HABEAS CORPORA, English practice. A writ issued out of the C. P. commending the sheriff to compel the appearance of a jury in the cause between the parties. It answers the same purpose in that court as the Distringas juratores answers in the K. B. For a form, see Bootes Suit at Law, 151.

HABEAS CORPUS, remedies A writ of habeas corpus is an order in writing, signed by the judge who grants the same, and sealed with the seal of the court of he is a judge, issued in the name of the sovereign power where it is granted, by such a court or a judge thereof, having lawful authority to issue the same, directed to any one having a person in his custody or under his restraint, commanding him to produce, such person at a certain time and place, and to state the reasons why he is held in custody, or under restraint.

2. This writ was it common law considered as a remedy to remove the illegal restraint on a freeman. But anterior to the 31 Charles II. its benefit was, in a great degree, eluded by time-serving judges, who awarded it only in term time, and who assumed a discretionary power of awarding or refusing it. 3 Bulstr. 23. Three or four years before that statute was passed there had been two very great cases much agitated in Westminster Hall, upon writs of habeas corpus for private custody, viz: the cases of Lord Lei-ah: 2 Lev; 128; and Sir Robert Viner, Lord Mayor.of London. 3 Keble, 434, 447, 470, 504; 2 Lev. 128; Freem. 389. But the court has wisely drew the line of distinction between civil constitutional liberty, as opposed to the power of the crown, and liberty as opposed to the violence and power of private persons. Wilmot's Opinions, 85, 86.

3. To secure the full benefit of it to the subject the statute 81 Car. II. c. 2, commonly calfed the habeas corpus act, was passed. This gave to the. writ the vigor, life, and efficacy requisite for the due protection of the liberty of the subject. In England this. is considered as a high prerogative writ, issuing out of the court of king's bench, in term time or vacation, and running into every part of the king's dominions. It is also grantable as a matter of right, ex debito justitae, upon the application of any person.

4. The interdict De homine libero exhibendo of the Roman law, was a remedy very similar to the writ of habeas corpus. When a freeman was restrained by another, contrary to good faith, the praetor ordered that such person should be brought before him that he might be liberated. Dig.43, 29, 1.

5. The habeas corpus act has been substantially incorporated into the jurisprudance of every state in the Union, and the right to the writ has been secured by most of the constitutions of the states, and of the United States. The statute of 31 Car. II. c. 2, provides that the person imprisoned, if he be not a prisoner convict, or in execution of legal process, or committed for treason or felony, plainly expressed in the warrant, or has not neglected wilfully, by the space of two whole terms after his imprisonment, to pray a habeas corpus for his enlargement, may apply by any one in his behalf, in vacation time, to a judicial officer for the writ of habeas corpus, and the officer, upon view of the copy of the warrant of commitment, or upon proof of denial of it after due demand, must allow the writ to be directed to the person in whose custody the party is detained, and made returnable immediately before him. And, in term time, any of the said prisoners may obtain his writ of habeas corpus, by applying to the proper court.

6. By the habeas corpus law of Pennsylvania, (the Act of February 18, 1785,) the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus is given in "all cases where any person, not being committed or detained for any criminal, or supposed criminal matter," Who "shall be confined or restrained of his or her liberty, under any color or pretence whatsoever." A similar provision is contained in the habeas corpus act of New York. Act of April 21, 1818, sect. 41, ch. 277.

7. The Constitution of the United State art. 1, s. 9, n. 2, provides, that " the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it and the same principle is contained in many of the state constitutions. In order still more to secure the citizen the benefit of this great writ, a heavy penalty is inflicted upon the judges who are bound to grant it, in case of refusal.

8. It is proper to consider, 1. When it is to be granted. 2. How it is to be served. 3. What return is to be made to it. 4. The bearing. 5. The effect of the judgment upon it.

9. - 1. The writ is to be granted whenever a person is in actual confinement, committed or detained as aforesaid, either for a criminal charge, or, as in Pennsylvania and New York, in all cases where he is confined or restrained of his liberty, under any color or pretence whatsoever. But persons discharged on bail will not be considered as restrained of their liberty so as to be entitled to, a writ of habeas corpus, directed to their bail. 3 Yeates, R. 263; 1 Serg & Rawle, 356.

