, of

nominate, depute, and appoint , yeoman, to be gamekeeper of and within my said manor of with full power, license, and authority to pursue, take, and kill any hare, pheasant, partridge, or other game whatsoever, in and upon my said manor of for my sole and immediate use and benefit; and also to take and seize all such guns, bows, greyhounds, setting dogs, lurchers, ferrets, trammels, low bells, hays, or other nets, hare-pipes, snares or other engines for the pursuing, taking, or killing of hares, rabbits, pheasants, partridges or other game, as shall be used within the precincts of my said manor, by any person or persons, who by law are prohibited to keep or use the same. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 18 .

Sealed and delivered in presence of (the signature of ONE witness, specifying his place of abode, is sufficient).

day of

(Signature, and seal.)

REFUSING TO GIVE NAMES.

If you have not a certificate to produce at the time it is called for, your Christian and surnames, and place of abode, may be demanded, by any assessor, &c. &c. (as before mentioned); and penalty for refusing them, or giving a false name, is 201.

TAME PIGEONS, OR HOUSE DOVES.

Unless they are your own property, or you are desired by the lawful owner to kill them, the penalty for shooting them is 20s. for each pigeon. -(Under statute of 1 Jac. I.)

For shooting at pigeons, with intent to kill, the penalty would (by 2 Geo. II.) be the same as for killing one pigeon, viz. 20s. Informations for these offences must be commenced within two months.

"But" (says a treatise on the game laws) "notwithstanding the provisions of the above Acts, it has been determined, that the owner of land may kill such pigeons as he shall find thereon devastating his corn." But, after having killed the pigeons, he must not take them away.

DOGS.

By the 16 and 17 Vict. c. 90, the duties payable annually on dogs

are:

For every dog, of whatever description or denomination the same may be, 12s.

But no greater amount of duty than 397. 12s. is chargeable on any number of hounds, or 91. for any number of greyhounds.

EXEMPTIONS FROM THE DUTY ON DOGS.

Any person for a dog or whelp which at the time of returning the list, as required by the Acts, shall not be of the age of six calendar months.

Any person in respect of any dog not being a greyhound, hound, pointer, setting dog, spaniel, lurcher, or terrier, wholly kept and used in the care of sheep or cattle.

DOG-STEALING.

In the last edition some observations were made on the inefficiency of the law to prevent dog-stealing, which have now, to a great extent, become unnecessary, our uncle, the Bishop, of Bond Street,* after indefatigable exertions in collecting every kind of evidence, having with the aid of influential persons who had been the victims of professed dog-stealers, succeeded in obtaining an Act which has materially checked the evil, and tended to spoil the sport of the dog-stealing fraternity. This success has raised our uncle, the said Bishop, so triumphantly up, as to give him an eye to the vacant pedestal in Trafalgar Square, or, at all events, a claim for some monument to perpetuate his victory.

The Act 8 and 9 Vict. c. 47. "For the further prevention of the offence of dog-stealing."

Sec. 1. Repeals so much of an Act passed in the 7th and 8th years of Geo. IV. intituled "An Act for consolidating and amending the laws in England relative to larceny, and other offences connected therewith," as relates to dog-stealing.

Sec. 2. Enacts, That if any person shall steal any dog, every such person shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof before any two or more justices of the peace, shall for the first offence, at the discretion of the said justices, either be committed to

* "Uncle Bishop" was the sobriquet given to Mr. B., of Bond-steet, by the sporting gentlemen and fashionables of the West-end.

the common gaol or house of correction, there to be imprisoned only, or be imprisoned and kept to hard labour, for any term not exceeding six calendar months, or shall forfeit and pay, over and above the value of the dog, such sum of money, not exceeding twenty pounds, as to the said justices shall seem meet; and if any person so convicted shall afterwards be guilty of the same offence, every such offender shall be guilty of an indictable misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof, shall be liable to suffer such punishment, by fine or imprisonment, with or without hard labour, or by both, as the court in its discretion shall award, provided such imprisonment do not exceed eighteen months.

Sec. 3. That if any dog, or the skin thereof, shall be found in the possession or on the premises of any person, by virtue of a search warrant, the justice by whom such search warrant was granted may restore the same to the owner thereof, and the person in whose possession or on whose premises the same shall be so found (such person knowing that the dog has been stolen, or that the skin is the skin of a stolen dog), shall on conviction be liable for the first offence to pay a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds, and if any person so convicted shall be afterwards guilty of the said offence, such offender shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable accordingly.

