SOLON ROBINSON, 1842 325 



land without fences, while we confine the stock within 

 enclosures. 



It seems in the New Jersey case, the defendant plead 

 that he was not liable for damage, because the plaintiff 

 had not a 'lawful fence' along the highway, when the 

 cattle broke in. But the court decided that the 'act to 

 regulate fences extends only to owners of adjoining 

 closes.' 



2d. 'Owners of land are not bound to erect statute 

 fences along the highways running through their lands 

 to protect themselves against trespasses committed by 

 cattle suffered to run at large, and pastured upon the 

 public-roads.' 



And the reasoning of the court is as sound as the de- 

 cision. For they say, 'Why should a landlord be sub- 

 jected (after it may be) to the onerous expense of put- 

 ting up a lawful fence to protect himself against the 

 cattle of a man living at a distance from him, whose land 

 (if he have any) does not join him; and who, instead 

 of keeping his cattle upon his own close, chooses to pas- 

 ture them upon the highway, to the great annoyance of 

 all his neighbors and every traveler. [Not even except- 

 ing the traveler upon railroads, where cattle are not only 

 a very great annoyance, but often endanger the lives of 

 passengers.] Between such landholder and the owners 

 of cattle running at large, there should be no mutuality 

 in requiring the former to surround his lands by such 

 a fence as the statute deems a lawful one between ad- 

 joining owners.' 



Now, this I call as sound legal doctrine as ever ema- 

 nated from a court of justice. For it is not justice that 

 a whole neighborhood should be compelled by law to fence 

 against all the unruly bulls that you, in a spirit of spite 

 and ill-will, might see proper to turn out upon the com- 

 mon. But I am willing to meet the advocates of free 

 suffrage to every four-footed beast and unclean goose, 

 upon the halfway ground; that is, upon a half fence. I 

 am willing to build a fence that will keep well-bred neat 



