Compulsion

The forcible in-
ducement to an act.

2. — Compulsion may be lawful or
unlawful. 1 . When a man is compelled
by law ful authority to do that which
he ought to do, that compulsion does
not alleet the validity of the act; as
for example, when a court of compe-
tent jurisdiction compels a party to
execute a deed, under the pain of at-
tachment for contempt, the granter
cannot object to it on the ground of
compulsion. 2. Hut if the court com-
pelled a party to do an act forbidden
by law, or not having jurisdiction over
the parties or the subject-matter, the
act done by such compulsion would be
void. Bowy. Mod. C. L. 305.

3. — Compulsion is never presumed.
Coercion , (q. v.)

COM PU RGATOR . Formerly when
a person was accused of a crime, or
sued in a civil action, he might purge
himself upon oath of the accusation
made against him, whenever the proof
was not the most clear and positive ;
and if upon his oath ho declared him-
self innocent, he was absolved.

2. — This usage, so eminently calcu-
lated to create fraud, and encourage
purjury by impunity, was soon found
to he dangerous to the public safety.
To remove this evil the laws were
changed, by requiring that the oath
should be administered with the great-
est solemnity ; hut the form was soon
disregarded, for the mind became easily
familiarized to those ceremonies winch

at first imposed on the imagination,
and those who cared not to violate the
truth did not hesitate to treat the form
with contempt; in order to give a
greater weight to the oath of the ac-
cused, the law was again altered so as
to require that the accused should ap-
pear before the judge with a certain
number of his neighbours, relations or
friends; who should swear that they
believed that the accused had sworn
truly- This new species of witnesses
were called compurgators.

3. — The number of compurgators
varied according to the nature of the
charge and other circumstances. En-
cyclopedic, h. t. Vide Du Cange, Gloss,
voc. Juramcntum; Spel man’s Gloss, voc.
Assarth ; Mori. Rep mot Conjurntcurs.

4. — By the English law, when a
party was sued in debt or simple con-
tract, detinue, and jHjrlmps some other

I forms of action, the defendant might
wage his law, by producing eleven
compurgators who would swear they
believed him on his oath, by which he
discharged himself from the action in
certain cases. Vide 3 Bl. Com. 341-
348 ; Barr, on the Stat. 344.

COMPUTATION, counting, calcu-
lation. It is a reckoning or ascertain-
ing the number of any thing.

2. — it is used in the common law
for the true and indifferent account and
construction of time. Time is com-
puted in two ways ; first, naturally,
countin# years, days and hours ; and,
secondly, civilly, that is, that when the
last part of the time lias once com-
menced, it is considered as accom-
plished. Snvig. Dr. Rom. 6 162 ; Sec
Infant ; Fraction. For the compu-
tation of a year, sco Com. Dig. Ann ;
of a month, Com, Dig. Temps A ; 1
John. Cos. 100; 15 John. R. 120; 2
Mass. 170, n. ; 4 Mass. 460; 4 DaJl.
144; 3 S. & R. 160; of a day, vide
Day ; and 3 Burr. 1434; 11 Mass.
204 ; 2 Browne, 18 ; Dig. 3, 4, 5 ;
Salk. 625; 3 Wife. 274.

3. — It is a general rule that w hen
au act is to be done within a certain
time, one day is to he taken inclusively,

i and one exclusively. Vide Loffi, 276 ;

COM

COM

281

Dougl. 463 ; 2 Chit. Pr. 09 ; 3 I«l.
108, 9 ; 3 T. R. 023 ; 2 Campb. R.
294; 4 Man. and Rvl. 300, n. (6); 5
Bingh. R. 339; S. C. 15, E. C. L. R.
402; 3 East, R. 407; Hob. 139; 4
Moore, R. 405; liar. Dig. Time, com-
putation of; 3 T. R. 023; 5 T. R.
283; 2 Marsh. R. 41 ; 22 E. C. L. R.
270; 13 E. C. L. R. 238; 24 E. C.
L. R. 53; 4 Wash. C. C. R. 232; 1
Mason, 176; 1 Pet. 60; 4 Pet. 349;
9 Cranch, 104 ; 9 Wheat. 581. Vide
Day ; Hour ; Month ; Year.

CONCEALMENT, contracts, is the
unlawful suppression of any fact or
circumstance, by one of the parties to
a contract, from the other, and which
in justice ought to be made known. 2
Cro. Ch. R. 420 ; 1 Foubl. Eq. B. 1,
c. 3, § 4, note (»); 1 Story, Eq. Jur.
§ 207.

2. — Fraud clearly occurs when one
person substantially misrepresents or
conceals a material fact peculiarly
within his own knowledge, in conse-
quence of which a delusion exists ; or
uses a device naturally calculated to
lull the suspicions of a careful man,
and induce him to forego inquiry into
a matter upon which the other party
has information although such informa-
tion be not exclusively within his
reach. 2 Bl. Com. 451 ; 3 lb. 166;
Sugd. Vend. 1 to 10; 1 Com. Contr.
38 ; 3 B. & C. 623 ; 5 D. & R. 490 ;
2 Wheat. 183; 11 lb. 59; 1 Pet. Sup.
C. R. 15, 16. The party is not bound
however to disclose patent defects.
Sugd. Vend. 2.

3. — In insurances, where fairness is
so essential to the contract, a conceal-
ment which is only the effect of acci-
dent, negligence, inadvertence, or mis-
take, if material, is equally fatal to the
contract as if it were intentional and
fraudulent. 1 Bl. R. 594 ; 3 Burr.
1909. The insured is required to* dis-
close all the circumstances which arc
within his own knowledge only, and
which increase the risk, lie is not,
however, l>ound to disclose • general
circumstances which apply to all
policies of a particular description ;
notwithstanding they may greatly in-

Vol. I. — 36

crease the risk. Under this rule it has
been decided that a policy was void,
which was obtained by the conceal-
ment by llje assured of the fact that he
had heard that a vessel like his was
taken. 2 P. VVms. 170, And in a
case where the assured had inlbrrna-
tion of “ a violent storm,” about eleven
I hours after his vessel had sailed, and
I had stated only that “ there had been
blowing weather and severe storms on
the coast after the vessel had sailed,”
but without any reference to the
particular storm, it was decided
that this was a concealment which
vitiated the policy. 2 Caines, R. 57.
Vide 1 Marsh. Ins. 468; Park, Ins.
276; 14 East, R. 494; 1 John. II.
522; 2 Cowcn, 56; 1 Caines, 276;
3 Wash. C. C. Rep. 138; 2 Gallis.
353; 12 John. 128.

4. — Fraudulent concealment avoids
the contract. See generally, Vcrpl. oil
Contr. passim ; Marsh. Ins. B. 1, c. 9;
1 Bell’s Com. B. 2, pt. 3, c. 1, s. 3, §
1 ; 1 M. & S. 517 ; 2 Marsh. R. 3 6.

CONCESSI, conveyancing ; this is
a Latin word signifying I have granted.
It was frequently used when deeds and
other conveyances were written in
Latin ; it had the effect of creating a
covenant in law. It is a word of a
general extent, and is said to amount
to a grant, feoffment, lease, release and
the like. 2 Sound. 96 ; Co. Litt. 301,

I 392 ; Dane’s Ah. Index, h. t. ; 5 Whart.
R. 278.