Lady Barrack and Her Husband v. The Tacksmen of the Lands of Reisgill
Date: 19 February 1729 Case No. No 17.
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A declarator of irritancy of a tack was founded upon this clause, “That in case the said tacksmen should fail in punctual payment of the said tack-duty therein mentioned, so far as that two years tack-duty should run in the third unpaid, that then the said tack shall be, ipso facto, void and null, without any declarator or process of law.” The defence was, esto the tack-duty for two full years were entirely due, no declarator of irritancy, because the import of the clause is, 'in case two years rent shall run in the third unpaid,' so that no less than three full years rent falling at once to be due, could found such a declarator. Answered, The natural signification of this clause is, That two years rent shall run into the third without being paid; or simply, That two years shall remain unpaid; because it is inconsistent that two years rent should remain unpaid without running into a third year. Found the irritancy in the tack incurred, and that so soon as the two years tack-duties were run, and the third running unpaid.
