The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1906-11-21
IN A LEGAL SENSE.
SQUIRE RENDERS AN OPINION
AT LENGTH.
Hypothetical Question Looked at from
Many Points Of View and Finally
Made Clear to the Mind,

, Squire Aspinwall. who had been
justice of the peace SO long that the
oldest inhabitant could not remember
the date of his appointment, was
man who always deSberated we'll be-
fore answering a question. He be.
lieyed in weighing his words and look
ing at the matter from every stand
point before expressing positive
opinion for or against. II once took
him 20 minutes to answer a man who
had asked him how far II was from
Pumpkin Center to New Brussels. The
guideboards gave the distance as four
miles, but the squire was not willing
to say offhand that they We're right,
although he admitted that four miles
might be said to be approximately
correct. One day somebody put this
question to the squire;
II you owned an apple tree which
stood 50 near the line between your
lot and your neighbours that some Of
the limbs hung over the fence. would
your neighbor have the right to pick
the fruit which grew on the limbs that
projected above his property
Well" replied the squire, that a
question that has to be considered IN
a good many ways, not sayln' that the
legal standin' of the tree amt clearly
fixed by statoot made and provided.
but. as fer right and wrong there
some things to be said for and some
against Supposin' 1t wasn't the apple
tree, but horse belongin To me that
walked up to the lin fence and stuck
his head over Would my neiShbor
hev a right to claim the horses head
belonged to him" II SO, an he get
tired feedin' the head for nothin he
might put poison or somethin' in the
| grass and by KILN the head Kill my
part OF the horse. too, whereas
! couldn't do nothin' to him because he
could claim that he only wanted to
| Kill his part OF the horse and dfdn
| have nothin' agin my end, therefore,
there would natchelly be some doubts
in the mind OF the jury. or, to wit, if
your hen comes over into my barn and
| lays her eggs. do the eggs aforesaid
! belong to me or have you the right
| hcreinbefore mentioned to come into
my barn aforesaid and gather the said
eggs to have and TO hold for your
| heirs and assigns forever? Or we
might put II still another way viz, If
| you owned a COW and she broke into
my meadow and her calf was born
there in the meadow aforesaid, would
the calf belong to me OF TO You? and
furthermore, If the law decided that
the calf belonged to me and you came
and drove your COW home, lettin my
calf starve could ! sue you for dam
ages? Which brings us back To the
fruit tree. S'posin the law said the
fruit CROWN on the limbs that hung
over the fence into your yard be
longed to you, and done something
to the tree that would kiln II, OF
sawed off the limbs that reached
across the fence, could you get dam
ages from me for destroyin you
proputty?
/ "Or we might even put II another
way yit, the same bein' that you plant
ed watermelon seed In Your garden
and the vine growed throu % the fence
into my yard and melOn srowed on
That end of II, and you seen that II
was goin to be mine when II got ripe
and refused 10 hoe around the roots
and the vine therefore u, mmenced t1
die, could sit out mandamus to make
you keep the weeds pulled and hoe
around the vine SO ny melon would
have the nourishment 1t. needed tt
grow big and git ripe? or we might
go even further and say that ! ownec
sheep and that my sheep aforesaid
tried To break into your field ana got
stuck half way through the fence
Would you have the right to clip thai
part OF the sheep aforesaid and sci
the wool for your own profit? There
fore. we can only say that there ar,
circumstances which being unforeseen
leads to hypothecations that ain
strictly in accordance with the juris
prudence laid down for the cases tina
might. as II were, be held in abey
| anpa