90

TENURES OF LANDED PROPERTY

SECT. II.

OF THE TENURES, BY WHICH LANDED PROPERTYIS HELD.

According to writers on the law of Scotland , all the landsin the kingdom, unless where held allodially , that is, inde-pendent of any superior, are theoretically considered as origi-nally belonging to the crown ; hence all right in land is de-rived from that source. Where land is possessed allodially,mere occupancy is sufficient, and it does not require any char-ter to vest or constitute the right. The property of the crown,and all superiorities still reserved by the king or prince, areconsidered therefore as allodial, likewise all churches, church-yards, manses, or parsonage houses, and glebe lands belong-ing to the clergy.

But land is generally held by feudal titles, as the spirit ofthe feudal law still continues to regulate the Scotch civil in-stitutions relative to landed property; and the tenures bywhich such property is held in Scotland are still in a greatmeasure founded on the principles of that system. These te-nures are either General , as 1. Feu-holding; 2. Blanch-hold-ing; 3. Burgage; and 4. Mortmain: or Local, as, 1. TheUdal; and 2. The Lochmaben species of tenure*.

1 . General Tenures.

1 . Veii-holding. The most ancient feudal tenure in Scot-land , was by military service; for all vassals were at first ob-liged, by the nature of their grant, to serve the superior in

* Wadset is no tenure, being a redeemable conveyance of land, to be held bytile ordinary tenures.