Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/278

 262 vion, by the wahing up of and and earth, o as in time to make terra firma; or by dereliction, as when the ea hrinks back below the uual watermark; in thee caes the law is held to be, that if this gain be by little and little, by mall and imperceptible degrees, it hall go to the owner of the land adjoining. For de minimis non curat lex: and, beides, thee owners being often loers by the breaking in of the ea, or at charges to keep it out, this poible gain is therefore a reciprocal conideration for uch poible charge or los. But, if the alluvion or dereliction be udden or coniderable, in this cae it belongs to the king; for, as the king is lord of the ea, and o owner of the oil while it is covered with water, it is but reaonable he hould have the oil, when the water has left it dry. So that the quantity of ground gained, and the time during which it is gaining, are what make it either the king's, or the ubject's property. In the ame manner if a river, running between two lordhips, by degrees gains upon the one, and thereby leaves the other dry; the owner who loes his ground thus imperceptibly has no remedy: but if the coure of the river be changed by a udden and violent tood, or other haty means, and thereby a man loes his ground, he hall have what the river has left in any other place, as a recompen for this udden los. And this law of alluvions and derelictions, with regard to rivers, is nearly the ame in the imperial law ; from whence indeed thoe our determinations eem to have been drawn and adopted: but we ourelves, as ilanders, have applied them to marine increaes; and have given our overeign the prerogative he enjoys, as well upon the particular reaons before-mentioned, as upon this other general ground of prerogative, which was formerly remarked, that whatever hath no other owner is veted by law in the king.