10. - 2. The writ may be served by any free person, by leaving it with the person to whom it is directed, or left at the gaol or prison with any of the under officers, under keepers, or deputy of the said officers or keepers. In Louisiana, it is provided, that if the person to whom it is addressed shall refuse to receive the writ, he who is charged to serve it, shall inform him of its contents; if he to whom the writ is addressed conceal himself, or refuse admittance to the person charged to serve it on him, the latlat shall affix the order on the exterior of the place where the person resides, or in which the petitioner is so confined. Lo. Code of Pract. art. 803. The service is proved by the oath of the party making it.

11. - 3. The person to whom the writ is addressed or directed, is required to make a return to it, within the time prescribed; he either complies, or he does not. If, he complies, he must positively answer, 1. Whether he has or has not in his power or custody the person to be set at liberty, or whether that person is confined by him; if he return that he has not and has not had him in his power or custody, and the return is true, it is evident that a mistake was made in issuing the writ; if the return is false, he is liable to a penalty, and other punishment, for making such a, false return. If he return that he has such person in his custody, then he must show by his return, further, by what authority, and for what cause, he arrested or detained him. If he does not comply, he is to be considered in contempt of the court under whose seal the writ has been issued, and liable to a severe penalty, to be recovered by the party aggrieved.

12. - 4. When the prisoner is brought, before the judge, his judicial discretion commences, and he acts under no other responsibility than that which belongs to the exercise of ordinary judicial power. The judge or court before whom the prisoner is brought on a habeas corpus, examines the return and Papers, if any, referred to in it, and if no legal cause be shown for the imprisonment or restraint; or if it appear, although legally committed, he has not been prosecuted or tried within the periods required by law, or that, for any other cause, the imprisonment cannot be legally continued, the prisoner is discharged from custody. In the case of wives, children, and wards, all the court does, is to see that they ire under no illegal restraint. 1 Strange, 445; 2. Strange, 982; Wilmot's Opinions, 120.

13. For those offences which are bailable, when the prisoner offers sufficient bail, he is to be bailed.

14. He is to be remanded in the following cases: 1. When it appears he, is detained upon legal process, out of some court having jurisdiction of criminal matters, 2. When he is detained by warrant, under the hand and seal of a magistrate, for some offence for which, by law, the prisoner is not bailable. 3. When he is a convict in execution, or detained in execution by legal civil process. 4. When he is detained fora contempt, specially and plainly charged in the commitment, by some existing court, having authority to commit for contempt. 5. When he refuses or neglects to give the requisite bail in a case bailable of right. The judge is not confined to the return, but he is to examine into the causes of the imprisonment, and then he is to discharge, bail, or remand, as justice shall require. 2 Kent, Com. 26; Lo. Code of Prac. art. 819.

15. - 5. It is provided by the habeas corpus act, that a person set at liberty by the writ, shall not again be imprisoned for the same offence, by any person whomsoever, other than by the legal order and process of such court wherein he shall be bound by recognizance to appear, or other court having jurisdiction of the cause. 4 Johns. R. 318; 1 Binn. 374; 5 John. R.282.

16. The habeas corpus can be suspended only by authority of the legislature. The constitution of the United States provides, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in cases of invasion and rebellion, the public safety may require it. Whether this writ ought to be suspended depends on political considerations, of which the legislature, is to decide. 4 Cranch, 101. The proclamation of a military chief, declaring martial law, cannot, therefore, suspend the operation of the law. 1 Harr. Cond. Rep. Lo. 157, 159 3 Mart. Lo. R. 531.

17. There are various kinds of this writ; the principal of which are explained below.

18. Habeas corpus ad deliberandum et recipiendum, is a writ which lies to remove a prisoner to take his trial in the county where the offence was committed. Bac. Ab. Habeas Corpus, A.

19. Habeas corpus ad faciendum et recipiendum, is a writ which issues out of a court of competent jurisdiction, when a person is sued in an inferior court, commanding the inferior judges to produce the body of the defendant, together with the day and cause of his caption and detainer, (whence this writ is frequently denominated habeas corpus cum causa) to do and receive whatever the court or the judge issuing the writ shall consider in that behalf. This writ may also be issued by the bail of a prisoner, who has been taken upon a criminal accusation, in order to surrender him in his own discharge; upon. the return of this writ, the court will cause an exoneretur to be entered on the bail piece, and remand the prisoner to his former custody. Tidd's Pr. 405; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 182.

