In Italy the contratto di livello was very general in the middle ages, and still exists in several provinces, especially Lombardyand Tuscany. In ancient documents, from the sixth to the thirteenth century, the libellarii frequently appear. The principalrules of the contract M. Jacini supposes to date from the time of the Roman empire. M. Roscher sees their origin m the emphyteusis , which the middle ages borrowed from the Roman law. The assignment of immoveable property, which theowner could not himself turn to advantage, to cultivators, who engaged to till it for a fixed rent or canon, and a payment ofcertain duties, laudemium , in case of alienation, was a contract beneficial to both parties; and it is not surprising that largeproprietors in the middle ages, who had neither capital nor tenants to cultivate their vast domains, should have had recourseto this means of securing a guaranteed revenue. Livelli are now gradually disappearing in Italy; first, because there, as inPortugal, the legislature and the courts are alike hostile to these perpetual rents, which, they say, recall feudal rights;secondly, because the system of full ownership is now thought the only reasonable one, and every thing in restraint of it istolerated with impatience.
The beklem-regt , which is general in the Dutch province of Groningen, (1) is exactly similar to the Portuguese aforamento .
This is additional evidence in support of Tocqueville's remark, that, in .the middle ages, under an exterior of great diversity,customs were everywhere fundamentally the same. The fact of the beklem-regt and the aforamento presenting, at thepresent day, identical features in the two extremities of Europe, is a proof that this contract must formerly have beencustomary in the intermediate countries. It is exactly the same with these ancient institutions as with certain alpine plants,which are only to be found now in the polar regions and on the lofty mountains of Switzerland; but which grew throughoutEurope in the glacial period.
The beklem-regt is a right of occupancy, at a fixed rent, which the proprietor can never raise ; the right passes to the heirs inthe collateral line as well as in the direct. The tenant, or beklemde meyer , can devise, sell, let, or even mortgage the landwithout the proprietor's consent; but every time the right of occupancy changes hands by inheritance or sale, the proprietoris entitled to a fine of one or two years' rental. The buildings which are on the land belong as a rule to the tenant, who canclaim the price of the materials, if his right of occupancy is at any time extinguished. The tenant pays all imposts: he may notchange the form of the property, nor do anything to depreciate its value. The beklem-regt is indivisible: it can never vest inmore than one person, so that one only of several heirs has to take it as his portion. In paying the stipulated canon, however,in case of alienationthe propinenthe husband may insert his wife's name, or the wife her husband's, and they then have aright of survivorship. The word propinen . obviously comes from the Greek , to drinkthe formal emptying ofthe cup. It recalls the practice of the Germans, who, according to Tacitus, ratified all their juridical transactions with adraught of wine. Propinen is the equivalent of the pot de vin , paid in several countries on the renewal of a lease. The annualrent due to the proprietor varies much, and according to the time when the rent was determined, rather than the actual valueof the land. It is found at from five or six to thirty or forty forms the acre. The market value of the tenant's right depends onthe price of produce, the state of agriculture, and also on the figure of the annual rent About 1822, the value of the beklem-regt had fallen so low, that no purchasers were to be found. Since the opening of the English market, however, thetenant has seen the value of his occupancy increase to such a degree, that he has begun to sub-let to ordinary tenants, aresult to be regretted, as henceforth all the advantages of the beklem-regt disappear. When in full ownership, the land is soldat about 2,500 to 3,000 florins the hectare. If the tenant fails, or is in arrears with the annual rent, the beklem-regt is notabsolutely extinguished: the creditors have the power of compelling a sale; but the purchaser has first to pay the proprietorall arrears.
