Green v. Bancroft

The appellants contend that the act of 1789 (Laws, ed. 1789, p. 77) changed the rule for representation among collaterals, so that thereafter all those who were related to the deceased in the third degree could take in this manner. It is admitted that this construction is contrary to the practice under the statute for 120 years and to the decided cases (Kelsey v. Hardy, 20 N. H. 479; Dodge v. Lewis, 71 N. H. 324), but it is urged that this practice and these decisions are so plainly erroneous that they should not be followed.

The English statute of 1672, providing that there should be no…