 18, and xviii.
17; but very frequently in the other parts of the New Testament, beginning with
Acts ii. 47. In Acts xix. 37, the word churches, in the common English version,
seems to be improperly used to denote heathen temples. Figuratively, the word
church is employed to signify the building set apart for the Christian
assemblies; but the word eclesia is not used in the New Testament in that
sense.
ECCLESIASTIC. A clergyman; one destined to the divine ministry, as, a
bishop, a priest, a deacon. Dom. Lois Civ. liv. prel. t. 2, s. 2, n. 14.
ECCLESIASTICAL. Belonging to, or set apart for the church; as,
distinguished from civil or secular. Vide Church.
ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. English law. Courts held by the king's
authority as supreme governor of the church, for matters which chiefly concern
religion.
2. There are ten courts which may be ranged under this class. 1. The
Archdeacon's Court. 2. The Consistory Court. 3. The Court of Arches. 4. The
Court of Peculiars. 5. The Prerogative Court. 6. The Court of Delegates, which
is the great court of appeals in all ecclesiastical causes. 7. The Court of
Convocation. 8. The Court of Audience. 9. The Court of Faculties. 10. The Court
of Commissioners of Review.
ECCLESIASTICAL LAW. By this phrase it is intended to include all those
rules which govern ecclesiastical tribunals. Vide Law Canon.
ECCLESIASTICS, canon law. Those persons who compose the hierarchial
state of the church. They are regular and secular. Aso & Man. Inst. B. 2, t.
5, c. 4, §1.
ECLAMPSIA PARTURIENTIUM, med. jur. The name of a disease accompanied
by apoplectic convulsions, and which produces aberration of mind at childbirth.
The word Eclampsia is of Greek origin - Significat splenaorem fulgorem
effulgentiam, et emicationem quales ex ocuIis aliquando prodeunt. Metaphorice
sumitur de emicatione flammae vitalis in pubertate et aetaeis vigore. Castelli,
Lex. Medic.
2. An ordinary person, it is said, would scarcely observe it, and it requires
the practised and skilled eye of a physician to discover that the-patient is
acting in total unconsciousness of the nature and effect of her acts. There can
be but little doubt that many of the tragical cases of infanticide proceed from
this cause. The criminal judge and lawyer cannot inquire with too much care into
the symptoms of this disease, in order to discover the guilt of the mother,
where it exists, and to ascertain her innocence, where it does not. See two well
reported cases of this kind in the Boston Medical Journal, vol. 27, No. 10, p.
161.
EDICT. A law ordained by the sovereign, by which he forbids or
commands something it extends either to the whole country, or only to some
particular provinces.
2. Edicts are somewhat similar to public proclamations. Their difference
consists in this, that the former have authority and form of law in themselves,
whereas the latter are at most, declarations of a law, before enacted by
congress, or the legislature.
3. Among the Romans this word sometimes signified, a citation to appear
before a judge. The edict of the emperors, also called constitutiones principum,
were new laws which they made of their own motion, either to decide cases which
they had foreseen, or to abolish or change some ancient laws. They were
different from their rescripts or decrees. These edicts were the sources which
contributed to the formation of the Gregorian, Hermogenian, Theodosian, and
Justinian Codes. Vide Dig. 1, 4, 1, 1; Inst. 1, 2, 7; Code, 1, 1 Nov. 139.
EDICT PERPETUAL. The title of a compilation of all the edicts. This
collection was made by Salvius Julianus, a jurist who was, selected by the
emperor Adrian for the purpose, and who performed his task with credit to
himself.
EDICTS OF JUSTINIAN. These are thirteen constitutions or laws of that
prince, found in most editions of the corpus juris civilis, after the Novels.
Being confined to matters of police in the provinces of the empire, they are of
little use.
EFFECT. The operation of a law, of an agreement, or an act, is called
its effect.
2. By the laws of the United States, a patent cannot be granted for an effect
only, but it may be for a new mode or application of machinery to produce
effects. 1 Gallis. 478; see 4 Mason, 1; Pet. C. C. R. 394; 2 N. H. R. 61.
EFFECTS. This word used simpliciter is equivalent to property or,
worldly substance, and may carry the whole personal estate, when used in a will.
5 Madd. Ch. Rep. 72; Cowp. 299; 15 Ves. 507; 6 Madd. Ch. R. 119. But when it is
preceded and connected with words of a narrower import, and the bequest is not
residuary, it will be confined to species of property ejusdem generis with those
previously described. 13 Ves. 39; 15 Ves. 826; Roper on Leg. 210.
