Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/318

 302 hip in freh water, and is drowned, it hath been aid, that the veel and cargo are in trictnes of law a deodand. But juries have of late very frequently taken upon themelves to mitigate thee forfeitures, by finding only ome trifling thing, or part of an intire thing, to have been the occaion of the death. And in uch caes, although the finding of the jury be hardly warrantable by law, the court of king's bench hath generally refued to interfere on behalf of the lord of the franchie, to ait o odious a claim.

, and forfeitures in general, as well as wrecks, treaure trove, royal fih, mines, waifs, and etrays, may be granted by the king to particular ubjects, as a royal franchie: and indeed they are for the mot part granted out to the lords of manors, or other liberties; to the perverion of their original deign.

XVII. branch of the king's ordinary revenue aries from echeats of lands, which happen upon the defect of heirs to ucceed to the inheritance; whereupon they in general revert to and vet in the king, who is eteemed, in the eye of the law, the original proprietor of all the lands in the kingdom. But the dicuion of this topic more properly belongs to the econd book of thee commentaries, wherein we hall particularly conider the manner in which lands may be acquired or lot by echeat.

XVIII. therefore to the eighteenth and lat branch of the king's ordinary revenue; which conits in the cutody of idiots, from whence we hall be naturally led to conider alo the cutody of lunatics.

idiot, or natural fool, is one that hath had no undertanding from his nativity; and therefore is by law preumed never likely to attain any. For which reaon the cutody of him and Rh