Lent Assizes.
The Times, 1824-03-06T00:00:00

Bcfo'e Chief Baronr ALEXANDER and 8'aeiaiJuries. Mtr. lRODuRlCK opened the pleadings. This was an actioli of tres. pass. The declaration set forth thatt the defendant, on thc 3Jth of De. cember, 1823. broke andentered divers woodsandcloses,the property of the plaintilf, and trampledonand destroyed his fences and planlti- tion. ro this the defendant pleaded, Ist,thatbedid not commnit any trespass; and 2d, that leaveandlicence had been given him to go ovcr theplaintiff'sggroutds. Issuewasioinedon the firstplea; and,onthe second, it wa5 denied that any such leave orlicene had been given. MYr. ADDLPoSus ?tated the case. He observed, that the peculiar circumstances of this action couldnotbegathered from the iegal form whichhad just been read by his learnedfriend. Inpointofreality~,the qncstion was of a much higher nature than appearet ,or could apprar, on the face of those pleas. Toe question was, whetherthe Earl of Essex, and, in commoil with) him, every nobleman and' gentleman in the county of Hertford, should be the real and bona lidc proprie. tor of his own estate; or whether those estates were hield in com- mon with every person who could get upon a horse, and wlho might feel a pleasure in riding over any property that lav in his wv.ay It would be tbr the ,jury to say, after they had heard the evidence, wvhether they wouid not prerent, by their verdict, the rights of a great landed proprietor from being visitedl with constant hosti- lity ?_.whether they vould not secure to the plaintiff the iin- disturbed possession of those estates which were unqtuestionably his own ? The EDarl of 13ssex asked only, at ttic hands of the jury, for that which every man had a right to demand- namely, leave to enjoy, in quietness and peace, those possessions which hail descended to him from his &acestoes-nse possessions which he had, by ever" means in his power, endeavouret to improve and to eurich. 'I'his case arose out of'one of those strange occurrences which the learned counsel believed were not to be found hi any other-county but that in which they were now met. It ori. ginated in a miscellaneous fox-hunt-a sort of joint-stock companv I association, the supporters of which latne from all distances, and w.vere of all dese'ipttons. No matter what chance or what particular sptrit of adventture called them together, they assembled utider thie res ectablename of " Fox-hunters," for respectable the name cer- tainly had been for along period in the 4istory of this country. But ftox-busters, to whom he alluded, were of a differentdescription from those whoni he meant todelescribe-who. having mounted a horse, thougbt they were entitled to exdaim-* Am I not a fox-bunter ? Have I not a right to go wherever the fox goes? EHave I not a riglht to hunt him to utter. destruction, perfectly indifleirent as to any mischief I may occasion ?" It was now necessary to enter a little into the history of this, the Berkeley Hu;lt as it was called, of which MIr. Harvey Combe was the head. About thirty years ago, Earl Berkeley establisheda pack of hounds in this counity, called " The Berkley Hunt." lHe hunted his liounds where they could do no harm. It was a regular eounty hunt, supported by gen- tlemen of the county. WVhile It went on thus, no bickering or dis- content ever took place. lVhen Earl Berkeley gave up the hounds, the hunt was conducted in a similar way by Lord Sefton, and no complaints were made about it. At length, bowever, all the noble. men and gentlemen who had been connected with the hunt, gave up the concern, and in 1808 it fell, into other and different hands- those of Ur. Harvey Combe. He was thetreasurer, andother per- sons took various offices in the society. Air. Cormbe had no land in this countv. He found that the hunt had been carried too far a-field for subscribers, whose London nagsruight be knocked up.before they came to the place where the prey was started, and therefore he re- moved it from its ancient locality