The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-31
BUBBLES IN THE LAW.
The Strict Letter of the Statute Is Some
times Not So Strict as 1t Might BE.

1t it realized by few people what a
very large proportion of those great
legal cases that pass upward from
court to court and take years to bring
to conclusion, turn altogether on the
meaning Of single word or short
phrase.
The case recently decided in tho
house of lords, what is a house, Office
room or other place, has been going
on for many years, and must nave
cost the taxpayer some twenty or
thirty thousand pounds. Strictly
speaking, it is not finished yet, for the
lords have only decided that a betting
ring is not an "Other place
But this is only one out of hundreds
Such a simple word as cattle" for
instance proved quite puzzling some
time ago, and it's meaning had to be
decided by the court of queens bench.
The facts of the case were these: An
act. of the year IS Victoria, makes any
owner of a dog liable for injury done
to another persons sheep or cattle.
Now, a certain mans dog bit and in
jured another mans mare. But the
owner of the dog contended that mares
were neither sheep nor cattle. The
question finally found its way to the
court of queens bench, where it was
laid down that horses and mares are
cattle
Anyone would ey that he himself
knows the English language sufficient
ly we'll to decide the true meaning of
the word 'children.' But it has re-
Gently taken the court of chancery to
set at rest a dispute concerning this
word. There is a law which enacts
that the father and the mother, the
grandfather and the grandmother, and
the children of every poor person shall,
being of sufficient ability, relieve ard
maintain every such poor person..
There
the father and mother, the grandfather
and grandmother, but does this law
oblige people to support their grand
fathers and grandmothers? In other
words, are a persons grandchildren his
children? With praiseworthy common
sense the court of chancery says they
are not Therefore, although your
grandparents are liable for your MAIN
tenance, you have no liability to MAIN
tain them.
What is an aged person." once
formed the subject of considerable liti-
CATION. A certain charitable Unitarian
gentleman left land, the rent of which
he willed should be divided into an
nuities of $40 each and given to per-
sons not under so years of age Who
regularly attended a Unitarian church.
1t was contended that people just turn
ed so We're not aged" and that, there
fore, this was not a charity al law
it was a good charity, and that persons
not under so are aged persons
The word ANY" is simple enough,
but it has formed the subject of more
than one trial. For instance. a law
was passed in one of the United States
giving a reward Of $50 to any person
who would pursue and capture a
stealer of horses or cattle One day
a farmers horses were stolen and he
pursued and captured the thief and
recovered his property. Then he
humOrOuSly went and claimed the re-
ward. Naturally it was refused. But
as he couldn't be convinced that he was
not any person" he carried the case
to the higher courts and won it.
Not very long ago foreigner was
arrested N London. but was acquitted
of the charge. Instead of being set at
liberty, however. he was detained under
the eXtraditiOn law to answer for some
other crime at home. He ingeniously
cOntended that the eNtradition law re-
quired him to be unprecedented" while
he was merely detained" and the
services of the court of the queens
bench had to be invoked to decide if
this detention was an apprehension"
"A consumer of water is a phrase
that does not seem susceptible of any
doubt as to it's meaning, but a case was
the court of chancery some time ago,
and finally it had to go to the court OF
appeal in order to find out if a person
who had not yet commenced consuming
the water. but, who wished to do so,
was actually a consumer of water. 1t
was decided that he was not.