Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-01-04
1872
THE RIGHT OF WAY.
Row an Englishman Will Kick and Growl
Till He Gains His Point.


Till He Gains His Point.
This is a true story, and one that il in
tended to illustrate characteristic Of the
English people 1t shows, | think. to
what lengths en- Englishman will go to
gain his rights when an American would
say, "Oh, what is the uses" OF. Never
mind" but be will learn in time that
the reason the Englishman has better
roads and better Streets and better pro-
lection for his life and property is because
he makes IL kick about it" and protests
and growls and is generally disagreeabie
until he gets what he wants. Equally
strong with his desire to have his rights is
the Englishman's Difference for the rights
Of others. He shows his Difference by re-
specting the English law. which makes
these rights good. There was u young
woman in England who told me that she
and seven or eight other young people had
tramped in single file through II gentle
mans dining room one evening. while he
and his guests were at dinner, in order to
establish il right of way. The English
man had built his house on Il meadow di-
rectly across /, pathway that had been used
for centuries, and once a year the young
people of the neigh boring estates marched
across his lawn ana up his stairs and
through his house in order that he should
remember that the right of way still ex-
listed. She was an exceedingly shy and
well bred young person and of a family
quite rs Old RS the right OF way, but it ap-
parenty did not strike her that she was
rude in tramping through II stranger
house, or indeed that she was doing any
thing but public duty. And the inter-
esting point of her story to ME WIS that
the English householder, instead Of get
ting II winchester and driving the young
tresspassers off of his lawn. should have
had so full an appreciation of their right
to question his right that he simply bit
his lips and went to law about it.
There was an Irishman in the same
county who lived in u small cottage on an
estate and who WAS in the habit of cross
ing from it to another through the gate
way of very distinguished and noble
gentleman He had done this for 90
years, and when the noble gentleman
came into some more money and hung
two fine iron gates between the posts the
Irish laborer took crow bar and broke
the hinges on which they hung and
tramped over them on his way. He was
put in Jail for this for IL month, ut the end
of which time he went after his crow bar
and tore the gates down again. When he
had been in Jail five times in six months,
the people round about took up his case,
and the right of way was declared just
one, and the gates cane down forever.
The Englishman will go further than this
he will not only fight for his rights, but
he will fight for some other mans rights.
He will go out of his road to tramp
through gentleman's property simply
because the people in the neighborhood
are disputing for right of way with him.
heard of three young barristers when
was in London who went on II walking
tour, and who laid ont their route entire
ly with the purpose in view of taking in
all the disputed rights of way in the coun-
ties through which they passed, and who
! cheerfully sacrificed themselves for the
good of others by forcing their way into
houses and across private grounds and by
tearing down hedges. Harper $ Weekly.