The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1895-02-28
ARE FINDERS KEEPERS?
The Law as to Finders and Keepers
lis Simple and Fair.

The finding of concealed wealth lis
now an event of rare occurrence, eX-
cept in tales Of romance and adven-
ture. 1t was not uncommon once;
for when civilization was comparative
ly rude, and the ways Of keeping val
uables were imperfect, the earth was
a favorite hiding-place for treasures,
especially in times of war OF invasion.
The title to such valuables when
discovered has often been the subject
of dispute. Money, gold, silver Or
plate found hidden in the earth or In
a secret place is termed treasure-trove,
from the French rover, to find. Such
treasure, according to the law Of Eng
land, was the property Of the king.
Lost articles of value found upon
the surface of the earth or in the sea
are, so far as concerns everyone but
the owner, the property OF the one
who finds them. If they are after
finder can reclaim them as if he We're
the owner.
A chimney sweeper's boy, more than
hundred years ago, had the good
fortune to- find a jewel of unusual
value. He took it to a goldsmith, who,
after looking at and weighing it, tried
to buy it from the boy for a trifing
sum- The lad refusing the offer, the
goldsmith returned to him the setting,
but would not give back the gem.
| Upon the trial Of an action brought
by the boy against the goldsmith, the
value of the jewel was concealed by
1.-THE goldsmith, and he was directed by
the court to pay the boy the price Of
the finest jewel which could be fitted
| to the setting This incident resulted
in settling forever the right of a find
er Ito the possession Of his findings.
In order to give the finder such a
claim, however, the article must have
been truly lost. If it had been simply
mislaid, or put in a particular place
by the owner and afterward left there
through his carelessless, it is not legal
1y lost.
A lady who leaves her purse on the
counter of shop where she has been
trading cannot be said ito have lost it;
and if the purse is afterward picked
up by another the proprietor Of the
shop is said ito have a better right to
hold it than the one who found it.
But if the purse had been accident
ally dropped on the floor of the prem
ises, and afterward found there by a
customer, that would have been real
case of losing, and the cus|tomer-if
if the owner cannot be found-would
have as much right to keep the purse
as if he had found it in the street.
In cruer to be finder, one must be
aware that he has the thing in his
possession and he must show his in
tenticn of keeping it
| The purchaser of AN old secretary
1 or chest of drawers sometimes finds
/ n
jewels, long forgotten. To whom do
they belong? The seller did not know
that they were there, and showed no
intention of claiming them when the
| furniture was in his possession. They
cannot, therefore, belong to him, but
are rightly claimed by the person who
first discovers them, whether he be
| the purchaser, a servant, or anyone
else who is not treSpaSSer.
| To keep what one has found is not
an absolute, but a special right, which
the true owner may dispute by de-
manding his property and proving his
claim to it to the reasonable satisfac-
ton of the person who holds it.
When the owner has offered def
mite reward the finder may keep the
lost article until the reward is paid to
him. But he cannot demand a reward
where none is offered, nor can he hold
the lost property as security for any
expense incurred i'm keeping it, though
he would be entitled to be paid by the
owner for such outlay.
One who is so fortunate as ito find
what belongs to another must always
act honestly, and with what the law
calls "good faith," toward the owner
For if at the time Of finding he knows,
or has the means of knowing, Or be-
lieves he can find out who the owner
is, and makes no effort to discover
him, but Intentionally keeps or dis
poses of the lost property, the law re-
CARDS him as no better than a thief
| New York Advertiser.