CHRONICLE. 



271 



liged to render an account upon 

 oath into the exchequer of'tlie moie- 

 ty of all forfeitures accruing in the 

 gauging of wine, oil, and all gauge- 

 able matters " within the cit)' of 

 London and the liberties thereof." 

 The next question M'ould be, whe- 

 ther the London docks were situat- 

 ed within the liberties of the city of 

 London, and that they were, he 

 said, he should prove by innumer- 

 able witnesses. Indeed, the con- 

 servency of the river Thames, the 

 right of metage, and the bounda- 

 ries of the port of London, were 

 all liberties of the city, and extend- 

 ed over and much beyond the place 

 in question. But he should also 

 sliow that the right contended for 

 liad been uniformly exercised for 

 upwards of 300 years on both sides 

 the river, from Blackwall upwards, 

 and that the law and the practice 

 were in his favour. 



The documentary evidence was 

 then read, and a host of witnesses 

 were called to prove that the city 

 ganger had uniformly exercised his 

 office onboth sides theriver Thames, 

 as low as Blackwall, and near and 

 about the spot in question, from 

 time immemorial. 



The defence was conducted by 

 Mr. Serjeant Best, assisted by 

 Messrs. Park, Holroyd, and Bo- 

 sanquet. The learned serjeant, in 

 his speech to the jury, said, the 

 attorney-general had left him very 

 little to contend against, as it was a 

 mere question as to the construction 

 of the charter. The words of that 

 charter were, to exercise the right 

 of gauging all wine, oil, &c. xvith- 

 in the city ; now if that was consi- 

 dered, even as applying and ex- 

 tending to the liberties of the city, 

 it must mean to those defined liber- 

 ties without the bars, and not be 



considered as wandering from one 

 extremity of the river Thames to 

 the other. The fact was, that that 

 right was originally exercised only 

 on the quays and wharfs within the 

 city, but the trade and commerce 

 cf the country increasing, and the 

 population growing more numerous, 

 other quays and wharfs were erect- 

 ed, and for convenience sake the 

 city gauger was employed by the 

 merchant ; and hence he wandered 

 on both sides the river Thames in 

 all directions ; but he did not do 

 that of his own right, or by virtue of 

 the charter in question. The learn- 

 ed Serjeant concluded byobserving,^ 

 that the London docks were not 

 within the defined liberties of the 

 city of London, and consequently 

 the company had a right to employ 

 their own gauger. 



Lord Ellenborough agreed with 

 the learned serjeant, that it was a 

 question of construction as to the 

 words in the charter, and he was 

 of opinion they did not bear the 

 meaning put upon them by the at- 

 torney-general, or that the right 

 was co-extensive with the London 

 docks. 



The jury found a verdict for the 

 defendant, and the city of London 

 lose the right contended for. 



26. Coiui of King's Bench. — 

 J'he King v. Alexander Davison, 

 Esq. — The defendant was brought 

 up, and received the sentence of 

 the Court. 



Mr. Justice Grose, in passing it, 

 read the particulars of the informa- 

 tion, and commented upon the facts 

 which were proved at the trial. He 

 told the defendant, that he, being 

 employed to check the persons who 

 supplied stores for government, 

 had secretly become himself one of 

 those suppliers over whom he was 



to 



