Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (1st ed, 1768, vol III).djvu/225

Rh har vet, without being guilty of trepas : which humane proviion eems borrowed from the moaical law. In like manner the common law warrants the hunting of ravenous beats of prey, as badgers and foxes, in another man’s land; becaue the destroying uch creatures is profitable to the public. But in caes where a man midemeans himelf, or makes an ill ue of the authority with which the law entruts him, he hall be accounted a trepaer ab initio : as if one comes into a tavern and will not go out in a reaonable time, but tarries there all night contrary to the inclinations of the owner; this wrongful act hall affect and have relation back even to his firt entry, and make the whole a trepas. But a bare non-feaance, as not paying for the wine he calls for, will not make him a trepaer; for this is only a breach of contract, for which the taverner hall have an action of debt or aumpit againt him. So if a landlord ditreined for rent, and wilfully killed the ditres, this by the common law made him a trepaer ab initio : and o indeed would any other irregularity have done, till the tatute 11 Geo. II. c.19. which enacts that no ubequent irregularity of the landlord hall make his firt entry a trepa; but the party injured hall have a pecial action on the cae for the real pecific injury utained, unles tender of amends hath been made. But till, if a reverioner, who enters on pretence of eeing wate, breaks the houe, or tays there all night; or if the commoner who comes to tend his cattle, cuts down a tree; in thee and imilar caes the law judges that he entered for this unlawful purpoe, and therefore, as the act which demonstrates uch his purpoe is a trepas, he hall be eteemed a trepaer ab initio. So alo in the cae of hunting the fox or the badger, a man cannot jutify breaking the oil, and digging him out of his earth: for though the