to a poiut msntch nearer Lendon-into thatt part of the county where industry, Opulence, and good taste, had converted the land into one scene of cultivation,-where no sport -of this nature could be carried on without causing great miscbief and damage. Under thc8e circuni- sitipces, a most respectable body of noblemen and gentlemen com- liied to put down this evil. ['he Earls of Abercorn, S4l-o, and Eatex, and matsy other individuals of the first. rank, met for the purpose of'.devispg the means by which that which thev considered atiit(Q1orabfe nuisance and ipjur rr.ight beprevented. l'he "hunt" .v6ft1& tt heweveb, give 'up *.her pursuibt aftrT eceivitig an inti- hatiol, fromsfh thosefghly r'espectable inditduals. the learned gen- tleman'then red tne resostior which this society of noblemen and | gentremen hiad come to, in 1 , d~eprecating in mild, but firm lan- , 6uase5 the system which thetu prevNile4 QI hiithg ill a eomitry IhIghly' Cultivated, andl almioit entirely enclo.sed. ?" a rcee to observe that itn 1809, anl a4tion for t.re s n o tU wd ibough df aperson of.?he.name of. oldacre,who wa hi tma ftl..e and asereg t. ote ,deferndant :on;this record, A vzejd.t was. Obtained. agairnst himn, anti it w~s lsqped tl4 .thlf " :vvoill& put an end to these unwarrntable and atrociicat iQcee, ings The 'd ea~ nta:.a were niever paid-thO .n4ahs wentiS riso. aid inaly tpikthe:-benefir. of tie; ictsolvent' debo'e'ac. Te hnt rocede toanother part of this q6uzstiY, or,at E eent, teywere not heard of -inthis.quai~ier.'Pie hqu4ds,j i~a1Persre,werestnibly soltd ;.but the fact was they wr'iqiugh~ itsor hepuroseofcar~ig.oa this noxriop4 ', hsunt." Thd hunt Wasnowestblihedin full vigoutr at G+errard's.ciross, and next at Rickansort qute close to the mariors of Lord Essex. .W'hat, the. ie Lod s'e~to complainuof? At Csishiobury hehadbeent. yearly e.epending large sumus of money ini improvements ; he bda, 1gt thiecourse of tbsoseimprovements, greatly beneAttea the poor. Iioe apace which he had planted andaorn'anie)ted was,'in Ingth,atleas,tfive muiles and alhalf. ButilMr.Combe camre dwnivith. his "hbunt"... one man, adealer itihorses, another a builder of ffbu-rie...didtie: contrary, to thie practice of country- gentlemen andi fix.unter,rd the eseres o th Ear of Esse brke dwn hs fnctes,ai Richard Carter, examined by Mr. Bnos)IIC.rc...I em. kee per to L-ord Essex, and have been' in that sittuation 12 or 13 years. L,ord Essex has the farm of Leggatts in his p Oassso; thlat place. is about a mil- fromn Cashiobury. T~here are many walks there. w Ias ordered to serve nodtics on several persons.. A. constable of' the name of Simmons served n'otices on the two Oldacres. They are, I understand, the huntsn tan and whsipper.in ef Mr. Combe. I understand Mr. Combe is"1 the graind man" of the. hunt. There are traps in the grounds at I~egatt's. The Salisbury Hunt go there. They aw.y send theghbfoe to desire the trn 5 tobe struck. Two rer z,J a l.Cme and d withi himn a atithere ere traps set in thle grounids all the way up to myhuenTa e since the hunt came to RickinaiisworstTh atprs djisLr Essek'a demmesn Oa the morning I spoket r obe,tehunds- wvere Out. I Was authorizedby Lord Ese otl n ne gon to) hunt there, thut traps were set in th wo.Incsquence I went out to Si r. Combe. Mlr. Comb sad I e fte hounds are injured, I'll bring mny anction, not agis o EsX, but against you, for set-. ting the traps." AIreuedagntmnofhenanse of Leech gave nie "a note. I put iin my pctr n gave it to Lo4rd Esse.x. It was returncdnx a to Mr (Aec .1(ir. BrodrIck hiere uinqiired of tlile witnes hte theewran tame fdxes at Lgats..ay toxes wit mnarkinttreasThe qu.6tions, the witngesiswa-savervy loathi to anrswe.l hamitdWas, that -be had. marked mnany taxes hinef. Wies went on to state, thAt there were many n6tices agaisthnigotegrnd,ptd all oVer Lord Essxs estate. hywr ouuedi bt amn WsIt onte eye, instead of tweo, must scete.Oeo the liotices was puit in and read. Cross-examined by Mr. 1EOLLANiD-Inever heard a word of the traps being struck when the Be-rkeley Hunt were out. 