EFFIGY, crim. law. The figure or representation of a person.
2. To make the effigy of a person with an intent to make him the object of
ridicule, is a libel. (q. v.) Hawk. b. 1, c. 7 3, s. 2 14 East, 227; 2 Chit. Cr.
Law, 866.
3. In France an execution by effigy or in effigy is adopted in the case of a
criminal who has fled from justice. By the public exposure or exhibition of a
picture or representation of him on a scaffold, on which his name and the decree
condemning him are written, he is deemed to undergo the punishment to which he
has been sentenced. Since the adoption of the Code Civil, the practice has been
to affix the names, qualities or addition, and the residence of the condemned
person, together with an extract from the sentence of condemnation, to a post
set upright in the ground, instead of exhibiting a portrait of him on the
scaffold. Repertoire de Villargues; Biret, Vo cab.
EFFRACTION. A breach, made by the use of force.
EFFRACTOR. One who breaks through; one who commits a burglary.
EGO. I, myself. This term is used in forming genealogical tables, to
represent the person who is the object of inquiry.
EIGNE, persons. This is a corruption of the French word aine, eldest
or first born.
2. It is frequently used in our old law books, bastard eigne. signifies an
elder bastard when spoken of two children, one of whom was; born before the
marriage of his parents, and the other after; the latter is called mulier
puisne. Litt. sect. 399.
EIRE, or EYRE, English law. A journey. Justices in eyre, were
itinerant judges, who were sent once in seven years with a general commission in
divers counties, to hear and determine such causes as were called pleas of the
crown. Vide Justices in eyre.
EJECTMENT, remedies. The name of an action which lies for the recovery
of the possession of real property, and of damages for the unlawful detention.
In its nature it is entirely different from a real action. 2 Term Rep; 696, 700.
See 17 S. & R. 187, and, authorities cited.
2. This subject may be considered with reference, 1st. To the form of the,
proceedings. 2d. To the nature of the property or thing to be recovered. 3d. To
the right to such property. 4th. To the nature of the ouster or injury. 5th. To
the judgment.
3. - 1. In the English practice, which is still adhered to in some states, in
order to lay the foundation of this action, the party claiming title enters upon
the land, and then gives a lease of it to a third person, who, being ejected by
the other claimant, or some one else for him, brings a suit against, the ejector
in his own name; to sustain the action the lessee must prove a good title in the
lessor, and, in this collateral way, the title is tried. To obviate the
difficulty of proving these forms, this action has been made, substantially, a
fictitious process. The defendant agrees, and is required to confess that a
lease was made to the plaintiff, that he entered under it, and has been ousted
by the defendant, or, in other words, to admit lease, entry, and ouster, and
that he will rely only upon his title. An actual entry, however, is still
supposed, and therefore, an ejectment will not lie, if the right of entry is
gone. 3 Bl. Com. 199 to 206. In Pennsylvania, New York, Arkansas, and perhaps
other states, these fictions have all been abolished, and the writ of ejectment
sets forth the possessionof the plaintiff, and an unlawful entry on the part of
the defendant.
4. - 2. This action is in general sustainable only for the recovery of the
possession of property upon which an entry might in point of fact be made, and
of which the sheriff could deliver actual possession: it cannot, therefore, in
general, be sustained for the recovery of property which, in legal
consideration, is not tangible; as, for a rent, or other incorporeal
heriditaments, a water-course, or for a mere privilege of a landing held in
common with other citizens of a town. 2 Yeates, 331; 3 Bl. Com. 206; Yelv. 143;
Run. Eject. 121 to 136 Ad. Eject. c. 2; 9 John. 298; 16 John. 284.
5. - 3. The title of the party having a right of entry maybe in fee-simple,
fee-tail, or for life or years; and if it be the best title to the property the
plaintiff will succeed. The plaintiff must recover on the strength. of his
title, and not on the weakness or deficiency of that of the defendant. Addis.
Rep. 390; 2 Serg. & Rawle, 65; 3 Serg. & Rawle, 288; 4 Burr. 2487; 1
East, R. 246; Run. Eject. 15; 5 T. R. 110.
6. - 4. The injury sustained must in fact or in point of law have amounted to
an ouster or dispossession of the lessor of the plaintiff, or of the plaintiff
himself, where the fictions have been abolished; for if there be no ouster, or
the defendant be not in possession at the time of bringing the action, the
plaintiff must fail. 7 T. R. 327; 1 B. & P. 573; 2 Caines' R. 335.
