since inspection, to have been swept away by a flood or destroyed by fire.

And when a clear mistake appears on the face of a will, or may be made out from the terms used by the testator-such words being construed so as to give effect to his intentionequity will rectify the mistake.

ACTUAL FRAUD.

An actual fraud is defined as "something said, done, or omitted with the intention of committing what must have been known to be a positive fraud."

Actual frauds may arise through some peculiar relationship between the parties injured and another party, or without reference to any such relationship.

Instances of the first kind occur in the case of bargains or contracts made with persons of unsound mind, of weak intellect, or in such a state of drunkenness as to have temporarily lost their reasoning powers; or where advantage is taken of the extreme necessity of the party. In these cases the free and full consent of one of the parties is wanting, and therefore equity will, as a general rule, set aside the contract or other act; but in some of these instances no relief will be granted unless the attendant circumstances show that some fraudulent advantage was taken.

As to actual frauds of the second class, misrepresentation is a common instance; it is a ground for relief in equity, and that whether the party who made the statement knew it to be false or not—if it was his duty to know the truth.

For instance, if a man is induced to contract for the purchase of an estate, or to agree to give an unreasonable price for it through a material misrepresentation made by the vendor, a court of equity will not compel him to carry out his contract; and, where the misrepresentation is of a gross nature, the court may set aside the contract altogether.

But the misrepresentation must be of some material fact, and must not be a mere matter of opinion or puffing statement, of the reliability of which either the purchaser or his agent could judge upon an ordinary inspection of the property.

A contract may also be set aside on the ground of the nondisclosure of some material fact; but the contracts affected by such non-disclosure are of a class in which the strictest good faith is required, such as contracts of insurance-of whatever kind, and also contracts for the sale of land; in the latter case, if a vendor should sell an estate to which he knows he has no title, the suppression of this fact would render the contract liable to be set aside.

INADEQUACY OF PRICE GENERALLY IMMATERIAL.

Equity will not, as a rule, interfere on the ground of inade-quacy of price alone, especially where the sale is made by public auction; for the vendor may be willing to sell for whatever the land or other property will fetch, while the purchaser may be unwilling to deal unless he can get a bargain.

But where the price is so disproportionate to the real value as to amount to conclusive evidence of fraud, or where the party is pressed to sell, and in like cases, the contract will be set aside in equity. For instance, if an ignorant man were persuaded to sell a valuable diamond to a dealer for considerably less than its fair market value, he might come into equity for relief.

CONSTRUCTIVE FRAUD.

The following are instances of what are, in equity, termed "construcive frauds," and are therefore either void or at least liable to be set aside.

Contracts to pay money on procuration of a marriagecalled "marriage brocage"; or to pay money to a parent or guardian in order to obtain his consent to the marriage of his child or ward; contracts in general restraint of marriage; and those in unreasonable restraint of trade, or for buying, selling, or procuring public offices, are void both at law and in equity.

Contracts between parent and child, guardian and ward, physician and patient, or trustee and cestui que trust are liable to be set aside unless the party taking benefit under the contract (i.e., the parent, guardian, etc.) can show that the strictest good faith was observed, and that there was no improper advantage taken or exercise of undue influence on his part.

And an agent employed to purchase or sell an estate may not sell his own property to his principal, nor may he buy the property of his principal-unless in either case he does so openly and in good faith, fully disclosing all material facts to the latter.

There is also a class of constructive frauds of which the following are instances, viz.: contracts with common sailors, bargains with persons to become entitled to property upon the death of some other person-made during the life of the latter; and agreements at public auctions by one person not to bid against another.

In the latter instance the agreement is void; and in the former, the party benefitted must be prepared to show tnat the contract was reasonable and that no undue advantage was taken.

GIFTS BY DYING PERSONS OR DONATIONS MORTIS

CAUSA.

A "donatio mortis causâ," or gift made in contemplation of death, is a gift which is made upon the condition (express or implied) that it shall be absolute (or irrevocable) only in case of the death of the giver.

Such gifts must be perfected by delivery to the donee during the lifetime of the donor.

For instance, A, being seriously ill, and having but faint hopes of recovery, hands B a cheque for £1000; this is a good donation mortis causâ, if cashed or otherwise negotiated in A's lifetime.

Subject to the above-mentioned essentials, ordinary personal chattels such as jewellery, horses, carriages, etc., mortgage deeds of real property, or negotiable instruments—such as promissory notes and bills of exchange, may constitute good donations mortis causâ.

Such gifts are revocable during the giver's lifetime, liable. to the payment of his debts-if his other assets are insufficient for this purpose, and are subject to probate or administration duty.

Delivery to the donee himself, or to some person as trustee or agent for him, is a good delivery.

