LETTER
into some other order of religion. Jacob.—Lettern of correspondence. In Scotch law. l.r:l'Iers are admissible Ln evidence against the panel. i. 6., the prisoner at the bar, in criminal uuls. A letter uritten by the )DD(3l is (ltyllcfl against him: not so one win a thiid p-ivy found in his possession. Bell —Letters of fire and sword. See FIRE awn Swoixn. —Lettera of request. A formal ll.lSllIlI\H,‘l.\iC b_\ which an infeiior junlge of ecclt ' risrlictiun requests the judge of a sup In take and determine any mutter VllllCl.l has eb_v waiving or remitting This is a mode of begin-
in the court of arches. tory courL—Letters of gate conduct. No subject of a nation at war will) England can, by the law of nations, come inm l'llt' reului. nor can tiavel himself upon the lJl_JlI seas, or send his goods and merchandise from uflr place to another, without danger of lining seized. unless he has letters of safe con,- durl. nhicb, by divers old statutes, must he gi-inted under the great seal, and enrolled in t‘ll'il.IC€l'\', or else are of no effect: the sovereign being the best judge of such emergencies as may deserve exemption from the general law of arms. But passports or iicenses from the ambassadors uhroad are now moie usually ob- tained, and are allowed to be of equal validity. \\liiir1on.—Letters of slslns, or slanes. lrlteis subscribed by the relatives of a person who had becn sl.-iin. decliiring that they had received an nssythnient. nnd concurring in an i1[i|)ll("ltiDl] to the crown for [1 pardon to the offender These or other evidenecs of their cnuciirrenre were necessary to found the appli- i-itinn. Bcll.—Letters rag:-itory. A formal communication in writing, sent by a court in uhirli an action is pending to a court or jud':_e of a foreign country, requesting that the _testi- rnony of B, witness resident within the Jui’is- diction of the hitter court may he there formally taken under its direction and transmitted to the First court for use in the pending action. This process was also In use. at an eiirly p_eri- between the several states of the Union. L request rests entirely upon the coinity of courts towards each other See Union Square Bank v Itcichrnann. 9 App. Div 596. 41 v. Y. Supp. 6(12.—Letters testamentary. The formid instrument of authority and appointment [!l\El1 to an executor by the pi-npcr_u)urt, empmverloi: him to enter upon the discharge of his office as executor. It corresponds to letters of administration granted to an administrator.
As to letters of "Adininistrat.ion." "Ad- rice" "Attoi-ney," "Credit." "Uoruiug." "Recomnie1idation." see those titles. As to "Letters Patent." see PATENT.
LETTING OUT. The act of awarding a contract; 3, g.. [1 construction contract, or contract for carrying the mails.
l’..E.'I.'I‘R]-:. Fr. In French law. A letter. It is used. like our English "leiter." for a foriiial instrument giving authority.
—Lettx-es de cachet. Letters issued and signed by the kings of France, and conntersigned b_\ a secretary of state, authorizing the impris- onment of a person. It is said that they were devised by Pt-re Joseph, under the administration of Richelieu. They were at first made use of occasionally as a means of delaying the course of justice: but during the reign of Louis XIV, they were obtained by any person of sulfi- Cient infiucnce with the king or his ministers. Under them, persons were imprisoned for life or for a long period on the most frivolous pretexts, for tho grntificcition of private ‘pique or revenge, and without any reason [icing assigned
713
LEVATO VE LO
for such punishment. They were also granted ‘by the king for the purpose of shielding his favorites or their friends from the consequences of their crimes; and thus were as pernicious in their operuiion us the protection ntfonled hr the church to criminals in a former age. Abolished during the Revolution of 17.59. Wharton.
LEUCA. In old French law. A league, consisting of fifteen hundred paces. Spelninn.
In old English law. A league or mile of a thousand paces. Domesday; S[JEl!Il.l]J.
A privileged space around a monastery of a league or mile in circuit Spelinan.
LEVANDE NAVIS CAUSA. Lat. For the sake of lightening the ship; denotes a purpose of throwing overboard goods, which rcndcrs them subjects of general average.
LEVANT ET COUCHANT. L. Fr. Rising up and lying down. A term applied to trespassing cattle which have remained long enough upon land to have lain down to rest and risen up to feed; generally the space of B, night and a day, or, at least. one night.
LEVANTES ET C'U'BANTl-IS. Rising up and lying down. A term applied to cattle. 3 Bl. Comm. 9. The Latin equivalent of "lawn: et coucliant."
LEVARI FACIAS. Lat. A Writ of ex- ecution directing the sberill’ to cause to be inmle of the lands and chattels of the judgment debtor the sum recovered by the judgment. Peiitland v. Kelly. 6 Watts & S. (Pa.) 484.
Also a writ to the bishop of the diocese.
commanding him to enter into the benefice of a judgment debtor, and take and sequester the same into his possession, and hold the same until be sbnll bavc le\ied the amount of the judgment out of the rents. tithes, and profits thereof. —L-wind fsoias dzimna de disseisitorzllms. A \\rit fn1i.nei'|y directed to the sheriff for the le\_\ing of damages. nhicb a dissi-isor had been Condemned [0 pay to the disseisee_ Co‘.rvll.— Lava:-i fncins qnantlo vioecomes returna- vit quad non liabuit amptores. An old writ coiniiinurling the sheritf to scll the goods of a debtor which he had already taken, and had returned that he could not sell them; and as much more of the dcbtor's goods as would satisfy the whole debt. Cowell_—Leviu'i facial residuum dehiti. An old writ directed to the sheriff for levyin the remnant of a partly- siitisfied deht upon t e lands and tenements or chattels of the debtor. Cowell.
L]-IVATO VELO. Lat. An expression used in the Roman law, and applied to the trial of wreck and salvage. Commentators disagree about the origin of the expression: but all agree that its general meaning is that these causes sball he heard summarily. The most probable solution is that it refers to the place Where causes were heard. A sail was spread before the door and offict-rs employed to keep strangers from the tribu-