20. Habeas corpus ad prosequendum, is a writ which issues for the purpose of removing a prisoner in order to prosecute. 3 Bl. Com. 130.

21. Habeas corpus ad respondendum, is a writ which issues at the instance of a creditor, or one who has a cause of action against a person who is confined by the process of some inferior court, in order to remove the prisoner and charge him with this new action in the court above. 2 Mod.198; 3 Bl. Com. 107.

22. Habeas corpus ad satisfaciendum, is a writ issued at the instance of a plaintiff for the purpose of bringing up a prisoner, against whom a judgment has been rendered, in a superior court to charge him with the process of execution. 2 Lill. Pr. Reg. 4; 3 Bl. Com. 129, 130.

23. Habeas corpus ad subjiciendum, by way of eminence called the writ of habeas corpus, (q. v.) is a writ directed to the person detaining another, and commanding him to produce the body of the prisoner, with the day and cause of his caption and detention, ad faciendum, subjiciendum, et recipiendum, to do, submit to, and receive, whatsoever the judge or court awarding such writ shall consider in that behalf. 3 Bl. Com. 131; 3 Story, Const. §1333.

24. Habeas corpus ad testificandum, a writ issued for the purpose of bringing a prisoner, in order that he may testify, before the court. 3 Bl. Com. 130.

25. Habeas corpus cum causa, is a writ which may be issued by the bail of a prisoner, who has been taken upon a criminal accusation, in order to render him in their own discharge. Tidd's Pr. 405. Upon the return of this writ the court will cause an exoneretur to be entered on the bail piece, and remand the defendant to his former custody. Id. ibid.; 1 Chit. Cr. Law132. Vide, generally, Bac. Ab. h. t.; Vin. Ab. h. t.; Com. Dig. h. t.; Nels. Ab. h. t.; the various American Digests, h. t.; Lo. Code of Prac. art. 791 to 827; Dane's Ab. Index, h. t.; Bouv. Inst. Index, h. t.

HABENDUM, conveyancing. This is a Latin word, which signifies to have.

2. In conveyancing, it is that part of a deed which usually declares what estate or interest is granted by it, its certainty, duration, and to what use. It sometimes qualifies the estate, so that the general implication of the estate, which, by construction of law, passes in the premises, may by the habendum be controlled; in which case the habendum may enlarge the estate, but not totally contradict, or be repugnant to it. It may abridge the premises. Perk. §170 , 176; Br. Estate, 36 Cont. Co. Litt. 299. It may explain the premises. More, 43; 2 Jones, 4. It may enlarge the premises Co. Litt. 299; 2 Jones, 4. It may be frustrated by the premises, when they are general; Skin. 544 but it cannot frustrate the premises, though it may restrain them. Skin. 543. Its proper office is not to give anything, but to limit or define the certainty of the estate to the feoffee or grantee, who should be previously named in the premises of the deed, or it is void. Cro. Eliz. 903. In deeds and devises it is sometimes construed distributively, reddendo singula singulis. 1 Saund. 183-4, notes 3 and 4; Yelv. 183, and note 1.

3. The habendum commences in our common deeds, with the words "to have and to hold." 2 Bl. Com. 298.; 14 Vin. Ab. 143; Com. Dig. Fait, E 9; 2 Co.55 a; 8 Mass. R. 175; 1 Litt. R. 220; Cruise, Dig. tit. 32, c. 20, s. 69 to93; 5 Serg. & Rawle, 375; 2 Rolle, Ab. 65; Plowd. 153; Co. Litt. 183; Martin's N. C. Rep. 28; 4 Kent, Com. 456; 3 Prest. on Abstr. 206 to 210; 5 Barnw. & Cres. 709; 7 Greenl. R. 455; 6 Conn. R. 289; 6 Har. & J. l32; 3 Wend. 99.

HABERDASHER. A dealer in miscellaneous goods and merchandise.

HABERE. To have. This word is used in composition.

HABERE FACIAS POSSESSIONEM, Practice, remedies. The name of a writ of execution in the action of ejectment.

