4 Pa. 259 | Pa. | 1846
(after stating the case, and that Bowser, if in possession for twenty-one years, claiming title to the extent of his designated boundaries, and exercising acts of ownership, would
Th.e fidelity of a tenant to his landlord, which our law requires, is not merely a shadow and remnant of the ancient feudal fealty, but is essentially, connected with the observance of good faith in contracts, and the maintenance of that confidence and trust which is essential to a wholesome state of society. But while the principle is thus highly valued, care must be taken that it is not permitted to overcome the principles of law, equal and perhaps superior in solemnity and importance. The statute of frauds and perjuries requires all sales and purchases of real estate to be in writing. This statute was demanded, and has been sanctioned by. the experience of the sages of the law. It has been found essential to the interests of society by removing temptations to perjury, and rendering titles to real estate more abiding and secure than if they depended on the fluctuating memory of. casual witnesses. . Saving only those excepted cases which the law has allowed to escape from its provisions, the statute must be preserved.' By the article of ¿greemént already referreddo, between Bowser and Flanner, the latter acquired an estate in the land. He entered in pursuance of the article,.made valuable improvements, and held it as his own sixteen or- seventeen years. This estate he could not divest or alienate without a contract in writing, unless the transaction was within the saving of
If, then, the naked parol agreement to rescind the contract in writing was rendered void by the statute of frauds, the loose conversation about paying rent, and Flanner’s remaining in possession as Bowser’s tenant, must fall with the foundation on which they rested, and Bowser and Flanner continue to hold to each other the relation of vendor and vendee.
There was error in the instruction of the court. The judgment is, therefore, reversed, and a venire de novo awarded.