7. - 5. The judgment is that the plaintiff do recover his term, of and in the
tenements, and, unless the damages be remitted, the damages assessed by the jury
with the costs of increase. In Pennsylvania, however, and, it is presumable, in
all those states where the fictitious form of this action has been abolished,
the plaintiff recovers possession of the land generally, and not simply a term
of years in the land. See 2 Seam. 251; 4 B. Monr. 210; 3 Harr. 73; 1 McLean, 87.
Vide, generally, Adams on Ej.; 4 Bouv. Inst. n., 3651, et seq.; Run. Ej.; Com.
Dig. h. t.; Dane's Ab. h. t.; 1 Chit. Pl. 188 to 193; 18 E. C. L. R. 158; Woodf.
L. & T. 354 to 417; 2 Phil. Ev. 169.; 8 Vin. Ab. 323; Arch. Civ. Pl. 503; 2
Sell. Pr. 85; Chit. Pr. lndex, h. t.; Bac. Ab. h. t Doct. Pl. 227; Am. Dig. h.
t.; Report of the Commissioners to Revise the Civil Code of Pennsylvania,
January 16, 1835, pp. 80, 81, 83; Coop. Justinian, 448.
EJUSDEM GENERIS. Of the same kind.
2. In the construction of laws, wills and other instruments, when certain
things are enumerated, and then a phrase is used which might be construed to
include other things, it is generally confined to things ejusdem generas; as,
where an act (9 Ann. C. 20) provided that a writ of quo warranto might issue
against persons who should usurp "the offices of mayors, bailiffs, port reeves,
and other offices, within the cities, towns, corporate boroughs, and places,
within Great Britain," &c.; it was held that "other offices" meant offices
ejusdem generis; and that the word "places" signified places of the same kind;
that is, that the offices must be corporate offices, and the places must be
corporate Places. 5 T. R. 375,379; 5 B . & C. 640; 8 D. & Ry. 393; 1 B.
& C. 237.
3. So, in the construction of wills, when certain articles are enumerated,
the terra goods is to be restricted to those ejusdem generis. Bac. Ab. Legacies,
B; 3 Rand. 191; 3 Atk. 61; Abr. Eq. 201; 2 Atk. 113.
ELDEST. He or she who has the greatest age.
2. The laws of primogeniture are not in force in the United States; the
eldest child of a family cannot, therefore, claim any right in consequence of
being the eldest.
ELECTION. This term, in its most usual acceptation, signifies the
choice which several persons collectively make of a person to fill an office or
place. In another sense, it means the choice which is made by a person having
the right, of selecting one of two alternative contracts or rights. Elections,
then, are of men or things.
2. - §1. Of men. These are either public elections, or elections by companies
or corporations.
3. - 1. Public elections. These should be free and uninfluenced either by
hope or fear. They are, therefore, generally made by ballot, except those by
persons in their representative capacities, which are viva voce. And to render
this freedom as perfect as possible, electors are generally exempted from arrest
in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, during their
attendance on election, and in going to and returning from them. And provisions
are made by law, in several states, to prevent the interference or appearance of
the military on the election ground.
4. One of the cardinal principles on the subject of elections is, that the
person who receives a majority or plurality of votes is the person elected.
Generally a plurality of the votes of the electors present is sufficient; but in
some states a majority of all the votes is required. Each elector has one
vote.
5. - 2. Elections by corporations or companies are made by the members, in
such a way its their respective constitutions or charters direct. It is usual in
these cases to vote a greater or lesser number of votes in proportion as the
voter has a greater or less amount of the stock of the company or corporation,
if such corporation or company be a pecuniary institution. And the members are
frequently permitted to vote by proxy. See 7 John. 287; 9 John. 147; 5 Cowen,
426; 7 Cowen, 153; 8 Cowen, 387; 6 Wend. 509; 1 Wend. 98.
6. - §2. The election of things. 1. In contracts, when a; debtor is obliged,
in an alternative obligation, to do one of two things, as to pay one hundred
dollars or deliver one hundred bushels of wheat, he has the choice to do the one
or the other, until the time of payment; he has not the choice, however, to pay
a part in each. Poth. Obl. part 2, c. 3, art. 6, No. 247; ll John. 59. Or, if a
man sell or agree to deliver one of two articles, as a horse or an ox, he has
the election till the time of delivery; it being a rule that "in case an
election be given of two several things, always be, which is the first agent,
and which ought to do the first act, shall have the election." Co. Litt. 145, a;
7 John. 465; 2 Bibb, R. 171. On the failure of the person who has the right to
make his election in proper time, the right passes to the opposite party. Co.
