The Sun.
London, England, 1823-03-31 00:00:00

allowed custom ; and I suppoae I May herein say in this case, as
Mr. Plowden doth of silver mines, that it is intonvenient a sub-
bect should have the silver mines in hi* grounds, for so might lie
ecome richer than the King."--:.Callis' needing on the Statute
ofS'eers. So that from these authotities it wits plain that ittala
left by the sea must prima facie belong: to the King. They cc-
next to Lord. Hale, who wrote a treatise De Are Maria. lie
sat as a civil Judge during the usurpation, and refused to act in
criminal matters, because he deubted• the authority of Crom-
well. This.scrupulous.character of his conscience was Panel
to entitle his opinions to the greatest reverence. But, besides.
this, he was a inan of learning; the most consummate. - The
Jury, perhaps, knelt, something of his eminent labours in other
branches of writing, but they could hardly judge of the excellence
'of his law books. Ile stated the King's right much as Canis
did, but with some slight difference upon the elleeiOn. He re-
ferred particularly to lib. I, chap. 1. Ile ntaai not repeat the
passages which had oeen cited put of that work ; but he would
add the following, which respcted the prima facie title of the
Crown The next evidence to the Kiag's right and propriety
in the eea, and the arms thereof, is his right of propriety to the
shore, and the maritima incrementa. The shore is that
ground that is between the ordinary high and low water.
marks. This dotlepeininfacie and of common right, belong
to the King, both in the shore of the sea, and the shore of the
arms ofalutlea.„ And herein will be three things txaminalle
What shall be said the shore or Waal meek.. What shall be
said an arm or creek of the sea. What evidence there is of the
King's propriety therein. There seem to be three sorts of shores
or littora marina according to the various tides, viz., the high
spring tides, which are the fluxes of the sea et those tidesthat happen at the two equinoxials; and certainly this cloth
not, de jure communi, belong to the Crown for such spring
titles many times overflow ancient meadows and salt marshes,
which yet unteuestionably belong to the subject, and this is
admitted on all hands ; 2d, The spring tides which happen
every month at full and change of the moot!, end the *hoar in
question is by some opinion not denominated by these tides
neither, but the lands overfloOed with these fluxes ordinerily
belotig to the. subject, prima. facie; unless the king bath Is
prescription to the contrary ; and the reason semis to be, be-
cause for the most part the lands covered with these fluxes
are dry and manorable,' for at other times the. sea doth nut
cover diem ; and therefore ti UCi3g these sharp, mime hold
that common right speak tbr the subject, unless there be
an usage to entitle., the Crown ; for this is not properly
littus marts; and, therefbre' it bath been held that where
the King 'mikes his title to land as littus maris or parceitz
/ittoris raoeini it is not sufficient for him to make it appear
to be overflowed at spring tides of this kind." Ile adds in ano-
tlier place--" Although the, King bath prima jilt* this right
in the arms and creeks of the sea, cotnninni jury, and in com-
mon presumption, yet a subject may have this right ; and
this he may have two ways.—iirst,' by the King's charter or
grant, and this is without question." It was char that, with
the trifling exception which he had pointed out, Lord Bale
followed the previous authorities, that prima j4eie the Kin'
s;
was entitled, 1.30 held Blockstone, a writer whose works were
supposed to be inferior to no writings of the kind in any lar-
guage. Indeed, when it was considered properly, they mat
.all feel astonished at the mind of an author who could
in so small a compass perfect his commentary upon as the
laws of England. Some people, it was true, found
with his work, and endeavoured to prove that it was full of
errors. He was happy in not been critical enough to detect
them. Though he wattready to admit, that in eu great a Work
there might be some mistakes, .;they could not. be.; numerous.
The Learned Judge having shown the concurrence of the other
authorities cited, proceeded to the matter of evidence. It eer-
tuinly went to show that the land was covered by the sea ; but
it did nothing for the, claim of the Crown, because it did not
show whether the lands accrued. by alluvion or dereliction.—
It was true that prima facie the ping; was entitled, whether .
by alluvion or dereliction. But the plea of the defendants
went upon a particular character of alluvion, in which the Crown
had no title. As the evidence failed of proving whether the
elands grew by derelietioo or alluvion, so it was much less avail-
able to define the mere point whether the alluvion was tit'
that nature which would allow the right of the Crown. On the
other hand, the right of the defendant was left by the evidence
es badly °WWI that of the CroWn. It was proved that hetIVT"
joyed wreck, but that availed nothing. lie had shown no re.
nervation of his own right, though all the neighbourhood stock-
-04 sheep upon it, and no evidence had been rendered by him
to spew that die increase was adjacent to his manor. This was
the law, and these were the facts of evidence. lie would give
no opiuion upon the right one way of the other,. Ile had the
firmest confidence in the onderntandinen and.sense of justice of
the Jury, and he left it to their decision.
The Jury consulted fur a minute or two, and returned a vie..
diet for the defendant.