Sec. 4. That every person who shall publicly advertise or offer a reward for the return or recovery of any dog, stolen or lost, and shall in such advertisement use any words purporting that no questions will be asked, or that a reward shall be given or paid for any dog stolen or lost, without seizing or making inquiry after the person producing such dog, shall forfeit the sum of twenty-five pounds for every such

offence.

Sec. 5. That any person found committing any offence punishable either upon summary conviction or upon indictment by virtue of that Act may be immediately apprehended without a warrant, and taken before some neighbouring justice of the peace; and if any credible witness shall prove upon oath before a justice of the peace a reasonable cause to suspect that any person has in his possession or on his premises any stolen dog, such justice may grant a warrant to search for such dog; and any person to whom any dog shall be offered to be sold or delivered, if he shall have reasonable cause to suspect that such dog has been stolen, is authorised to apprehend and convey before a justice of the peace the party offering the same together with such dog.

Sec. 6. That any person who shall corruptly take any money or reward, directly, or indirectly, under pretence of aiding any person to recover any dog stolen shall be guilty of misdemeanor.

Sec. 7. That any justice may remand any accused person for further examination or suffer him to go at large, with or without sureties, upon his personal recognisance.

Sec. 8. That in every case of summary conviction it shall be lawful for the convicting justices to commit the offender, in default of payment, to be imprisoned only, or imprisoned and kept to hard labour for any term not exceeding two calendar months, where the amount of the sum forfeited, or of the penalty imposed, or both (as the case may be) together with the costs, shall not exceed five pounds, or for any term not exceeding four calendar months where the amount with costs shall not exceed ten pounds, and for any term not exceeding six calendar months in any other case.

TRESPASS.

We have still the old action for trespass against one who goes on land, &c., after notice; or even if the judge shall certify, on the back of the record, that the trespass was wilful and malicious.

An unlicensed person may accompany a licensed sportsman, provided he has neither gun nor dogs of his own.

EXEMPTIONS FROM TRESPASS BEFORE AND AFTER NOTICE.

A person, even after notice, may go on the land of another, to serve a subpoena, legal writ, or, in short, for any lawful purpose.

It was formerly supposed that any one might go over the land of another (not doing any real damage) while hunting a wild fox, as a "noxious animal;" but, upon late trials, it has appeared that following foxhounds will in no way justify a trespass.

The defendant therefore stands about the same chance of escaping the verdict by following foxhounds, as the plaintiff (in a case not aggravated) would have of being pitied by sportsmen, if ducked in a horsepond for bringing such an action of trespass!

NOTICES

[N.B. While (as at present) we have a summary penalty for trespassing in pursuit of game, it may be thought useless to reprint any thing relative to notices. But, as there may be some persons who prefer the old mode of proceeding, I shall let the matter stand, as before, for their information.]

May be personally served, or left at the place of abode of the party.

Verbal notices are quite sufficient, if accurately proved.

All notices to come from the tenant, and not from the landlord, who cannot support an action of trespass upon the land, of which he is not the occupier. [Sed quære? since the new Act.]

Gamekeepers, or other persons, may be deputed to serve either verbal or written notices, by lords of manors, occupiers of land, &c.

SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO WARN OFF A

TRESPASSER.

FORM OF A PROPER NOTICE TO BE SENT TO, OR SERVED ON, ANY PERSON IN PARTICULAR.

To (name the person's Christian and

surnames) of (name his residence.)

I hereby give you notice, not to enter or come into or upon any of the lands, woods, underwoods, shaws, or coverts [or into or upon any of the rivers, ponds, pools, waters, or watercourses] in my occupation, in the parish of (name the parish; or, if the lands lie in more than one, the several parishes), in the county of (name the county or counties), as, in case of your doing so, I shall proceed against you as a wilful trespasser. -Witness my hand this (name the day of the month) day of (name month) 18 (Sign your name.)

The sentence within the crotchet, relative to "waters,” may, of course, be adopted or not, as required. In a case of joint occupation, the notice must of course, be given in the first person plural, with both signatures.

This written or printed notice had better be served by delivery of a duplicate than of a mere copy: and would be still more unquestionable, if the person serving it was able to prove the signatures to each duplicate, and the identity of the person served.