Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/280

 264 gative of appointing ports and havens, or uch places only, for perons and merchandize to pas into and out of the realm, as he in his widom ees proper. By the feodal law all navigable rivers and havens were computed among the regalia, and were ubject to the overeign of the tate. And in England it hath always been held, that the king is lord of the whole hore, and particularly is the guardian of the ports and havens, which are the inlets and gates of the realm : and therefore, o early as the reign of king John, we find hips eied by the king's officers for putting in at a place that was not a legal port. Thee legal ports were undoubtedly at firt aigned by the crown; ince to each of them a court of portmote is incident, the juridiction of which mut flow from the royal authority: the great ports of the ee are alo referred to, as well known and etablihed, by tatute 4 Hen. IV. c. 20. which prohibits the landing elewhere under pain of confication: and the tatute 1 Eliz. c. 11. recites that the franchie of lading and dicharging had been frequently granted by the crown.

though the king had a power of granting the franchie of havens and ports, yet he had not the power of reumption, or of narrowing and confining their limits when once etablihed; but any peron had a right to load or dicharge his merchandize in any part of the haven: whereby the revenue of the cutoms was much impaired and diminihed, by fraudulent landings in obcure and private corners. This occaioned the tatutes of 1 Eliz. c. 11. and 13 & 14. Car. II. c. 11. §. 14. which enable the crown by commiion to acertain the limits of all ports, and to aign proper wharfs and quays in each port, for the excluive landing and loading of merchandize.

erection of beacons, light-houes, and ea-marks, is alo a branch of the royal prerogative: whereof the firt was antiently Rh