Waste. — By  the  general  law  a  tenant  for  life  is,  roughly
speaking,  entitled  to  use  the  demised  land  in  any  way  he
likes  provided  he  does  nothing  which  will  injure  the  in-
heritance, that  is,  will  make  the  land  less  valuable  to  those
entitled  after  him.  If  he  does  anything  injurious  to  the
inheritance  he  is  guilty  of  vohintary  or  "wilful"  {Lord
Castlemrdne  v.  Lord  Craven,  22  Yin.  Ab.  523,  tit.  Waste)
u-aste,  and  the  Com-t  will  on  the  application  of  anyone
interested  in  the  reversion  or  remainder  restrain  him  by
injunction  from  continuing  to  do  such  acts  and  grant
damages  against  him,  or  if  he  be  dead,  against  his  estate
for  the  waste  already  committed.  ( Wood/wiise  v.  Walker,
5  a.  B.  D.  404.)

The  chief  acts  which  are  held  to  be  injurious  to  the
inheritance  and  therefore  acts  of  waste  are  : —

[a)  Pulling  down  buildings  on  the  land  ( Vane  v.  Lord
Barnard,  commonly  called  the  Rahij  Castle  case,  2
Yern.  738),  or  even  erecting  new  buildings  on  it
which  will  change  the  nature  of  the  property,
ex.  gr.,  building  houses  on  agricultural  land.  {Brooke
V.  ICaranagh,  23  L.  E.,  Ir.  97.)

Where,  however,  the  new  buildings  erected  or
other  acts  done  to  the  land  are  such  as  improve  the
inheritance,  the  Court  will  not  interfere.     {Boherty


FREEHOLD  INTERESTS  IN  LAND  :    LIFE  ESTATES.       51

V.  AUman,  3  App.  Cas.  709  ;  3Ieu.r  v.  Cohh'i/,  (1892)
2  Ch.  253.)  This  latter  is  sometimes  called  melio-
rating waste.
[h)  Breaking  up  ancient  meadow  land,  destroying
hedges,  removing  drains  or  otherwise  altering
injuriously  the  character  of  the  land.
{c)  Opening  mines  and  raising  minerals  on  the  land.