TILE KING V. LORD GWYDIR, MUD DOUOTHEA HAWKS,

1.17.1WA11.1) LIREATIIVAI), ESC/.
TIMe eases were severally submitted, in form, and diaring
ittle or nothing from the last, verdicts were innuediately taken
for the defendants.

TIIE KING V. WM. scrtoorp, ESQ. ,
This case differed in one Particular from the others. The
issues were substantially the%Same ; the. plea of the defendant
being as betbre, that the land, in question arose by" gradual
imperceptible degrees of alluvion and increase of the. ooze, soil,
sand, and other matter, sloWly, gradually, and imperceptibly
thrown up, deposited, and, settled, by. and from the tinx and
reflux of the tide and waves of the sea, in and upon and against
the outermost and extreme parts of the demesne lands" of the
defendant's manor.

Isaac Smith was called to prove that the defendant's manor
lay within a tract of marsh land called Porter's Marsh ; and
that this marsh was between the fittees or new salt marshes and
the manor of the defendant.

Mr. 111ingworth produced from his bag a copy of a grant
made 10 Charles I. of a tract of 2,200 acres of marsh lands, to
one Endymion Porter; which tract had been called Porter's
Marsh tdmost ever since. A fee-limn rent of tater acre was
reserved for the Crown.

Mr. Phillips, solicitor, proved that he had purchased this
fee.farm rent of the Crown, and was in the habit of Collecting
it from those who held the enclosures. There Were two dif.
ferent persons from whom he collected it upon 2,200 acres.
It followed of course by. the'plers for the defence throughout,
that the tittees outside l'orter's4narsh mint be an acquest to
the lord of the manor of Porter's-marsh, and the defendant
had no title. ►

Mr. 14.:14 MAN thought that the point was introduced tot)
lute, and that isauc upon which the Jury were to find was
allusion Cr dereliction. 4 This new question of title might have
been good in IttePing the defendant nut of the pleadings, but
now ccould be no answer to the affirmative plea of the de-
fendant.
_ . . .

:19 r, .luaticc Panic thought otherwise, and directed the Jtiry
to And for the plaintiffs. 'llia defendant had no right to plead ;
but if he had been let in by mistake, that did TIM in the least
bendit him, since he clearly had no title.
Tha Jury found a verdict tier the plaintiff.
Mr. PHILLIPS proposed to have a special verdict upon the
point of the title, with a verdict upon the issue for the de.i
foldout.

...Ur. Justice PARK begged.tbat the Jury would not indorse
the record with any such nonsense, lest ull Westrninster-hall
should lauh at them, and the Court which would allow ',lona
to do it. lie would, however, if .1)Ir. Phillips chose, consent
to a special verdict being taken on both points—tlie issue and
the defendant's title.

This was declined, anti as the verdict was already pronounced,
the question was at rest.
Thus terminated an experiment upon titles which, if sue.
ccssful, was expected to have run round the Whole Coast, and
would have shaken the xight of awhilship in all the lands
which are created by the sea. What amount of property the
Crown would have seized is thilicult to say, cousidertog the
different value of products and uses of coast lands; but the
account could not be light, seeing that the above Are only five
out of fifty cases found by the inquisition in and about the
coast of Lincolnshire. The public, will consider it quite ca
well that the.net broke loose in hauling this in prey.
Mr. Justice DARK. took the opportunity of etonmetding the
full attendance of the gentlemen of the county on the serv;ee
of the Special Juries S the more so, as he had met with no
such example in his progress through the circuit.
These trials lasted from nine in the morning till near six in
the evening.
Errattil—ln the paper of Saturday, for "":tir. Bayley,"
junior Counsel for the defence, read " Daley." Fur " A ore
(a contiguous river)," read " Aure (a ebringuous nhinor.)"

We are happy to he assured that did-Officer
.
who was among the numerous persons that perished in the
Alert Livergool packet was not Major Kvt,t,lt, belonging to
the Staff' of tivncral - EONWrolt, as was at tirst supposed..
Major K xs..ve is now in Liontlon,ui excellent hvalth,,