Page:Prerogatives of the Crown.djvu/171

 Ch.VIIL] Franchises. — Estray^ 151 qtio res ipsa esse non posseiJ** It may also be worthy of observation that the King may by the statute 27 Geo. 3. st. 2. c. 13. seize goods taken by pirates where the property is unknown, and detain them until proof of property is made ; and if they be perishable goods the King may sell them, and, upon proof, restore the value {a), 12. Estrays are such valuable animals as are found wan- dering in any manor or lordship, and no man knoweth the owner of them ; in which case, says Sir Wm. Blackstone, the law gives them to the King, as the general owner and lord paramount of the soil, in recompence for the damage they may have done therein (6); and they now most commonly be- long to Lords of manors by special grant from the Crown. Animalsy^r<^ naturcc^ and those on which the law sets no value, cannot be estrays: that term only including, in legal consider- ation, such beasts as are by nature tame or reclairaable, and in which there is a valuable property, as sheep, oxen, swine, and horses, which we generally call cattle (c); and with respect to fowl, only swans may be estrays [d). The reason of which distinction seems to be, that cattle and swans being of a re- claimed nature, the owner's property in them is not lost merely by their temporary escape ; and they also, from their intrinsic value, are a sufficient pledge for the expense of the Lord of the franchise in keeping them the year and day {e). In order to vest an absolute property in the King, the estray must be proclaimed in the church and two market towns, next adjoining to the place where they are found, and if no one claim them after proclamation and a year and a day passed, they belong to the King without redemption {/)', even though the owner be a minor, or under any other legal inca- pacity [g). If the proclamation be irregular, the owner is entitled to restitution at any distance of time (A). Notwith- standing the proclamation, the King's interest in the estray does not become vested or indefeasible, until the expiration of (a) 12 Co. 73. Parker's R. 72. (/) Mirror, c. 3. s. 19. 1 Bla. Com. (A) 1 Bla. Com. 296. 297. (c) Ibid. 297. {g) 5 Rep. 108. Bro. Abr. tit. Eb- (rf) 7 Rep. 17. tray. Cro. El. 716. (0 1 Bla. Com. 298. (A) 1 Rol. Ab. 879., the
 * Qiiando lex aliquid alicui concedit concedere videtur et id sine