2. The sheriff, is commanded by this writ that, without delay, he cause the plaintiff to have possession of the land in dispute which is therein described; a fi. fa. or ca. sa. for costs may be included in the writ. The duty of the sheriff in the execution and return of that part of the writ, is the same as on a common fi. fa. or ca. sa. The sheriff is to execute this writ by delivering a full and, actual possession of the premises to the plaintiff. For this purpose he may break an outer or inner door of the house, and, should he be violently opposed, he may raise the posse comitatus. Wats. on Sher. 60, 215; 5 Co. 91 b.; 1 Leon. 145; 3 Bouv. Inst. n. 3375.

3. The name of this writ is abbreviated hab. fa. poss. Vide 10 Vin. Ab.14; Tidd's Pr. 1081, 8th Engl. edit.; 2 Arch. Pr. 58; 3 Bl. Com. 412; Bing. on Execut. 115, 252; Bac. Ab. h. t.

HABERE FACIAS SEISINAM, practice, remedies. The name of a writ of execution, used in most real actions, by which the sheriff is directed that he cause the demandant to have seisin of the lands which he has recovered.3 Bouv. Inst. n. 3374.

2. This writ may be taken out at any time within a year and day after judgment. It is to be executed nearly in the same manner as the writ of habere facias possessionem, and, for this purpose, the officer may break open the outer door of a house to deliver seisin to the demandant. 5 Co. 91 b; Com. Dig. Execution, E; Wats. Off. of Sheriff, 238. The name of this writ is abbreviated hab. fac. seis. Vide Bingh. on Exec. 115, 252; Bac. Ab. h. t.

HABERE FACIAS VISUM, practice. The name of a writ which lies when a view is to be taken of lands and tenements., F. N. B. Index, verbo View.

HABIT. A disposition or condition of the body or mind acquired by custom or a frequent repetition of the same act. See 2 Mart. Lo. Rep. N. S. 622.

2. The habit of dealing has always an important bearing upon the construction of commercial contracts. A ratification will be inferred from the mere habit of dealing between the parties; as, if a broker has been accustomed to settle losses on policies in a particular manner, without any objection being made, or with the silent approbation of his principal, and he should afterward settle other policies in the same manner, to which no objection should be made within a reasonable time, a just presumption would arise of an implied ratification; for if the principal did not agree to such settlement he should have declared his dissent. 2 Bouv. Inst. 1313-14.

HABITATION, civil law. It was the right of a person to live in the house of another without prejudice to the property.

2. It differed from a usufruct in this, that the usufructuary might have applied the house to any purpose, as, a store or manufactory; whereas the party having the right of habitation. could only use it for the residence of himself and family. 1 Bro. Civ. Law, 184 Domat. l. 1, t. 11, s. 2, n. 7.

HABITATION, estates. A dwelling-house, a home-stall. 2 Bl. Com. 4;4 Bl. Com. 220. Vide House.

HABITUAL DRUNKARD. A person given to ebriety or the excessive use of intoxicating drink, who has lost the power or the will, by frequent indulgence, to control his appetite for it.

2. By the laws of Pennsylvania an habitual drunkard is put nearly upon the same footing with a lunatic; he is deprived of his property, and a committee is appointed by the court to take care of his person and estate. Act of June 13, 1836, Pamph. p. 589. Vide 6 Watts' Rep. 139; 1 Ashm. R. 71.

3. Habitual drunkenness, by statutory provisions in some of the states, is a sufficient cause for divorce. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 296.

HABITUALLY. Customarily, by habit. or frequent use or practice, or so frequently, as to show a design of repeating the same act. 2 N. S. 622: 1 Mart. Lo. R. 149.

2. In order to found proceedings in lunacy, it is requisite that the insanity should be habitual, yet it is not necessary that it should be continued. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 379.

HAD BOTE, Engl. law. A recompense or amends made for violence offered to a person in holy olders.

HAEREDES PROXIMI. The children or descendants of the deceased. Dalr. Feud. Pr. 110; Spellm. Remains.

HAEREDES REMOTIORES. The kinsmen other than children or descendants; Dalr. Feud. Pr. 110; Spellm. Remains.