'We have al- wrays trapped. the woDods ever since th ey were incour possession, The traps were always strtuck for the Salisbury hounds. NVitness produce4 Lord Essex's authority for serving notices on persons who trespassed. Henrv Simymons, exami~ned by Mlr. ADOLMeUS...j delivered a letter, c6ntsaining thle notice I 'received fromj Carter, the last wvit.. niess, to Robert 'Oldiaere. I don't know what Oldacre is. Johni Palkland, examnined by Slir. BstoaRicK-11..M property adjoins Lordl Essex's estate. On rise 30til of la-t December I saw the Berkeley Hunt in Gullett's.wood,whlich is art of Leggatt's farmi. They were riding and driving tlirough the roads. end ways recently miade by Lord Essex. After that I went to,rards my jiwn house., and on looking back, I saw 20 or 30 of the hiunters coming throughi mnyfields towards my house Thiey rode throutghanyoung plantation ot mine, and destroyed several trems Captaini Sullivan was the only gentlemani there wliomn I knew. I told hiim they were riding thoough the Plantation, antI Captain Sullivan called out to them. Some of tnsdssted, but others continued to ride over fences &c. -Tanrer, exaLMined by Mlr. ADsOLPHsUS.-I hiave been stew- ard-zo Lord Essex for14 yenar. His lordshlipadded Leg,-att's to his estate, by purchase from MJiss NoYes, in the year I820. He lie laid out imuch money in improving it. Leggatt's lies entirely in the parish ot' Watford. WVithin the two last years, Lord Bssex has made miany iimprovetnents in Leggratt's. He has planted a great variety of tree there. IHis improvenientq, I should suppose, extended abaut five miles. Soine pasrt of llri eketi-wood. beliongs to his lordship. Thie wood is very large. He possesses there 50 acres of wood, aisd 50 acre-s of oilier grouind. Juniper-wood belongs to Iiini. His Lord- ship has a preserve of pheasants at I,esrgtt's. They, are in the wood. and are fedl every, tay. On the 30thi of December, I observedl the ramping f horses over thle grounds. I observedt the damarna in -ngSpring, Gulleit's-wood, and Rushy-Croft. Soume of the fields were in corn, and souse ~loughed. The plantationa were trainpled on, the fences uea'nagesi, and the rides cut up. I don rtknow where the Berkeley Huntilmeet, nor where theirkennelis. XV". Toomy, examrii,ed by .Mlr. ADo[.i'i1Smj.1 am a farmier in thle nei0ibouihood. I was nut with the Berkeley Hunt on the 30th of December. We th)rew off at B3rickett-wood. We foundi the foax in Juniper-wood. I didl not see lir. Conibe. I understand he is a brewyer in London. I don't know thiat he is at the henl of the hunt. The two Old'acres were presenit. Cross-examined by Sir. LAir.-The hunt is kept very private. It is never advertised. 'The mnembers are very few. John F'orsclic, examined by.1ir. BRODttiCK.-Iaml Lord Essex's game-keeper, anid live in Brickett's.woodl. Onitile 30th of Decetn- brr, I saw the Berkeley Huint. Sir. Combe was there, and also tthe two 0ldacres, who are huntsman and wyhipper-inin. I sew II r. Combe in Guiheit's-wood. lie went into Ohdwell-field, and ethet.1 int ppr Well-field. The forniier was- falIow, the latter w-,q plnedwth tu 'nips. Mr. Caimbe, I understand, is the nsass'.r of the hunt. There 'nust have beens 40 or 60 lpersons when I saw them, They were all on Lordl Ess-ex's grounds. They went acro,s ltushiy_. croft-field. It was planted with ivhmeat, whichi was a geo`'1 deal cut up. They also inijuredl the plantationis anci fences. Cross-examined hvi' Mr. BOtaArru.