LEGACIES.

Unless the executor has given his assent to it, no action will lie at common law to recover a legacy; and where the legacy is subject to an express or implied trust or is charged on land, courts of equity have exclusive jurisdiction.

A

A legacy may be general, specific, or demonstrative. bequest of "£100 to A" simply is a general legacy; if the testator's assets are insufficient to pay debts and certain other legacies which have priority, the general legacies will be liable to abate proportionately, i.e., the legatees may have to be content with less than the sums bequeathed to them.

A specific legacy is a bequest of a specific thing or sum of money, e.g., bequest to A of "my diamond ring" or of "my shares in the X bank"; such legacies are liable to what is termed "ademption" in the testator's lifetime, i.e., he may sell the ring or the shares and the legatee will be entitled to no compensation.

A demonstrative legacy occurs where the testator directs that the bequest be paid out of some particular fund; e.g., bequest of "£500 to С out of £1000 deposited by me with the X bank." Such legacies are not liable to ademption, it being considered that the testator intended that the legatee should have the legacy in any event, but may become subject to abate

ment in common with the general legacies, in case the fund out. of which it is payable should fail or be required for payment of debts.

Legacies charged on land bear interest at the rate of four per cent. from the death of the testator; general legacies, not charged on land, carry interest at the same rate as from one year after his decease.

CONTINGENT AND VESTED LEGACIES.

If a bequest be made to a person "if or when he attains the age of twenty one years," the legacy is contingent; and if the legatee dies before attaining that age, the legacy will lapse, even though he survives the testator.

But if the legacy is "to be paid when he attains the age of twenty-one years," it is vested; therefore, if the legatee dies under that age, his representatives will be entitled to receive the legacy.

DEFINITION OF LEGACY, ETC.

A "legacy" is a gift (usually called a "bequest") of goods: and chattels-including chattels real, e.g., leasehold property -made by will; the person to whom the legacy is given is called the "legatee."

A "devise," on the other hand, is a gift of real estate by will, the person to whom the property is given being called the "devisee.'

INJUNCTION.

An injunction is a writ issuing under an order of a court of equity in order to prevent a party from doing or continuing some act, or commanding him to perform some act; in the first case the injunction is called a negative, in the second a mandatory, injunction.

The following are instances in which an injunction is the appropriate remedy, viz.: to restrain legal proceedings taken in respect of a deed or other instrument obtained by fraud or undue influence; to enforce a contract, e.g., covenants to-obtain beer and spirits from a certain person exclusively-in this case, though the court cannot compel the party to obtain supplies of such commodities from the plaintiff, it can prevent him from obtaining them elsewhere; to prevent the commission of waste; to restrain the doing of an act which, if permitted, will amount to a nuisance; or to remove a nuisance, e.g., to demolish chemical works; and to restrain the infringement of copyrights, patents, or trade marks.

As previously stated, an injunction may also we claimed at common law; but in some cases the plaintiff can only obtain complete relief in equity.

It is no longer necessary to serve a writ of injunction on the defendant; service of the decree directing the injunction or even notice of it will suffice.

PROCEEDINGS IN A SUIT IN EQUITY.

A suit in equity is begun by a statement of claim which is filed by the plaintiff; this sets forth all the material facts upon which his claim is founded, and concludes with a prayer for specific and general relief.

The defendant then enters an appearance with a memorandum indorsed thereon to the effect that he disputes or admits the plaintiff's claim; after this has been done the defendant may then file a demurrer, a plea, or a statement of defence on oath; the latter course is usually adopted.

The plaintiff then files his reply to the statement of defence, etc., if necessary; a joinder of issue is then usually filed as in an action at common law, after which no further pleading may be filed without leave of the court.

It then remains for the plaintiff to set the suit down for hearing, and to notify the defendant of the fact.

Estates in Land.

An estate in land signifies "such interest as the tenant has therein.' The estates which may be held in land according to our law are estates in fee simple, in fee-tail, for life, for years, at will, and at sufferance.

A freehold estate or freehold may be for life, in fee-tail, or in fee simple. Premising that there is no such thing as absolute ownership of lands, but that an estate only can be held in them, the above estates will now be considered briefly in the order given.

ESTATE IN FEE SIMPLE.

An estate in fee simple (usually termed a fee simple without any other addition) is an estate granted to a man and his heirs generally.

The word heirs now serves merely to show that a fee simple is intended to be given and confers no benefit on the persons answering to that description at the grantee's death.

All such estates are now held immediately of the Crown, and when alienated are held by the alienee (purchaser, devisee, etc.), in the same manner.

This is the most extensive estate that a man can hold in land; the tenant may carve out of it a series of smaller estates, or any smaller estate, such as an estate-tail, life-estate, etc.