Page:A View of the State of Ireland - 1809.djvu/66

 upon his own land or tenement, where lawfully he may, yet if in doing therof he transgresse the least point of the Common Law, hee straight committeth fellony. Or if one by any other occasion take any thing from another, as boyes use sometimes to cap one another, the same is straight fellony. This a very hard law.

Eudox. Nevertheles that evill use of distrayning of another mans goods yee will not deny but it is to be abolished and taken away.

Iren. It is so, but not by taking away the subject withall, for that is too violent a medecine, especially this use being permitted, and made lawfull to some; and to other some death. As to most of the corporate townes there, it is graunted by their charter, that they may, every man by himselfe, without an officer (for that were more tolerable) for any debt, to distraine the goods of any Irish, being found within their liberty, or but passing thorough their townes. And the first permission of this, was for that in those times when that graunt was made, the Irish were not amesnable to law, so as it was not safety for the townes-man to goe to him forth to demaund his debt, nor possible to draw him into law, so that he had leave to bee his owne bayliffe, to arrest his said debters goods, within his owne franchese. The which the Irish seeing, thought it as lawfull for them to distrayne the townes-mans goods in the