rest in her real estate attached to trust estates, but she
could claim no interest in trust estates of her husband. If the wife
owned leases of land they could be sold or assigned by the husband
during marriage. If he survived his wife they belonged to him, if she
survived him, they belonged to her, provided he had not disposed of them
while living.

[Sidenote: Descent of property.]

Personal property descended to males and females in equal shares, but
the oldest son was entitled to the whole of his father's real property.

[Sidenote: Unity of person in criminal law.]

The unity of husband and wife was not so strongly affirmed by the common
law when it dealt with their relation to criminal matters. When a wife
committed an offense against the state she possessed a separate and
distinct life and personalty, for the purposes of punishment. It is true
that she was still inferior and this distinction was recognized and
emphasized by the difference in the penalties imposed for the commission
of the same crimes, these penalties being in inverse ratio to the
importance of the criminal.

[Sidenote: Theft, burglary, etc.]

[Sidenote: Presumption of innocence.]

If a wife committed theft, burglary or other offenses in the company or
presence of her husband, the law presumed that she acted under
compulsion and held her not guilty, but this presumption did not extend
to cases of murder or treason, and it might always be overcome by proof
that she acted independently. The exception in cases of murder or
treason, we are informed, was not alone because of the magnitude of the
crimes, but rather on account of "the husband having broken through the
most sacred tie of social community by rebellion against the state, had
no right to that obedience from a wife which he himself, as a subject,
had forgotten to pay."

[Sidenote: Murder of wife.]

[Sidenote: Murder of husband.]

If a man murdered his wife it was as if he had murdered a stranger, and
he might avail himself of the benefit of clergy, and secure immunity
from punishment, provided he could read, but women were denied all
benefit of clergy because of their sex, and because they "were not
called upon to read." If a wife killed her husband it was a much more
serious offense, he being her lord, and she was guilty of treason and
subject to the same punishment as if she had killed the king.

[Sidenote: Petit treason.]

In cases of petit treason the penalty depended upon th