ALBA FIRMA. Eng. law. When quit rents were reserved payable¹ in silver or white money, they wero called white rents, or blanch² farms reditus albi. When they were reserved payable in work, grain, or the like, they were called reditus nigri or black mail. 2 Inst. 19.

ALCADE, Span. law. The name of a judicial³ officer in Spain, and in those countries which have received the body of their laws from those of Spain.

ALDERMAN. An officer, generally appointed or elected in towns corporate⁴, or cities, possessing various powers in different places.

2. The aldermen of the cities of Pennsylvania, possess all the powers and jurisdictions⁶ civil and criminal of justices of the peace. They are besides, in conjunction with the respective mayors or recorders, judges of ibe mayor's courts.

3. Among the Saxons there was an officer called the ealderman. ealdorman, or aldernwn, which appellation⁷ signified literally⁸ elderman. Like the Roman senator, he was so called, not on account of his age, but because of his wisdom and dignity, non propter oetatem sed propter sapientism et dignitatem. He presided with the bisbop at the scyregemote, and was, ex officio, a member of the witenagemote. At one time he was a military officer, but afterwards his office was purely⁹ judical.

4. There were several kinds of aldermen, as king's aldermen, aldermen of all England, aldermen of the county, aldermen of the hundred, &c., to denote difference of rank and jurisdiction⁵.

ALEA; civil law. The chance of gain or loss in a contract. This chance results either from the uncertainty¹⁰ of the thing sold, as the effects of a succession; or from the uncertainty of the price, as when a thing is sold for an annuity¹¹, which is to be greater or less on the happening of a future event; or it sometimes arises in consequence of the uncertainty of both. 2 Duv. Dr. Civ. Fr. n. 74.

ALEATORY CONTRACTS, civil law. A mutual¹² agreement, of which the effects, with respect both to the advantages and losses, whether to all the parties, or to some of them, depend on an uncertain event. Civ. Code of Louis. art. 2951.

2. – These contracts are of two kinds; namely, 1. When one of the parties exposes himself to lose something which will be a profit to the other, in consideration of a sum of money which the latter pays for the risk. Such is the contract of insurance; the insurer takes all the risk of the sea, and the assured pays a premium¹³ to the former for the risk which he runs.

3. – 2. In the second kind, each runs a risk which is the consideration of the engagement of the other; for example, when a person buys an annuity, he runs the risk of losing the consideration, in case of his death soon after, but he may live so as to receive three times the amount of the price he paid for it. Merlin, Rep. mot Aleatoire.