KFLCC Kingdom Law 2nd Ed.

1103

SPORTULA

STACHIA

woman leaving her husband of her own ac cord, and committing adultery, lose her dow er, unless taken back by her husband of bis own accord. SPORTULA. Lat In Roman law. A largess, dole, or present; a pecuniary dona tion; an official perquisite; something over and above the ordinary fee allowed by law. Inst. 4, 6, 24. SPOUSALS. In old English law. Mutual promises to marry. SPOUSE-BREACH. In old English law. Adultery. Cowell. SPRING. A fountain of water; an issue of water from the earth, or the basin of wa ter at the place of its issue. Webster. A natural chasm in which water has collected, and from which it either is lost by percola tion or rises in a defined channel. Furner v. Seabury, 135 N. Y. 50, 31 N. E. 1004; Blood good v. Ayers, 108 N. Y. 405, 15 N. E. 433, 2 Am. St Rep. 443; Proprietors of Mills v. Braintree Water Supply Co., 149 Mass. 478, 21 N. E. 761, 4 L. R. A. 272. —Spring-branch. In American land law. A branch of a stream, flowing from a spring. Wootton v. Redd's Ex'r, 12 Grat. (Va.) 196. SPRINGING USE. See USE. SPUHiZIE. In Scotch law. The taking away or meddling with movables in another's possession, without the consent of the owner or authority of law. Bell. SPURIOUS. Not proceeding from the true source; not genuine; counterfeited. "A spurious bank-bill may be a legitimate im pression from the genuine plate, but it must have the signatures of persons not the officers of the bank whence it purports to have issued, or else the names of fictitious persons. A spurious bill, also, may be aa illegitimate im pression from a genuine plate, or an impres sion from a counterfeit plate, but it must have such signatures or names as we have just indicated. A bill, therefore, may be both counterfeit and forged, or both counterfeit and spurious, but it cannot be both forged .and spurious." Kirby v. State, 1 Ohio St. 187. SPURIUS. Lat. In the civil law. A bastard; the offspring of promiscuous cohabi- -tation. SPY. A person sent into an enemy's camp to inspect their works, ascertain their strength and their intentions, watch their movements, and secretly communicate intel ligence to the proper officer. By the laws of war among all civilized nations, a spy is pun ished with death. Webster. See Vattel, 3, 179. SQUARE. As used to designate a certain .portion of land within the limits of a city or

town, this term may be synonymous with "block," that is, the smallest subdivision which is bounded on all sides by principal streets, or it may denote a space (more or less rectangular) not built upon, and set apart for public passage, use, recreation, or orna mentation, in the nature of a "park" but smaller. See Caldwell v. Rupert, 10 Bush (Ky.) 179; State v. Natal, 42 La. Ann. 612, 7 South. 781; Rowzee v. Pierce, 75 Miss. 846, 23 South. 307, 40 L. R. A. 402, 65 Am. St. Rep. 625; Methodist Episcopal Church v. Hoboken, 33 N. J. Law, 13, 97 Am. Dec. 696; Rev. Laws Mass. 1902, p. 531, c 52, § 12. SQUATTER. In American law. One who settles on another's land, particularly on public lands, without a title. See O'Donnell v. Mclntyre, 16 Abb. N. O. (N. Y.) 84; Park ersburg Industrial Co. v. Schultz, 43 W. Va. 470, 27 S. E. 255. SQUIRE. A contraction of "esquire." SS. An abbreviation used in that part of a record, pleading, or affidavit, called the "statement of the venue." Commonly trans lated or read, "to-wit," and supposed to be a contraction of "scilicet." Also in ecclesiastical documents, particular ly records of early councils, "ss" is used as an abbreviation for subscripsi. Occasionally, In Law French, it stands for sans, "without," e. g., "faire feoffment ss son baron." Bend loe, p. 180. STAB. A wound Inflicted by a thrust with a pointed weapon. State v. Cody, 18 Or. 506, 23 Pac. 891; Ward v. State, 56 Ga. 410; Ruby v. State, 7 Mo. 208. STABIIiIA. A writ called by that name, founded on a custom in Normandy, that where a man in power claimed lands in the possession of an inferior, he petitioned the prince that it might be put into his hands till the right was decided, whereupon he had this writ Wharton. Stabit prsesumptio doneo probetnr in contrarinm. A presumption will stand good till the contrary is proved. Hob. 297; Broom, Max. 949. STABLE-STAND. In forest law. One of the four evidences or presumptions where by a man was convicted of an intent to steal the king's deer in the forest This was when a man was found at his standing in the forest with a cross-bow or long-bow bent ready to shoot at any deer, or else standing close by a tree with grey-hounds in a leash, ready to slip. Cowell; Manwood. STABULARIUS. Lat In the civil law. A stable-keeper. Dig. 4, 9, 4, 1. STACHIA. In old records. A dam or head made to stop a water-course. Cowell.