GABEL. A tax, imposition, or duty. This word is said to have the same signification that gabelle formerly¹ had in France. Cunn. Dict. h. t. But this seems to be an error for gabelle signified in that country, previously² to its revolution, a duty upon salt. Merl. Rep. h. t. Lord Coke says, that gabel or gavel, gablum, gabellum, gabelletum, galbelletum, and gavillettum signify a rent, duty, or service, yielded or done to the king or any other lord. Co. Litt. 142, a.

GAGE³, contracts. Personal property placed by a debtor⁴ in possession of his creditor⁵, as a security for his debt; a pawn⁶. (q. v.) Hence mortgage is a dead pledge.

GAGER DEL LEY. Wager⁷ of law. (q. v.)

GAIN. The word is used as synonymous with profits. (q. v.) See Fruit.

GAINAGE, old Eng. law. It signifies the draft oxen, horses, wain, plough, and furniture for carrying on the work of tillage by the baser sort of soke men and villeins, and sometimes the land itself, or the profits raised by cultivating it. Bract. lib. 1, c. 9.

GALLON, measures. A gallon is a liquid measure, containing two hundred and thirty-one cubic inches, or four quarts.

GALLOWS⁸. An erection on which to bang criminals condemned⁹ to death.

GAME. Birds and beasts of a wild-nature, obtained by fowling¹⁰ and hunting. Bac. Ab. h. t.; Animals; Ferae natural.

GAMING. A contract between two or more persons by which they agree to play by certain rules at cards, dice¹¹, or other contrivance, and that one shall be the loser, and the other the winner. When considered in itself, and without regard to the end proposed by the player's, there is nothing in it contrary to natural equity¹², and the contract will be considered as a reciprocal gift, which the parties make of the thing played for, under certain. conditions.

2. There are some games which depend altogether upon skill, others, upon chance, and some others are of a mixed nature. Billiards¹³ is an example of the first; lottery¹⁴ of the second; and backgammon of the last.

3. In general, at common law all games are lawful¹⁵, unless some fraud has been practiced, or such games are contrary to public policy. Each of the parties to the contract must, 1. Have a right to the money or thing played for. 2. He must have given his full and free consent, and not been entrapped¹⁶ by fraud. 3. There must be equality in the play. 4. The play must be conducted fairly. But even when all these rules have been observed, the courts will not countenance¹⁷ gaming by giving too easy a remedy for the recovery of money won at play. Bac. Ab. h. t. A.

4. But when fraud has been practiced, as in all other cases, the contract is void and in some cases, when the party has been guilty of cheating, by playing with false dice, cards and the like, he may be indicted¹⁸ at common law, and fined and imprisoned¹⁹, according to the heinousness²⁰ of the offence. 1 Russ. on Cr, 406.

5. Statutes²¹ have been passed in perhaps all the states forbidding gaining for money, at certain games, and prohibiting the recovery of money lost at such games. Vide Bac. Ab. h. t.; Dane's Ab. Index, h. t.; Poth. Traite du Jeu; Merlin, Repertoire²², mot Jeu; Barbeyrac, Traite du Jeu, tome 1, p. 104, note 4; 1 P. A. Browne's Rep. 171: 1 Overt²³. R. 360; 3 Pick. 446; 7 Cowen, 496; 1 Bibb, 614; 1 Miss. 635; Mart. & Yerg. 262; 1 Bailey, 315; 6 Rand. 694; 8 Cowen, 139; 2 Blackf. 251; 3 Blackf. 294; and Stakeholder; Wagers²⁴.