HC Deb 11 February 1830 vol 22 cc368-9
The Solicitor General

moved for leave to bring in a Bill to facilitate the Payment of Debts out of Real Estates. A few words would suffice to explain its object. He proposed to extend to Covenants the Act of William and Mary, which at present only related to Bonds; for, by the Statute of William, the Bond Debts of an Estate, even in the case of the heir being an infant, were recoverable in Equity, but not Covenants, which were held liable in Common Law. He proposed to extend the power of the Courts of Equity to Covenants, and to enable them to give a title to the estates of the infant which were sold under their jurisdiction. At present, by a strange anomaly, the Court of Chancery possessed and exercised the power of selling the infant's estate, but could not give a title; so that a purchaser was obliged to wait till the infant became twenty-one years of age. He proposed to remedy that defect, and also to grant the Court of Chancery the power of giving a title in the case of devised property. The next object on which he begged leave to say he had expended many weeks' consideration was, to extend the 6th of his present Majesty, which was itself an extension of the Statute of Anne, so as to make the contracts of heirs liable out of their real estates, and to invest the Court of Chancery with the power of giving a title. The giving the Great Seal the power of granting a title, in cases of sales effected under its jurisdiction, of the property of infants, femes covert and lunatics, was the next object of his Bill. He also proposed to give it the same power in the cases of infant and lunatic trustees and mortgagees. At present lunatics were liable for all contracts entered into when in a state of sanity; but the Great Seal, under whose jurisdiction their property fell, had not the power of granting a title, though they exercised that of sale. The hon. and learned Gentleman concluded by moving, for leave to bring in three other Bills:—First, a Bill to facilitate the Payment of Debts out of Real Estate;—Second, a Bill to amend the Law relating to the Property of Infants, Femes-covert, and Lunatics; Thirdly, a Bill to amend the Law relating to Lunatic and Infant Trustees and Mortgagees. The Motion was agreed to.