The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-05-24 00:00:00

COURT OF SINCFS BENCH, SATuaDAT, MAT It

The Court was occupied the greatest portion of di. day OD dad
Crowh paper. The only cue worth mentioning was

THE [DIG v. LORD awasoaoias4.

This was an inquisition to determine whether certain tall sews
she* on the coast of Lincolnshire were derelict by the silk sad can.
sequently vested in the Crown by virtue of the King's prealgetive.
The inquisition was found for the defendant, and being traversed
by the Crown, the principal issue raised was, whether the marsh
land in question had been formed by the gradual and impenteptibie
deposit of alluvial matter, by the flux and reflux of the sen. This
issue was found In favour of the defendant at the last Sommer
sizes for Lincolnshire, and a motion having been made in Miami-
mu Term fora new trial, the Court then directed the question lobo
discussed in the form of a special ease. From the statetnent of the
case it appeared that the defendant was Lord of the Mew of
Northonto, on thecoaat of Lincolnshire. For a aeries of jests LA
past, there had been a gradual recession of the sea at the retest
about three quarters of an inch per diem, leaving about human
hundred acres of land, which, by the accretion of silth sad seil,
from the bed of the sea, in process of time, became nimbi: fee
pa...lmage, and was at length claimed by the Crown, by virtue of
the King's prerogative; while, on the other band, it was toasted
by the defendant that it went to him as Lord of the adjoining dos
twine lands. The question was, whether the land could be COO.
sidered derilict, and therefore vesting in the Crown, sad not in due
subject.
Mr. Gout.' unit. foe th e. Crown. contended, that isomer* •
all land under theses was vested in the King, by virtue of has pros
reguive, it followed, as a necessary consequence, that when the sae
lett any portion of it, his title remained the same. lie admitted.
as was laid down by Lord Hale, in his treatise dejave earth, p. 14,
28, and MI, that there were three cases in which the right of the
subject ',Add prevail against that of the Crown, namely, fires
soil was deposited by mere alluvion ; second, where by the
inroads of the to the subject lost land in one place, but regained it
in another ; and third, where the accretion was so slow, gradual.
and imperceptible, as to be beneath the notice of the law. In
the two latter cases, however, he insisted that custom only would
uphold the right of the subject against the prerogative of the Save.
reign, and such custom must be pleaded. Here the defendant did
not rest his claim on custom, but merely insisted that the accretion
was so gradual, imperceptible, and entail, as gave him a right to
the lard at common law. Such a claim, he contended, could not be
supported on that ground, because, in the nature of ch., there.
liction by the sea must be gradual and imperceptible; and if such
an argtinent could prevail, it would go at once to destroy the
King's right to derelict land in all cases. There wan Do hardship
in the chum now set up by the Crown, because the Crown, havaur
a right to all land under the sea, the recession of the see amid a•
destroy that pre-existing right. Where then was the Medd* is
claiming that which could belong to nobody but the Crows y The
reliction here was not so gradual as to be imperceptible, for, ac-
cording to the testimony of the witnesses examined, there had been
a visible recession of the sea, and accretion of soil fee a series of
years, at the rate of three quarters of an inch per day. Resting
upon the bawd principle, that the Crown, being Lord of the soil
under the sea, and referring to the authority of Lord Hale, vita
had collected the opioions of the best writers and autheritios upon
this subject, he contended that this must be considered daesliet
land, and consequently not capable of being divested oat of the
Crown.

3f r C. M. PHILLIP!, for the defendant, did not deny the Ling's
right to lard lett soddeuly derelict by the sea; but he inaboad
the Jury, having found this accretion to be an impercepdblittlapasit
of silth and soil, by the flux and reflux of the sea, it belonged to
the defendant at common law. For this he cited Load Hale.
C'allis er Sewers. Dyer 326, and several other authorities. if the
Crown had a reit to this land so left derelict, why was it not
claimed before 'r The answer was, that the secretion was so slow
anl i t p•rceptible as to be undeserving of notice. Was it 'Nobt-
ent then with justice, that now, alter a lapse of a great way roam
when by gradual increase it had become of that the
Crown should wrest from the subject that which =ma vested
in the latter by the rules of common law ?

Mr. Don Lut! n w, in reply, re-urged his previous agutnent.
The Court took time to consider its judgment.
MANDAMUS.

Ilfr.Scarthrry moved for a rule to shew Mlle why a writ of
mandamus should not be directed to the Rev. J Thomas
Horton, Vicar of Ormskirk in Lancashire, cocamag him to
cause to be published in the parish church, a certahi notice an-
nouncing an intended meeting of • select rimy ia the mid church.
to consider of certain antis connected with the INITIPKI of the
parish at large. From the affidavits on which this maims was
grounded, it appeared that fn sa time immemorial the priebbienere
were in the habit of meeting in the church in asiact vuatiess, and
otherwise, to consider of their aftaim This prudes bad, for a
tone, been suspended ; but, upon • recent onwiden, the church-
warden applied to the vicar, the curate, aced the chnit, to inquire •
notice to be given in the church. pursuant to the tines of the 11th
Oro. I 11. c. 12., intimating that much a meeting be held on
1 the Friday following. This application was iseed, and the
churchwarden, as the congregation were depsrung, sand the notice
himself. On the Friday, however, when the 'swedes was to be
held, the church, and even the church-yard pis, were found
locked, and the curate, in whose hands the keys were depodtad,
refused to deliver then:, and although it was natal to perform
divine service on that day, he stated that be bad meshed the orders
of the vicar not to open the church at all. After this the mar
commenced hostile proceedings against the churchwarden in the
Ecclesiastical Court, in which he was charged with escitiog trod,.
in the church. In consequence of this proceeding, the church-
warden caused formal notice to be served on Mr.liortono 4i the
Ifith of this month, requiring him to publish • notice in the church
that a meeting of the churchwardens and parishiement would take
place on the ..ntth. He had not thought tit to comply with this
notice, and hence the necessity for this motion. !twits the inimensa.
rial usage to hold such meetings in the church, and the customs'y
manner was to give notice of the circumstance after • particular part
ut the service.—Rule to thew cause greeted.