HAEREDITAS. An inheritance, or an estate which descends to one by succession. At common law an inheritance never ascends, haereditas nunquam ascendit. But in many of the states of the Union provision is made by statute in favor of ascendants.

HAEREDITAS JACENS. This is said of an inheritance which is not taken by the heirs, but remains in abeyance.

HAERES civil law. An heir, one who succeeds to the whole inheritance.

2. These are of various kinds. 1. Haeres natus, an heir born; the heir at law: he is distinguished from, 2. Haeres factus, or an heir created by will, a testamentary heir, to whom the whole estate of the testator is given. 3. Haeres fiduciarius, an heir to whom the estate is given in trust for another. Just. 2, 23, 1, 2. Haeres-legitimus, a lawful heir; this is one who is manifested by the marriage of his parents; haeres legitimus est quem nuptiae demonstrant; haeres suus, one's own heir, a proper heir; descendants. Just. 3, 1, 4, 5.

HALF. One equal part of a thing divided into two parts, either in fact or in contemplation. A moiety. This word is used in composition; as, half cent, half dime, &c.

HALF-BLOOD, parentage, kindred. When persons have only one parent in common, they are of the half-blood. For example, if John marry Sarah and has a son by that marriage, and after Sarah's death he marry Maria, and has by her another son, these children are of the half-blood; whereas two of the children of John and Sarah would be of the whole blood.

2. By the English common law, one related to an intestate of the half-blood only, could never inherit, upon the presumption that he is not of the blood of the original purchaser; but this rule has been greatly modified by the 3 and 4 Wm. IV. c. 106.

3. In this country the common law principle on this subject may be considered as not in force, though in some states some distinction is still preserved between the whole and the half-blood. 4 Kent, Com. 403, n.; 2 Yerg. 115; 1 M'Cord, 456; Dane's Ab. Index, h. t.; Reeves on Descents, passim. Vide Descents.

HALF-BROTHER AND HALF-SISTER. Persons who have the same father but different mothers; or the same mother but different fathers.

HALF CENT, money. A copper coin of the United States, of the value of one two-hundredth part of a dollar, or five mills. It weighs eighty-four grains. Act of January 18, 1837, s. 12, 4 Sharswood's cont. of Story's L. U. S. 2523, 4. Vide Money.

HALF DEFENCE, pleading. It is the peculiar form of a defence, which is as follows, "venit et defendit vim et injuriam, et dicit," &c. It differs from full defence. Vide Defence; Et cetera;

HALF DIME, money. A silver coin of the United States, of the value of one- twentieth part of a dollar, or five cents. It weighs twenty grains and five-eighths of a grain. Of one thousand parts, nine hundred are of pure silver, and one hundred are of alloy. Act of January 18, 1837, s. 8 and 9,4 Sharswood's cont. of Story's L. U. S. 2523, 4. Vide Money.

HALF DOLLAR, money. A silver coin of the United States of the value of fifty cents. It weighs two hundred and six and one-fourth grains. Of one thousand parts, nine hundred are of pure silver, and one hundred of alloy. Act of January 18, 1837, S. 8 and 9, 4 Sharsw. cont. of Story's L. U. S.2523, 4. Vide Money.

HALF EAGLE, money. A gold coin of the United States, of the value of five dollars. It weighs one hundred and twenty-nine grains. Of one thousand parts, nine hundred are of pure gold, and one hundred of alloy. Act of January 18, 1837, 4 Sharsw. cont. of Story's L. U. S. 2523, 4. Vide Money.

HALF PROOF, semiplena probatio, civil law. Full proof is that which is sufficient to end the controversy, while half proof is that which is insufficient, as the foundation of a sentence or decree, although in itself entitled to some credit. Vicat, voc. Probatio.

HALF SEAL. A seal used in the English chancery for the sealing of commissions to delegates appointed upon any appeal, either in ecclesiastioal or marine causes.

HALF YEAR, In the computation of time, a half year consists of one hundred and eighty-two days. Co. Litt. 135 b; Rev. Stat., of N. Y. part 1, c. 19, t. 1. §3.

HALL. A public building used either for the meetings of corporations, courts, or employed to some public uses; as the city hall, the town hall. Formerly this word denoted the chief mansion or habitation.

