PECUNIA, civil law, property By the term was understood, 1. Money. 2. Every thing which constituted the private property of an individual, or which was a part of his fortune; a slave' a field, a house, and the like, were so considered.
2. It is in this sense the law of the Twelve Tables said; Uti quisque pater familias legassit super pecunia tutelare rei suae, ita jus esto. In whatever manner a father of a family may have disposed of his property, or of the tutorship of his things, let this disposition1 be law. 1 Lecons Elem. du Dr. Civ. Rom. 288.
3. Flocks were the first riches of the ancients, and it is from pecus that the words pecania, peculium, peculatus, are derived2. Co. Litt. 207.
PECUNIARY3. That which relates to money.
2. Pecuniary punishment, is one which imposes a fine on a convict; a pecuniary legacy4 is one which entitles the legatee to receive a sum of money, and not a specific chattel5. In the ecclesiastical law, by pecuniary causes is understood such causes as arise either from the withholding6 ecclesiastical dues, or the doing or omitting such acts relating to the church, in consequence of which damage accrues7 to the plaintiff. In England these causes are cognizable in the ecclesiastical courts.
PEDIGREE, descents. A succession of degrees from the origin; it is the state of the family as far as regards the relationship of the different members, their births, marriages and deaths; this term is applied8 to persons or families, who trace their origin or descent.
2. On account of the difficulty of proving in the ordinary manner by living witnesses, facts which occurred in remote times, hearsay9 evidence (q. v.) hasbeen admitted to prove a pedigree. 1 Phil. Ev. 186; 1 Stark10. Ev. 55; 10 Serg. & Rawle, 383; 2 Supp. to Ves. jr. 110; 8 Com. Dig. 583 1 Pet. 337; 6 Pet., 81; 13 Pet. 209 1 Wheat. 6; 3 Wash. C. C. R. 243; 4 Wash.C.C.R.186; 3Bouv.Inst.n. 3067. Vide Descent; Line.
PEDIS POSSESSIO. A foothold, an actual possession. To constitute adverse11 possession there must be pedis possessio, or a substantial enclosure. 2 Bouv. Inst. n. 2193; 2 N. & M. 343.
PEDLARS. Persons who travel about the country with merchandise, for the purpose of selling it. They are obliged under the laws of perhaps all the states to take out licenses12, and to conform to the regulations which those laws establish.
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