The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

CASE OF REVOCATION OF USES. 281
declaration, or making void, the feoffees shall governs the clause precedent of the power, and
stand seised to such new uses; ita quod, her or that it makes it wait and expect otherwise than
his son, within six months after such declaration, as by way of inception, but the effect and opeor making void shall assure, within the same ration is suspended, till that part also be pertown, tantum terrarum et tenementorum, et sireilis formed; and if otherwise, then I say plainly,
valoris, as were so revoked, to the uses expressed you shall not construe by fractions; but the whole
in the first conveyance. clause and power is void, not in tanto, but in toto.
Sir John Stanhope, his son, revokes the land in Of the first of them I will give four reasons.
Burrough-ash, and other parcels not exceeding The first reason is, that the wisdom of the law
the value of twenty pounds, and within six months useth to transpose words according to the sense;
assures to my lady and to the former uses Burton- and not so much to respect how the words do
joice and other lands; and the jury have found take place, but how the acts, which are guided
that the lands revoked contain twice so much in by those words, may take place.
number of acres, and twice so much in yearly Hill and Graunger's case, eomment. Hilland
value, as the new lands, but yet that the new 171. A man in August makes a lease, Graunger's
lands are rented at twenty-one pounds, and find rendering ten pounds rent yearly to be 171.
the lands of Burrough-ash now out of lease for- paid at the feasts of Annunciation and Michaelmerly made: and that no notice of this new assu- mas; these words shall be inverted by law, as if
rance was given before the ejectment, but only they had been set thus, at Michaelmas and the
that Sir John Stanhope had, by word, told his Annunciation: for else he cannot have a rent
mother that such an assurance was made, not yearly; for there will be fourteen months to the
showing or delivering the deed. first year.
The question is, Whether Burrough-ash be Fitzwilliams's case, 2 Jac. Co. p. 6, Fitzmilliams's
case, 2 Jac. Co.
well revoked t Which question divides itself f. 33, it was contained in an indenture p. 6, f. 33,
into three points. of uses, that Sir William Fitzwilliams should
First, whether the ita quod be a void and idle have power to alter, and change, revoke, deterclause 3 for if so, then there needs no new assu- mine, and make void the uses limited: the words
rance, but the revocation is absolute per se. are placed disorderly; for it is in nature first to
The next is, if it be an effectual clause, whe- determine the uses, and after to change them by
ther it be pursued or no t wherein the question limitation of new. But the chief question being
will rest, whether the value of the reassured lands in the book, whether it might be done by the same
shall be only computed by rents. deed; it is admitted and thought not worth the
And the third is, if in other points it should be speaking to, that the law shall marshal the acts
well pursued, yet whether the revocation can against the order of the words, that is, first to
work until a sufficient notice of the new as- make void, then to limit.
surance 3 So if I convey land and covenant with you to
And I shall prove plainly, that ita quod stands make farther assurance, so that you require it of
well with the power of revocation; and if it me, there, though the request be placed last, yet
should fall to the ground, it draws all the rest of it must be acted first.
the clause with it, and makes the whole void, and So if I let land to you for a term, and say, farcannot be void alone by itself. ther, it shall be lawful for you to take twenty
I shall prove likewise that the value must needs timber trees to erect a new tenement upon the
be accounted not a tale value, or an arithmetical land, so that my bailiff do assign you where you
value by the rent, but a true value in quantity and shall take them, here the assignment, though last
quality. placed, must precede. And, therefore, the gramAnd, lastly, that a notice is of necessity, as this imarians do infer well upon the word period, which
case is. is a full and complete clause or sentence, that
I will not deny, but it is a great power of wit it is complexus orationis circularis: for as in a
to make clear things doubtful; but it is the true lfircle there is not prius norposterius, so in one senuse of wit to make doubtful things clear, or at tence you shall not respect the placing of words;
least to maintain things that are clear to be clear, but though the words lie in length, yet the sense
as they are. And in that kind I conceive my is round, so as prirnma erunt novissima et novissima
labour will be in this case, which I hold to be a prima. For though you cannot speak all at once
case rather of novelty than difficulty, and, there- so, yet you must construe and judge upon all at
fore, may require argument, but will not endure once.
much argument, but, to speak plainly to my To apply this; I say these words, so that,
understanding, as the case hath no equity in it, though loco et textauposteriora, yet they bepotestate
I might say piety, so it hath no great doubt in et sensue priora: as if they had been penned thus,
law. that it shall be lawful for Sir Thomas Stanhope,
First, therefore, this it is, that I affirm that the so that he assure lands, &c., to revoke; and what;lause so that, itaquod, containing the recompense, difference between, so that he assure, he may
VoL. III.-36 2 A 2