Litt. 145, a; Viner, Abr. Election, B, C; Poth. Obl. No. 247; Bac. Ab. h. t. B;
1 Desaus. 460; Hopk. R. 337. It is a maxim of law, that an election once made
and pleaded, the party is concluded, electio semel facta, et placitum testatum,
non patitur regress-um. Co. Litt. 146; 11 John. 241.
7.-2. Courts of equity have adopted the principle, that a person shall not be
permitted to claim under any instrument, whether it be a deed or will, without
giving full effect to it, in every respect, so far as such person is concerned.
This doctrine is called into exercise when a testator gives what does not belong
to him, but to some other person, and gives, to that person some estate of his
own; by virtue of which gift a condition is implied, either that he shall part
with his own estate or shall not take the bounty. 9 Ves. 515; 10 Ves. 609; 13
Ves. 220. In such a case, equity will not allow the first legatee to, insist
upon that by which he would deprive another legatee under the same will of the
benefit to which he would be entitled, if the first legatee permited the whole
will to operate, and therefore compels him to make his election between his
right independent of the will, and the benefit under it. This principle of
equity does not give the disappointed legatee the right to detain the thing
itself, but gives a right to compensation out of something else. 2 Rop. Leg.
378, c. 23, s. 1. In order to impose upon a party, claiming under a will, the
obligation of making an election, the intention of the testator must be
expressed, or clearly implied in the will itself, in two respects; first, to
dispose of that which is not his own; and, secondly, that the person taking the
benefit under the will should, take under the condition of giving effect
thereto. 6 Dow. P. C. 179; 13 Ves. 174; 15 Ves. 390; 1 Bro. C. C. 492;3 Bro. C.
C. 255; 3 P. Wms. 315; 1 Ves. jr. 172, 335; S. C. 2 Ves. jr. 367, 371; 3 Ves.
jr. 65; Amb. 433; 3 Bro. P. C. by Toml. 277; 1 B. & Beat. 1; 1 McClel. R.
424, 489, 541. See, generally, on this doctrine, Roper's Legacies, c. 23; and
the learned notes of Mr. Swanston to the case Dillon v. Parker, 1 Swanst. R.
394, 408; Com. Dig. Appendix, tit. Election; 3 Desaus. R. 504; 8 Leigh, R. 389;
Jacob, R. 505; 1 Clark & Fin. 303; 1 Sim. R. 105; 13 Price, R. 607; 1
McClel. R. 439; 1 Y. & C. 66; 2 Story, Eq. Jur. §1075 to 1135; Domat, Lois
Civ. liv. 4, tit. 2, §3, art. 3, 4, 5; Poth. Pand. lib. 30, t. 1, n. 125; Inst.
2, 20, 4; Dig. 30, 1, 89, 7.
8. There are many other cases where a party may be compelled to make an
election, which it does not fall within the plan of this work to consider. The
reader will easily inform himself by examining the works above referred to.
9. - 3. The law frequently gives several forms of action to the injured
party, to enable him to recover his rights. To make a proper election of the
proper remedy is of great importance. To enable the practitioner to make the
best election, Mr. Chitty, in his valuable Treatise on Pleadings, p. 207, et
seq., has very ably examined the subject, and given rules for forming a correct
judgment; as his work is in the hands of every member of the profession, a
reference to it here is all that is deemed necessary to say on this subject. See
also, Hammond on Parties to Actions; Brown's Practical Treatise on Actions at
Law, in the 45th vol. of the Law Library; U. S. Dig. Actions IV.
ELECTION OF ACTIONS, practice. It is frequently at the choice of the
plaintiff what kind of an action to bring; a skilful practitioner would
naturally select that in which his client can most easily prove what is his
interest in the matter affected; may recover all his several demands against the
defendant; may preclude the defendant from availing himself of a defence, which
be might otherwise establish; may most easily introduce his own evidence; may
not be embarrassed by making too. many or too few persons parties to the suit;
may try it in the county most convenient to himself; may demand bail where it is
for the plaintiff's interest; may obtain a judgment with the least expense and
delay; may entitle himself to costs; and may demand bail in error. 1 Chit. Pl.
207 to 214.
2. It may be laid down as a general rule, that when a statute prescribes a
new remedy, the plaintiff has his election either to adopt such remedy, or
proceed at common law. Such statutory remedy is cumulative, unless the statute
expressly, or by necessary implication takes away the Common law remedy. 1 S.
& R. 32; 6 S. & R. 20; 5 John. 175; 10 John. 389; 16 John. 220; 1 Call,
243; 2 Greenl. 404; 5 Greenl. 38; 6 Harr. & John. 383; 4 Halst. 384; 3 Chit.