HALLUCINATION, med. jur. It is a species of mania, by which "an idea reproduced by the memory is associated and embodied by the imagination." This state of mind is sometimes called delusion or waking dreams.

2. An attempt has been made to distinguish hallucinations from illusions; the former are said to be dependent on the state of the intellectual organs and, the latter, on that of those of sense. Ray, Med. Jur. §99; 1 Beck, med. Jur. 538, note. An instance is given of a temporary hallucination in the celebrated Ben Johnson, the poet. He told a friend of his that he had spent many a night in looking at his great toe, about which he had seen Turks and Tartars, Romans and Carthagenians, fight, in his imagination. 1 Coll. on Lun. 34. If, instead of being temporary, this affection of his mind had been permanent, he would doubtless have been considered insane. See, on the subject of spectral illusions, Hibbert, Alderson and Farrar's Essays; Scott on Demonology, &c.; Bostock's Physiology, vol. 3, p. 91, 161;1 Esquirol, Maladies Mentales, 159.

HALMOTE. The name of a court among the Saxons. It had civil and criminal jurisdiction.

HAMESUCKEN, Scotch law. The crime of hamesucken consists in "the felonious seeking and invasion of a person in his dwelling house." 1 Hume,312; Burnett, 86; Alison's Princ. of the Cr. Law of Scotl. 199.

2. The mere breaking into a house, without personal violence, does not constitute the offence, nor does the violence without an entry with intent to, commit an assault. It is the combination of both which completes the crime. 1. It is necessary that the invasion of the house should have proceeded from forethought malice; but it is sufficient, if, from any illegal motive, the violence has been meditated, although it may not have proceeded from the desire of wreaking personal revenge, properly so called.2. The place where the assault was committed must have been the proper dwelling house of the party injured, and not a place of business, visit, or occasional residence. 3. the offence maybe committed equally in the day as in the night, and not only by effraction of the building by actual force but by an entry obtained by fraud, with the intention of inflicting personal violence, followed by its perpetration. 4. But unless the injury to the person be of a grievous and material, character, it is not hamesucken, though the other requisites to the crime have occurred. When this is the case, it is immaterial whether the violence be done lucri causä, or from personal spite. 5. The punishment of hamesucken in aggravated cases of injury, is death in cases of inferior atrocity, an arbitrary punishment. Alison's Pr. of Cr. Law of Scotl. ch. 6; Ersk. Pr. L. Scotl. 4, 9, 23. This term wag formerly used in England instead of the now modern term burglary. 4 Bl. Com. 223.

HAMLET, Eng. law. A small village; a part or member of a vill.

HANAPER OFFICE, Eng.law. This is the name of one of the offices belonging to the English court of chancery. 3 Bl. Com. 49.

HAND. That part of the human body at the end of the arm.

2. Formerly the hand was considered as the symbol of good faith, and some contracts derive their names from the fact that the hand was used in making them; as handsale, (q. v.) mandatum, (q. v.) which comes from ä manu datä. The hand is still used for various legal or forensic purposes. When a person is accused of a crime and he is arraigned, and he is asked to hold up his right hand; and when one is sworn as a witness, he is required to lay his right hand on the Bible, or to hold it up.

3. Hand is also the name of a measure of length used in ascertaining the height of horses. It is four inches long. See Measure: Ell.

4. In a figurative sense, by hand is understood a particular form of writing; as if B writes a good hand. Various kinds of hand have been used, as, the secretary hand, the Roman hand, the court hand, &c. Wills and contracts may be written in any of these, or any other which is intelligible.

HANDBILL. A printed or written notice put up on walls, &c., in order to inform those concerned of something to be done.

HANDSALE, contracts. Anciently, among all the northern nations, shaking of hands was held necessary to bind a bargain; a custom still retained in verbal contracts; a sale thus made was called handsale, venditio per mutuam manum complexionem. In process of time the same word was used to signify the price or earnest which was given immediately after the shaking of hands, or instead thereof. In some parts of the country it is usual to speak of hand money as the part of the consideration paid or to be paid at the execution of a contract of sale. 2 Bl. Com. 448. Heineccius, de Antique Jure Germanico, lib. 2, §335; Toull. Dr. Civ. Fr. liv. 3, t. 3, c. 2, n.33.

