i. 79, 487.) But the kings did not enjoy the whole spoil, the Church occasionally claimed a share. If a ship be wrecked upon the land of a bishop, the proceeds are to be divided between the bishop and the king. If it be wrecked on the king's own land, it entirely belongs to him. (Dimetian Code, i. 555.) But by reference to the Triads,' it appears that the Welsh had a righteous notion of wreck,-it comprised only that for which no owner appeared. "Three things the kings shall have which the sea shall cast upon the land; first, a ship without an owner and its cargo and goods." Triads, i. 609.

961. Wreck was also one of the "flowers" of the prerogative of the Saxon and Norman kings:-" Hæc sunt jura quæ rex Angliæ solus et super omnes homines habet in terra sua-flemenfyrme, thesaurus inventus, naufragium, maris algarum." (Ll. Hen. I. x. 1. De jure regis.) By an Act, not so wisely discriminative as the 'Triads,' 3 Edw. I. c. 4 (1275), it was ordained that nothing should be deemed wreck if a man, dog, or cat escaped alive from the vessel; but that it should be kept by view of the sheriff or coroner to be restored to the owner if claimed within a year and a day; if not so claimed, to be delivered to the king's proper officers or the person entitled to wreck. So that the owner's title might depend on the life of, and the clemency of the wreckers towards, his cat. By the Act as to the king's prerogative rights, 17 Edw. II. c. 11, it is declared that the king shall have wreck of the sea throughout the realm, whales and great sturgeons taken in the seas or elsewhere within the realm, except in certain places privileged by the king. The 27 Edw. III. stat. 2, c. 13, the statute as to commerce, provides a remedy for merchants robbed on the sea for the recovery of their goods brought into England; and that when ships are driven by tempests or other mischance on the coasts, and the goods come to the shore, not being within the description of wreck, they shall be delivered without delay to the merchants to whom they belong, on a reasonable

compensation for the trouble of saving them, in the discretion of the sheriffs, bailiffs, or other ministers of the king, with the assistance of four or six respectable persons, and if found within the franchise of lords other than the king, by their seneschals or bailiffs, with the assent of four or six such persons.

962. In 1286, in the reign of Alexander III., provisions were made in Scotland for preserving shipwrecked property for the owners. In 1430, the Parliament of Scotland declared that shipwrecked property of foreigners should belong to the owners or the king, according to the law of the nation of the ship.

963. The recondite and systematic code of Barcelona, the Consolato del Mare, the looser collections of Oleron and Wisby, and many other compilations of customs of the European nations, some by distinct enactments, others by denunciations, endeavoured to preserve shipwrecked mariners and their property from the barbarians of the coasts, providing reasonable compensation for the services by which they might be saved, and in some cases vesting the property in the sovereign or lord of the district if unclaimed within a year and a day.

964. In France, shipwrecked property was vested in the sovereign, until by the Ordinance of Marine of 1681 (1. 4, t. 9, art. 21, 26) it was placed under the protection of the Crown for the benefit of the owner, whether foreign or French, if claimed within a year and a day; if not claimed within that time, it was to be divided equally between the admiral and the king or his grantee.

965. The law of the Northern countries with reference to wreck was better calculated to protect it from plunder than the more theoretical law of Rhodes and Rome, inasmuch as it diminished the temptation to destroy the unhappy survi vors for the sake of the prey.

Provisions for the protection of shipwrecked property are common in treaties from an ancient date.

966. The storm-tossed vessel and her cargo may be scattered on the waters and on the shore. In the beginning of her peril, portions of her contents may be cast overboard, with casks and buoys fastened to them to indicate where they may be found: these are distinguished by the name of ligan; of others thrown overboard in indiscriminate confusion, some may sink, the rest may float (jetsam and flotsam) among the rocks, the currents, and the waves; the hull or its fragments, the residue of the cargo or that which was thrown overboard, may be hurled or drifted-wrecked-upon the shore.

