Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 1.djvu/489

 12 s. i. JUNE n, 1916.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

483

THE CITY CORONER AND TREASURE-TROVE.

THE following paragraphs set a legal problem which may be of interest to readers of ' N. & Q.'

Excerpt from 'Annual Return, for 1915, to the Corporation of the City of London, by Dr. Waldo, His Majesty's Coroner for the City of London and ancient Borough of Southwark ' :

"In my last Return (for 1914) I called the attention of your Corporation, at some length, to the alleged discovery in the City of treasure-trove consisting of Tudor ornaments made of gold and of jewellery set with precious stones of considerable value. At the same time, inter alia, I pointed out the fact that treasure-trove unearthed in the City of London, or in the ancient Borough of South- wark, belonged not as is usually the case in other districts to His Majesty the King, but by Royal grant to the Lord Mayor, Commonalty, and Citizens of London ; also, that the charters mentioned were confirmed by the Inspeximus charter, in Latin with seal attached, of the 24th June, 15 Charles II. (1664), which had been examined by me in the chart room at the Guild- hall. I also quoted Sir Thomas Hard3 r 's trans- lation of this charter, which says : ' We do give and grant to the Mayor, Commonalty, and Citizens, and their successors, treasure- trove in the City of London, or the liberties thereof,' &c. On presentation of my Return, being consulted as to procedure, I suggested that your County Purposes Committee, who are considering the matter of the treasure-trove, should forthwith obtain the assistance of the City Police in view of the im- portance of obtaining direct evidence as to the exact spot where the treasure had been found. At the same time it seemed to me not unlikely that the Police might also discover the whereabouts of some of the treasure, not infrequently in such cases disposed of by the finder or finders. On the report of such finding to the Coroner in whose district the treasure lies, it becomes his duty to call a jury and make inquiry, and on proof of intentional concealment the concealer lays himself open to prosecution, fine, and imprison- ment. This duty was specifically assigned to the Coroner by Edward I. in the year 1276,* and re-imposed in Section 36 of the Coroners Act of 1887, and is still in force.

" So far as I know, the Police have not yet moved in the matter. At present, the major part of the treasure is still in keeping at the London Museum, Lancaster House, St. James's, S.W.,f

that ' a Coroner ought to inquire of treasure that is found, who were the finders, and likewise who is suspected thereof ' ; and ' that may be well perceived where one liveth riotously, haunting taverns, and hath done so of long time ; hereupon he may be attached for this suspicion by four or six or more pledges, if they be found ' (Hawkins)."
 * " By the statute of 4 Edw. I., it was enacted

t " A coloured plate of fifty-two of these orna- ments is given in the Ladies' Supplement of The Illustrated London News, July 18, 1914, with the following note appended : ' This collection of

while a smaller portion of it was seen by me in 1915 on view in the Gem and Gold Ornament Room of the British Museum, Bloomsbury, W.C.,* with the following legend inscribed on the cabinet in which the treasure is contained : ' English jewellery found in London representing part of a Goldsmith's stock the greater portion of which is in the London Museum given by the Rt. Hon. Lewis Harcourt, Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1914. The objects marked A. to E., evidently from the same find, were previously acquired. 17th century.'

" The suggestion has recently been made that I should hold an inquest on the trove, in answer to which I have explained to your County Purposes Committee that this cannot be done so long as the treasure lies outside my district and jurisdiction. Neither have I any power to order those in possession to return the treasure to the City, from whence it has undoubtedly been removed without any notice whatever to me as City Coroner. Under existing circumstances failing the volun- tary delivery of the treasure it is open to your Corporation to bring a civil action in the Chancery Division against the Trustees of the London and British Museums for the recovery of the trove. As already pointed out by me, this can be done short of any inquest having been held in a Coroner's Court.f Personally I am inclined to think that under all the circumstances of the case the better course for your Corporation to adopt would be, without further delay, to bring a civil action in order to decide once and for all whether the ornaments in question are technically treasure- trove, and if so, who are the rightful owners thereof. It has been held in the Courts that no Coroner has any power to inquire as to the title of treasure- trove, which alone can be decided by the Judges in the High Court."

J. W.

FIELDINGIANA.

I. MlSS H AND.

YOUR correspondent H. K. ST. J. S. communicated (10 S. v. 446) a ' Poem by Fielding addressed to Miss H land,' repro- duced from the Rev. Samuel Rogers's ' Poems on Various Occasions,' published at

jewels and unmounted stones was discovered hi 1912, in London, under the floor of a cellar, at a depth of sixteen feet from the present surface. The box which had contained them was com- pletely decayed, and only the brass handle and a, few shreds of wood remained. The " find " is of great archaeological value, as it probably repre- sents part of the stock of a jeweller of the time of James I. With the jewels were several religious objects in crystal, which were probably of a somewhat earlier date that is, the late sixteenth century. This collection was pur- chased through the Rt. Hon. Lewis Harcourt, P.C., M.P., one of the Trustees of the London Museum, and can be seen in the Gold Room at Stafford House.'"

be temporarily closed on March 1, 1916."
 * " The British and London Museums are to-

f ' ' See City Coroner's Annual Return for the year 1914, p. 26, line 8."