Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-09-09
The Law As TO FINDINGS.
When Is Thing Lost, and When May the
Finder Legally Keep It?

The finding of concealed wealth is
now an event of rare occurrence, ex-
cept in tales of romance and adven-
ture. 1t was once not uncommon.
For when civilization was compare
lively rude and the ways of keeping
valuables were imperfect, the earth
was favorite hiding place for treas
ures, especially in times of war or in
vasion. The title to such valuables,
when discovered, has been often the
subject of dispute. Money, gold, sill
YER, or plate found hidden in the
earth or in secret place is termed
treasure trove-from the French trou-
YER, to find. Such treasure, accord
ing to the law of England, was the
property of the king,- and in this
country, strictly speaking, once be-
longed to the state in which it was
found but the title of the state has
not for long time, if ever, been
strongly asserted against finder.
Lost articles of value found upon
the surface of the earth, or in the sea,
are, so far as concerns every one but
the owner, the property of the one who
finds them. If they are afterwards
taken from him by another, the finder
can reclaim them as if he were the
owner.
A chimney sweeper's boy living in
ENGLAND more than 100 wears ago, had
the fortune to find a jewel of unusual
value. He took it to q goldsmith,
who, after looking at and weighing
it, tried to buy it from the boy for a
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 gold
smith, the value of the jewel was con-
cealed by 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 finder to the possession of
his findings.
In order to give the finder such q
claim, however, the article must be
truly lost. If it has been simply mis-.
laid or put in a particular place by
the owner and afterward left there
through his carelessness, it is not legal
ly lost. A lady who leaves her purse
on the counter of a shop where she
has been trading cannot be said to
have lost it, and if the purse is after
ward picked up by another the pro-
prietor of the shop is said to have q
better right to hold it than the one
who found it. But if the purse had
been accidentally dropped on the
floor of the premises, and afterward
found there by a customer, that
would have been a real case of losing,
and the customer-if the owner can
not be found-would have as much
right to keep the purse as if he had
found it in the street. In order to be
a finder one must be aware that he
has the thing in his possession, and he
must show an intention of keeping it.
The purchaser of an old secretary
or bureau sometimes finds put away
in a secret drawer money or jewels
long forgotten. To whom do they be-
long? The seller did not know that
they were there, and showed no in
tention 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, Il servant, or any one
else who is not tresspasser.
To keep what one has found is not
an absolute but special right, which
the true owner may dispute by demand
ing his property and proving his claim
to it to the reasonable satisfaction OF
the person who holds it. When the
owner has offered definite 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 ex-
pense incurred in keeping it, though
he would be entitled to be paid by the
owner for such outlay. s;s...
One who is so fortunate as to find:
what belongs to another must always
act honestly and with what the law