But

967. By the law of this land, in conformity with the Rhodian law, the owner retains his title to ligan, jetsam, flotsam, wreck, to all the relics which may be saved, subject to a reasonable compensation for salvage and care. when no owner appears within a year and a day to make his claim, the derelict property belongs to the Crown, or to those who claim under grants from the Crown. The titles were various to the articles designated by those euphonious names, but to which of the feudal chiefs they anciently belonged, or to whom they now belong, is immaterial to the merchant and mariner, who knows not where they are. For practical purposes they are all comprised under the designation of wreck,—wreck of the sea or wreck at common law.

968. The Merchant Shipping Acts of Britain have established in the owner and all who properly assist in the preservation of wrecks, rights in accordance with the natural right over the lands which constitute the bank of the sea; they have also appointed officers, and made penal provisions for the security of every kind of wreck.

969. All persons rendering assistance to a ship in distress or the persons on board, unless there is some public road equally convenient, may pass and repass, with carriages and horses, if necessary, over any adjoining lands, and deposit the cargo and articles recovered on such lands, doing

as little damage as possible. The owner or occupier of the land is entitled to compensation for the damage sustained, which constitutes a charge upon the ship, boat, cargo, or articles in respect of which the damage has been occasioned. In default of payment, he has the like remedies for recovery as for the recovery of salvage. And any owner of land who (first) impedes or hinders any person authorized from passing or repassing, with or without carriages, horses, and servants, by locking his gates, refusing to open them, or otherwise, or (secondly) impedes or hinders the deposit of any cargo or other articles recovered from such ship or boat, or (thirdly) prevents such cargo or article from remaining so deposited for a reasonable time, until the same can be removed to a safe place of deposit, is liable to a penalty not exceeding £100. 1 M. S. A. 446.

970. WRECK.-In England, the Board of Trade has the superintendence of wreck and the appointment of receivers and inspectors. 1 M. S. A. 439.

971. The officers of the Coast-guard have the powers given to the inspectors of the Board of Trade, and on the occurrence of shipwreck or abandonment, damage or casualty to ships, the inspecting officer of the Coast-guard, or the principal officer of Customs, is to make inquiries respecting it; and if it appear to him necessary, or the Board of Trade so direct, he is to apply to two justices or a stipendiary magistrate to institute a formal investigation. The Act prescribes the method of proceeding on such inquiry, and invests the functionaries with the necessary powers. (1 M. S. A. 433-438.) And by a series of sections, 439 to 457, this Act makes provision for the appointment and method of proceedings of the receivers, and defines their powers.

972. The owner of wreck, who finds or takes possession of it, must, under a penalty not exceeding £100, give notice, as soon as possible, of his having found or taken possession of it, describing the marks by which it is distinguished, to the receiver of the district within which it is

found. (M. S. A. 450.) Any person other than the owner finding or taking possession of wreck must give the like notice, under penalty not exceeding £100, and forfeiture of all claim to salvage, and the liability to pay the owner double the value of the wreck.

Ib.

973. Any person who obstructs the saving of, or plunders or secretes any shipwrecked property, is liable to a penalty not exceeding £50. 1 M. S. A. 478.

974. Any person taking into or selling in foreign parts any wreck, property derelict, stranded or otherwise in distress, found within the United Kingdom, is guilty of felony, and subject to four years' penal servitude. 1 M. S. A. 479.

975. The hundred or similar district in England, the county, barony, town, or parish in Ireland, the county, city, or borough in Scotland, in or nearest to which the offence is committed, is liable to make compensation to the owner for the plunder, damage, or destruction of his ship, boat, apparel, or cargo, stranded or otherwise in distress on or near the shore, committed by any persons riotously and tumultuously assembled, whether on shore or afloat. 1 M. S. A. 477.

976. When articles belonging to or forming part of any foreign ship wrecked on or near the coasts of the United Kingdom, or parts of its cargo, are found in or near the coasts, or brought into any port of the United Kingdom, the Consul-General of the country to which the ship belongs, or, in case of the cargo, to which its owners belong, or any consular officer of the country authorized by treaty or agreement with this country, is, in the absence of the owner, or master or other agent of the owner, deemed the agent of the owner, so far as relates to the custody and disposal of such articles. 2 M. S. A. 19.

977. Foreign goods wrecked and brought into the kingdom are subject to the same duties as on importation. But the Commissioners of Customs and Excise permit goods saved from any ship stranded or wrecked on its homeward voyage.

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