WILLIAMS' CASE.—3 BLAND. 263

the white man can scarcely exist. In all that concerns the proba-
ble or average duration of human life, as being in any way in-
volved in a judicial determination upon a right of property, it
would seem to be wholly unnecessary to extend our inquiries be-
yond the class of free whites; because free negroes have little
property, and negroes held as slaves can have uoue. But although
slaves are incompetent themselves to hold property; yet consid-
ered as property they have always been valued, assessed, and
taxed in proportion to their ability of body, age, and sex; October,
1777, eh. 14, s. 4; October, 1778, ch. 7, s. 11; and there is no legal
reason why an estate may not be held during the life of a negro
slave. Biscoe v. Biscoe, 6 G. & J. 239; Hall v. Mullin, 5 H. & J.
190; Cunningham v. Cunnigham, Can. Confr. North Carol. 353.
It is by no means uncommon for negroes to have legacies given to
them for their support by way of an annuity for life, or to have
small pieces of land given to them for life. Where slaves are
given by a parent to his child as an advancement, if, after the
death of the parent, the child brings such advancement into
hotchpot, in order to be let in as a distributee, the advancement,
here as in England, must be valued as of the day when it was
made; and, consequently, slaves so given, must be valued as of
that day, exclusive of their subsequent increase. King v. Worsely,
2 Hayw. 366; Warfield v. Warfield, 5 H. & J. 459. And so too in
all other cases where slaves are to be valued it must be with ref-
erence to their peculiar expectation of life as well as to their
bodily ability, skill and other qualities. 2 Southern Revi. 177, note;
1 Hume's Essays, 225, note M.

It is certain, that life interests in almost every form, such as
estates for life in lands, in personal property, in annuities, &c.
were fully recognized by the law of England from a very remote
period; yet, the doctrine of chances, in relation to the expectation
* of human life, as a means of ascertaining the present value
of such interests, is of comparatively modern date in Eng- 252
land: and does not appear to have been, in any way, noticed in
our law until after our Declaration of Independence. In several
of the original States of our Union companies have been incor-
porated, with power to grant life annuities, and to make assurances
of lives; 1807, ch. 68: 1813, ch. 101; 1827, ch. 189; which, on the
part of such bodies politic particularly, must necessarily involve a
careful consideration of what may be deemed the expectation of
human life at the various ages.' And there have been other legis-
lative enactments which appear to have involved a similar refer-
ence to the doctrine of chances, in regard to the expectation of
life, as a means of making a just apportionment of taxes between
estates for life and those in remainder or reversion in lands. But
little is to be found in the judicial proceedings of our country in
relation to this matter.