Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 2.djvu/57

 128. II. JULY 1.3, 1916.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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FitzMaldreds, who derived it, according to tradition, from their great-grandfather Cospatric, Earl of Northumberland.

The arms of the Nevilles of Raby, Earls of Westmorland, were : " Gules, a saltire urgent " ; the arms of the French General Neuville, the present gallant defender of Verdun, are : " Gules, a saltire or." Is there any connexion ?

It is obvious that the ship which appears upon the canton at times, and also as a family badge, is merely a rebus upon the 'name, Nef (a ship), Neufville, Nefville, and does not commemorate the helmsman Neville who steered the Conqueror to our shores. ALFRED RODWAY.

Birmingham.

FAMILY OF HEWITT OR HEWETT. Can any of your readers tell me what became of the late Col. J. F. N. Hewett's collection of fe.mily pedigrees ? His intention was, I understand, to have published these privately, but his death prevented this.

He was a frequent contributor to ' N. & Q.' in its early days (1850). H. F. HEWITT.

Standard Bank, Port Elizabeth, S.A.

THE CITY CORONER AND TREASURE-TROVE.

(12 S. i. 483.)

ALTHOUGH treasure- trove is "an obscure subject, which, almost untouched by legis- lation, is peculiarly sterile in case law " (W. Martin, The Law Quarterly Review, 1904, vol. xx. p. 27), one would suggest, with deference, that a coroner is invested with jurisdiction by reason of the geographical position of the place of concealment, or alleged concealment, and that his right to hold an inquisition, to establish or negative discovery of hidden treasure, is not defeated by the removal of such treasure beyond that officer's territorial limits.

This view would seem to be supported by J. Brooke Little :

"The duty of a coroner with regard to treasure- trove is to go where treasure is said to be found, and to issue his warrant for summoning a jury to

appear before him in a certain place " Hals-

bury's 'Laws of England,' vol. viii. p. 247.

In the case of Att.-Gen. v. Moore, 1893, 1 Ch. 676, Sir J. Rigby, for the Crown, in arguendo, said (p. 681) :

" We do not seek to interfere with the coroner af he chooses to hold another inquest but we

desire to have the articles protected by being brought into Court, until the title of the Crown can be tried."

Counsel for the coroner contra :

" The coroner is only anxious to do his duty, and he cannot hold his inquest without having posses- sion of the plate in question,"

but he cited no authority for this proposi- tion. The late Mr. Justice Stirling, towards the end of his judgment, observed :

" The learned counsel for the coroner has asked me that he may not be deprived of the articles until after the inquest which he proposes to hold. I think that is reasonable "

His lordship, be it noted, acceded to the coroner's request on the ground of con- venience, not on any supposition that without the articles the inquest would be abortive and of none effect.

The learned City Coroner is, of course, entirely correct in saying that it is the High Court only that has jurisdiction to determine questions of title to treasure-trove (Att.- Gen. v. Moore supra) ; but it may be ex- pedient, in a case where the parties concerned are not agreed that the circumstances of the discovery point to treasure-trove, to have a finding of a coroner's jury on the facts, albeit their conclusions are traversable (Garnett v. Ferrand, 1828, 6 Barnewall and CressweJl's Reports, p. 611). It would appear to be a more commendable course, therefore, for the City Coroner and his jury to consider the evidence of the City Police (if possessed of any) than to have it laid before the County Purposes Committee, who are not a Court of Record.

It may well be that there exist great practical difficulties in summoning a jury to attend 8 place " where treasure is said to be found when that place is perhaps completely covered by buildings subse- quently erected, but such state of affairs cannot affect the question of jurisdiction, the sole question raised in your columns. Such subsequently accruing difficulties serve only to emphasize the advice of Mr. William Martin :

" It is of the greatest importance to obtain reli- able information upon all the circumstances of a finding, circumstances which, in particular, include the condition of the articles themselves, both as regards their relative position and their position towards surrounding objects, Since so much depends upon an adequate knowledge of the surroundings, no steps should be omitted to obtain this knowledge at the earliest opportunity. Information should be first hand, and should be sought for quickly, before the constant rej>etition of answers to leading questions has converted mere inferences into 'undisputed fact*.'" Ibid., supra, p. 33.