LA.W FOR THE FARMER. 331 



come up and said, " It is not an estray ; it is my horse, and there 

 is the document to pi'ove it." 



Mr. Lebroke. I will say, as my brother Eobinson does, that I 

 should not want to meddle with an estray at all ; but if I could 

 easily get an estray out of my sight, I should be glad to do so. I 

 should feel as the Irishman did in regard to the skunk he caught. 

 He said the second time he ever caught a skunk he should let him 

 alone ! I see the difficulties into which my brother Eobinson has 

 drifted. ' 



Now, I say, there is the single instance in which I think a ponnd 

 becomes absolutely necessary. That is the only way in which 

 you can get rid of that estray properly. You see you cannot bring 

 an action for trespass and hold the horse without the liability of 

 getting yourself into trouble, because you do not know who the 

 defendant is. I do not know any way for you to get rid of him, 

 unless you turn him into the road, and if it is in the winter season, 

 you have no right to turn him out to starve. So I think the only 

 legal course is, to make your certificate to the pound-keeper, and 

 take the hazards of impounding ; and if the man who has lost the 

 animal should refuse to- pay the bills, he would do that which 

 would be morally wrong. Practically, I think I should be careful 

 to see that there were no witnesses, and turn the animal into the 

 road. 



The Chairman. I want to congratulate the people of Piscata- 

 quis county, for I must say that in all my experience I n^ever 

 before saw two lawyers in a village agx-ee as these two gentlemen 

 do. 



Mr. Lebroke. But sometimes we quarrel awfully. 



The Chairman. Well, you have a remarkably good tim« making 

 up. 



Mr. Robinson. Oh, yes, that is the best of it. 



Question. Mr. Lebroke has said that if a proprietor adjacent to 

 me refuses to build his part of the fence, I may build it and re- 

 cover double the cost from him. Does this claim hold good as a 

 lien upon the land, suppose the man is a poor scamp ? 



Mr. Lebroke. No sir, it does not. The action is a personal 

 action, and not a lien upon the land. 



Question. Have the highway surveyors a right to use a certain 

 per cent, of the tax for setting out trees ? 



Mr, Lebroke. I think they have, if the town so vote. 



Prof. Fernald. It seems to me that the investigations on this 



