The Express.
London, England, 1865-06-14 00:00:00

LAW INTRLLIGENCB.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—Jugs 13.
APPEALS.
BLAB'S O. MINA LIM ANOTJUIL—PSOPIMTI WINN.
JUDGMENT.
This wu an appeal from the Court of Exchequer Chamber,
affirming a decision of the Court of Common Plus. Is
October, 186 G, an action was brought by the appallut
naiad the respondents for the conversiou of the appel-
lant's rabbits, and also for assaulting bin and taking them
from him by force. The appellant is a licensed dealer in
game, at Stamford, Lincolnshire, sod the respondents are
the steward and a servant in the employ of the Marquis of
Exeter. On the 16th of October, 1860, the plaintiff bought
of a non two bags. costaisiog about 90 rabbits, sod ordered
them to be °waived to him at the Midland Station at
Stamford, and he subsequently went thither for the purpose
of bringing them away ; but while Is the sot of doing so,
the respondent Higgs mane up, and insisted on using the
°outsets of the bags, and, obtaining the sedelance of the
police, swertsined that they contained dead rabbits. The
other responded—cee Percival—then came op and said,
" I shall take thus rabbits; they ere mine;" and Higgs
sold also, " They are the Marquis of Exeter's ;" sad even-
tually, alter some Wriggle end insistence on the part of the
appellant, they were takes from him, and gold by the re-
spondents to another penes, the appellant protest-
ing spinet the sale of his property. At the trial
it was to be proved, on the part of the respondents.that
the parsons who transmitted the rabbits to the plaintiff.
wept upon the Marquis of Exeter's land and tilled the
rabbits, pot them into the begs there, sod canted them
to the railway stetioo, and it was contended that the pro-
perty is the rabbits wu in Lord Exeter, and that the
respondents, acting wider his authority, wire justified in
what they had dove. Mr. Jostles Wiles, who presided,
laid down to the jury that a man's properg in land does
sot give him any right of property in animals of • wild
nature after they have blooms old swab_ to escape
off the ground, and that if say parson Wed rabbits on
Loyd Exeter's ground, and sold them to • dealer in poultry,
Lord Exeter's people had no right to go to the shop sed
take them from him, aa cornier out of Lord Exeter's gronad ;
the right would be In him, though the person tildes theta
wan a treepaseer. A union who killed wild animals, soh
as rabbits, was *ply Sable as • trespasser Widar the pore
laws, and he ruled that the appellant was entitled to the
rabbits, and the respondents were net entitled to take them
from him. A verdict we. secordingly found for the plain-
tiff. A new trial ems applied for on the ground of mis-
direction, which was pentad by the Court of Common
Meal, that wort feeling itself
hound by ass of "Rigs v.
the Eul of Lon/dale," in whic it was held that salmi& of
the nature of rabbit, were the property of the owner of the
soil. This judgment was on appeal affirmed by the Ex-
chequer Chamber, from whence the present appeal was
brought. The question involved is whether the property in
animals of wild nature is in the penes who redness them
into possession, or to the person on whose lands they may
happen to be when Mooed into pessamion.
Mr. Serjeant Hayes and Mr. Beasley appeared for the ap-
Whist ; Mr. Macaulay and Mr. Field for the respondents.
The cue wee argued last month and judgment jrcetpued,
The Lord Chancellor, Lord Oranwerth, sod Lord Chelan-
fool delivered elaborate judgments, the insult of which wee
that they wets of opinion that animals wild la their nature,
when in • manser reclaimed by the OWIMIt of the soil,
and whoa killed on his' rotted, we reduced into pos.
session and are the property of the owner of the land ; and
therefore, that the counsel far the plaintiff were right in
pruning widows at the trial to show that the rabbits in
cra
learned
were the property of Lord Exeter, and that the
judge was wrong in holdiag that is was inematerial
and ought not to be admitted. An order was therefore made
affirtniog the judgment of theme elow—t
with coshts. at there
should be a new id& —Appeal