-WVhen I s'.w Mr. Comibe ha wras riding under the hedge. HIls horse didl shot touch the tur- nips. 1 did rnot lialloo thle lhunt thlat dayv. Hlenrv Hughies, examined by M1r. B1i0ZoLRTCK.Iam One Of the woodmeni of Lord Essex. I saw thie Bertkeley Hunt on the 30th of December. They were in Gullet-wuo.,,. (NIitntess described the dlifferent places th,rough which thie hun~t, rodie.) Trhere were many young planltations, wa~lks, andi ridles, in Leggatt's. The lhunt rode o,ver themn in dlifferent .laces and persons were oblig-ed afterwaids to repair the damage. Whenii aw th:efox,I said, " There he goeL" -- Turnier, examined. by Mr. ADoLPHU84- alm attorney, for the plintinff,and . -have b.een employed by hiim sities 1508. I IV"" employedl in en actioni of mhits ind in 1815. It was nut brougut by Lord Essex. Mr. Comnbe has beena miember of rumis hu'nt since 1809. I was attorney to thie asso- ciation, v.hich was formed toZ pretesit thiese trespasses. Lord Essex was chairman of the COMititee. No aetions were brought witlhout Isiiipermiission. Aiiaction was brougit against HenryvOldacre. It was nor defended. acid an inquiry was executed in 18103. I had sonie coiumunicerion ivith Sir. Cu be on the subject of the action against Oldacre. Mr. Co)mbs wa3 treasurer of the hunit in 1815 or 1816. Mr. Coinise wishied mte to interfere with Lord Essex, to reduce the damiia-ges in the case of Oldacre. I did so, and his Lordship said, 11Titi law imust take its course." Thie defendant was surrendered. Inever got my money. Tihere is an action now pending against Oldacre foratrss: he is hunt-sman of the hunt. Th:s wasthe case fo tke prosecution. Mr BoLt.Axrj made an ingenious speech for the defendant, whom lie ch aracterizedmas a most honou1yaole mats-one whomi he hadl known "frons hIis childhood, asid whyio was utterly incap-able of acting with malice or hostility towards any one. Tlhe plea of li- cence whiich had been pilace on the record, was One fro-m whichl those who advised it 'would not shrink. He wvouldi endleavour to show, from letters written by Lo3rd Essex to Mr. C-ombe, that it there was not a licence in law, there certainly was giveni, by those letters, thiat sort of licence wvhicli, amongst gentlemen, would have; been considered conclusive. Tue learned zentlIeman put in two letters from Lord Es-sex to Mr. Cumbe, anid one fromi Lord Essex to a Mlr. Boodle-, from the enntents of whiich he inferred that Lord Essiex liad not deniied to 31r. Coinbe the liberty, of sporting over his grounds. His Lordship hiad certainly interdicted M r. Couibe fromn drawiug certaini woods, and thie I'earned gentlern-n called on the Jury to pauise s'articularly on thle word. Dra-wing siieant nothing more than going abiout any, cover anil beating it for the Purpose of' start ing gelnie, which was af-terwards to be hunte T'iihi was enitirely different from ridcing through endi over certain places, and lie argued that no proof wlia.. ever was- given of Mr. Conibe's haviag drawvn any cover whatever. Mlr. John Boodle was then called, and exantined by Mr. ADOL. PHus.-Hie deposed-I live in Davies-street, Berkelev-square, and am Lord Essex's agent. 1 put into tritehands oh' Mr. lharvey- Conmbe a letter I received from L-ord Essex on thec 21st of August, 1821). [The letter was read by the witness. It contained a com- Plaint oft the conduct piursued by the Berke.ley Hunit, andI expressed ilisa lordship's determination not to SuIfier in future, with impunity, the annoyances by which he hadt been assailed for sonme timne past. Tuie ittiess then stated, that Mr. Combe said, if Lord Essex would' pulist out what cove-rs he did not wish to be drawn, he would attendl to it, but that lie wcouldI not leave offihunting. Mr. ADOLPHU S replied, strongly Urging the topics on which be had dilated in opening the ecase. Chief Baron ALEXA-NUER suIMMed up. The itrespass was, he stated, clearly p roved ; anid he con'sidered that the letter adduiced by- the defenidant dlid not amount to such a licence as justified the- de- fendant in the course he had pursued. That point might, homweetr, he reserved for the Court, so that, if his opinion were wrong, the verdict might, in case damages wvere found for the plaintiff, be -,i.i, mnately set a.sidle. Tue Jury retired, and after long consideration, proounced a ves-. dict for the defenduanL The case lasted till near six o'clock in the evening. LEANT ASSIZES. HERTFORD.-NISI PRIUS COrRTi. lriprv s TRESPASS--THE EARL OF ESSEX V. HARVEY CO0ILE. ERL.