All the other free British
subjects are excluded; whereas, at common law, all such subjects
are eligible to sit in juries, whether they be freeholders or not.
It is true, the ancient common law required the jurors to be
freeholders; but the term freeholder no longer expresses the same
idea that it did in the ancient common law; because no land is now
holden in England on the same principle, or by the same tenure, as
that on which all the land was held in the early times of the
common law.
As has heretofore been mentioned, in the early times of the
common law the land was considered the property of the state;
and was all holden by the tenants, so called, (that is, holders,)
on the condition of their rendering certain military and civil services
to the state, (or to the king as the representative of the state,)
under the name of rents. Those who held lands on these terms
were called free tenants, that is, free holders meaning free persons,
or members of the state, holding lands to distinguish them from
villeins, or serfs, who were not members of the state, but held
their lands by a more servile tenure, and also to distinguish them
from persons of foreign birth, outlaws, and all other persons, who
were not members of the state.
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