Pr. 130.
ELECTION OF A DEVISE OR LEGACY. It is an admitted principle, that a
person shall not be permitted to claim under any instrument, whether it be a
deed or a will, without giving full effect to it in every respect, so far as
such person is concerned. When a testator, therefore, gives what belongs to
another and not to him, and gives to the owner some estate of his own; this gift
is under an implied condition, either that he shall part with his own estate, or
not take the bounty. 9 Ves. 615; 10 Ves. 609; 13 Ves. 220; 2 Ves. 697; 1 Suppl.
to Ves. jr. 222; Id. 55; Id. 340. If, for example, a testator undertakes to
dispose of an estate belonging to B, and devise to B other lands, or bequeath to
him a legacy by the same will, B will not be permitted to keep his own estate,
and enjoy at the same time the benefit of the devise or bequest made in his
favor, but must elect whether he will part with his own estate, and accept the
provisions in the will, or continue in possession of the former and reject the
latter. See 2 Vern. 5.81; Forr. 176; 1 Swanst. 436, 447 1 Rro. C. C. 480; 2
Rawle, 168; 17 S. & R. 16 2 Gill, R. 182, 201; 1 Dev. Eq. R. 283; 3 Desaus.
346; 6 John. Ch. R. 33; Riley, Ch. R. 205; 1 Whart. 490; 5 Dana, 345; White's L.
C. in Eq. *233.
2. The foundation of the equitable doctrine of election, is the intention,
explicit or presumed, of the author of the instrument to which it is applied,
and such is the, import of the expression by which it is described as
proceeding, sometimes on a tacit, implied, or constructive condition, sometimes
on equity. See Cas. temp. Talb. 183; 2 Vern. 582; 2 Ves. 14; 1 Eden, R. 536; 1
Ves. 306. See, generally, 1 Swan. 380 to 408, 414, 425, 432, several very full
notes.
3. As to what acts of acceptance or acquiescence will constitute an implied
election, see 1 Swan. R. 381, n. a; and the cases there cited.
ELECTOR, government. One who has the right to make choice of public
officers one, who has a right to vote.
2. The qualifications of electors are generally the same as those required in
the person to be elected; to this, however, there is one exception; a
naturalized citizen may be an elector of president of the United States,
although he could not constitutionally be elected to that office.
ELECTORS OF PRESIDENT. Persons elected by the people, whose sole duty
is to elect a president and vice-president of the U. S.
2. The Constitution provides, Am. art. 12, that "the electors shall meet in
their respective states, and vote by ballot for president and vice-president,
one of whom at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with
themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as president,
and in distinct ballots the person voted for as vice-president; and they shall
make distinct lists of all persons voted fur as president, and of all persons
voted for as vice-president, and of the number of votes for each; which list
they shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the government
of the United States, directed to the president of the senate; the president of
the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and the house of
representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted;
the person having the greatest number of, votes for president, shall be the
president, if such number be the majority of the whole number of electors
appointed; and if no, person have such majority, then from the persons having
the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as
president, the house of representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the
president. But in choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by states,
the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum, for this purpose,
shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a
majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the house of
representatives shall not choose a president whenever the right of choice shall
devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the
vice-president shall act as president, as in the case of the death or other
constitutional disability of the president.
3. - 2. "The person having the greatest number of votes as vice-president
shall be vice-president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of
electors appointed and if no person have a majority, them from the two highest
numbers on the list, the senate shall choose the vice-president; a quorum for
the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a
majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person
constitutionally ineligible to the office of president, shall be eligible to
that of vice-president of the United States." Vide 3 Story, Const. §1448 to
1470.
ELEEMOSYNARY. Charitable alms-giving.
2. Eleemosynary corporations are colleges, schools, and hospitals. 1 Wood.
Lect. 474; Skinn. 447 1 Lord Raym. 5 2 T. R. 346.
ELEGIT, Eng. practice, remedies. A writ of execution directed to the
sheriff, commanding him to make delivery of a moiety of the party's land, and
all his goods, beasts of the plough only excepted.
2. The sheriff, on the receipt of the writ, holds an inquest to ascertain the
value of the lands and goods he has seized, and then they are delivered to the
plaintiff, who retains them until the whole debt and damages have been paid and
satisfied; during that term he is called tenant by elegit. Co. Litt. 289. Vide
Pow. Mortg. Index, h. t.; Wats. Sher. 206. As to the law of the several states
on the subject. of seizing land and extending it. see 1 Hill. Ab. 556-6.
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