The San Francisco call., 1906-05-14
PECULIAR FEUDAL
LAWS IN ENGLAND
Earl Amherst SeizeS Horse and
Sells II Back to
Tenant.
Parliament Will Be Asked to
Repeal PfepOstefOus
Statutes.

sweep Of the preposterous relics OF the
feudal system Of land tenure which
still survives in many parts Of Eng
land has been 'strikingly shown by a
case which has just come to light near
Sevenoaks. In Kent. There resides
Earl Amherst, who, among his other
hereditary claims to distinction. boasts
that OF being lord Of the manor Of
Ortford. Within the borders Of the
domain thus designated Herbert Coul-
drey took up his abode some months
ago, totally unaware that thereby he
incurred any obligations as q vassal
Of the lord Of the manor. The other
day one of the Earl's deputy stewards
called upon Mr.. Couldrey, and, seeing
a horse and trap standing outside the
house. asked Mr.. Couldrey II the horse
was his. On being answered In the af-
f1rmative the deputy steward cut some
hairs from the horses name and. after
depositing them In his pocket. placed
a hand on the horses shoulder, accom-
panying the action with the words:
This horse Is now the property Of
Lord Amherst"
In the twentieth century this appears
more like bit of fooling from a comic
opera than a valid process, but thanks
to the medieval laws that still remain
I'LL Iopcdlcu luS ucpuLy StcWdIQ laA-
tastic performance actually made Earl
Amherst the owner of Mr.. Couldrey's
steed. However, the deputy steward
only took away the hairs that he had
cut from the name, the major portion
of his lordship's newly appropriated
property. which required stabling and
feeding, being left with Mr.. Couldrey.
1t was explained to the latter that the
Earl, being generous man, did not
wish to push his rights to their legal
limits, and would therefore permit Mr..
Couldrey to redeem the horse. The
price of the redemption was subse-
quently fixed at $57.50-about one
third of its real value-which shows
that Earl Amherst Is much more lib
eral man than his feudal ancestors,
who were won't to exact everything
they could claim from their vassals.
Finding there was no other method
by which he could recover the horse,
Mr.. Couldrey bought it back at the
price stipulated Then, in order to call
public attention to the case, he brought
suit against the Earl for the keep Of
the horse during the two weeks that
the settlement of the matter was pend
ing, for, In accordance with the adsugd
law under which 1t had been seized,
for these two weeks the horse was
unquestionably the property of Earl
Amherst. But this modern sort Of pro-
cedure was not at all In accordance
with feudal notions and the Seven
oaks Judge, before whom the suit was
tried, promptly gave his decision
against the audacious vassal. Public
opinion, however, is with the latter
and 1t is probable that a bill Will soon
be introduced In Parliament to put
stop to all such revival OF medieval
rights.
Mr.. Couldrey, It seems, last year
bought near Sevenoaks a property
consisting of two and half acres,
with house and stable, for $500. The
property Is what is known as q "cus-
tomary freehold" Of the manor Of Ort-
ford. And according to the customs
of the manor the lord of the manor is
entitled to a "hertot" on every change
in the ownership by alienation or sue
cession. As his heriot the lord may
legally seize the tenants best live
beast, but in the absence of q beast
to seize he has to be content, in lieu
thereof, with a modest fine of three
shillings and sixpencs est cents). The
customary freeholder who sold the
property to Mr.. Couldrey possessed no
best beast, and SO on that occasion
Earl Amherst got only the 81 cents.
Without any idea that he was thereby
1eopardizing his own best beast. Mr..
Couldrey recently sold q half acre Of
his land for 5000. Then Earl Aror
hersts ernissary swooped down on him
as already told and claimed his heriot.
Mr.. Couldrey did not even know what
the word meant until he had consulted
a dictionary. II he had kept a motor
car instead OF horse. he would have
been able to settle the Earl's claim by
paying him 81 cents.
OF course, there are many n1anorial
lords who never think of enforcing the
ancient feudal rights. which have never
been abrogated. But It Is always pos
sible for such claims to be enforced
vexatiously and oppressively. It Is
actually on record. though II happened
many years ago. that a lord Of the
manor seized as his heriot O tenants
racehorse, worth between 10000 and
SIS, 900.
Earl Amherst Is not at all the sort
Of man one would imagine would prove
stickler in such matters. He has
plenty of money, and though he has
just passed his SEVENTEEN birthday.
is still an active man and a keen
sportsman 1t Is only two years ago