HANDWRITING, evidence. Almost every person's handwriting has something whereby it may be distinguished from the writing of others, and this difference is sometimes intended by the term.

2. It is sometimes necessary to prove that a certain instrument or name is in the handwriting of a particular person; that is done either by the testimony of a witness, who saw the paper or signature actually written, or by one who has by sufficient means, acquired such a knowledge of the general character of the handwriting of the party, as will enable him to swear to his belief, that the handwriting of the person is the handwriting in question. 1 Phil. Ev. 422; Stark. Ev. h. t.; 2 John. Cas. 211; 5 John. R. 144; 1 Dall. 14; 2 Greenl. R. 33; 6 Serg. & Rawle, 668; 1 Nott & M'Cord,554; 19 Johns. R. 134; Anthon's N. P. 77; 1 Ruffin's R. 6; 2 Nott & M'Cord,400; 7 Com. Dig. 447; Bac. Ab. Evidence, M; Dane's Ab. Index, h. t.

HANGING, punishment. Death by the halter, or the suspending of a criminal, condemned to suffer death, by the neck, until life is extinct. A mode of capital punishment.

HANGMAN. The name usually given to a man employed by the sheriff to put a man to death, according to law, in pursuance of a judgment of a competent court, and lawful warrant. The same as executioner. (q. v.)

HAP. An old word which signifies to catch; as, "to hap the rent," to hap the deed poll." Techn. Dict. h. t.

HARBOR. A place where ships may ride with safety; any navigable water protected by the surrounding country; a haven. (q. v.) It is public property. 1. Bouv. Inst. n. 435.

To HARBOR, torts. To receive clandestinely or without lawful authority a person for the purpose of so concealing him that another having a right to the lawful custody of such person, shall be deprived of the same; for example, the harboring of a wife or an apprentice, in order to deprive the hushand or the master of them; or in a less technical sense, it is the reception of persons improperly. 10 N. H. Rep. 247; 4 Scam. 498.

2. The harboring of such persons will subject the barborer to an, action for the injury; but in order to put him completely in the wrong, a demand should be made for their restoration, for in cases where the harborer has not committed any other wrong than merely receiving the plaintiff's wife, child, or apprentice, he may be under no obligation to return them without a demand. 1 Chit. Pr. 564; Dane's Ab. Index, h. t.; 2 N. Car. Law Repos.249; 5 How. U. S. Rep. 215, 227.

HARD LABOR, punishment. In those states where the penitentiary system has been adopted, convicts who are to be imprisoned, as part of their punishment, are sentenced to perform hard labor. This labor is not greater than many freemen perform voluntarily, and the quantity required to be performed is not at all unreasonable. In the penitentiaries of Pennsylvania it consists in being employed in weaving, shoemaking, and such like employments.

HART. A stag or male deer of the forest five years old complete.

HAT MONEY, mar. law. The name of a small duty paid to the captain and mariners of a ship, usually called primage. (q. v.)

TO HAVE. These words are used in deeds for the conveyance of land, in that clause which usually declared for what estate the land is granted. The same as Habendum. (q. v.) Vide Habendum; Tenendum.

HAVEN. A place calculated for the reception of ships, and so situated, in regard to the surrounding land, that the vessel may ride at anchor in it in safety. Hale, de Port. Mar. c. 2; 2 Chit. Com. Law, 2; 15 East, R. 304, 5. Vide Creek; Port; Road.

HAWKERS. Persons going from place to place with goods and merchandise for sale. To prevent impositions they are generally required to take out licenses, under regulations established by the local laws of the states.

HAZARDOUS CONTRACT, civil law. When the performance of that which is one of its objects, depends on an uncertain event, the contract is said to be hazardous. Civ. Co. of Lo. art. 1769 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 707.

2. When a contract is hazardous, and the lender may lose all or some part of his principal, it is lawful for him to charge more than lawful interest for the use of his money. Bac. Ab. Usury D; 1 J. J. Marsh, 596; 3 J. J. Marsh, 84.

HEAD BOROUGH, English law. Formerly he was a chief officer of a borough, but now he is an officer subordinate to constable. St. Armand, Hist. Essay on the Legisl. Power of Eng. 88.