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not the fame intereft in it's protection, or the fame reafon 

 to forbear invading it, as they have with refpect to the 

 property of their fellow citizens ; fo that the property of 

 the crown has been deemed almoft a fair object of plun- 

 der. 



During the reign of Henry the fecond, a milder fyftem 

 feems to have prevailed ; and from the ordinances of 

 Richard the firft it is to be collected that the fevere punifh- 

 ments for offences againft the foreft law were ufually re- 

 deemed by a fine. Richard reftored the rigour of the law 

 as it ftood in the time of his great grandfather, by a ftatute 

 profefled to be made with the advice and confent of the 

 archbifhops, bifhops, abbots, earls, barons, and knights of 

 the whole kingdom. But it feems to have been, princi- 

 pally, rather a declaration of what the law was, tho re- 

 laxed in practice, than the enaction of a new law. 



John, among his other extravagancies, had ftretched the 

 foreft law to the utmoft ; and was compelled to fubmit to 

 an explicit declaration of the rights of the crown and the 

 fubjecl in this re i peel:, as well as in others. The provifions 

 of Canute extended to every county in the kingdom ; but 

 this had probably never been reduced to practice. The 

 crown, however, claimed a right to afcertain what parts 

 of it's woods and waftes were to be under the protection 

 of the foreft law. For this purpofe a commiffion iffued 

 under the great feal to perfons named by the crown to 

 view the diftricT: intended to be afforefted, to mark it's 

 boundaries, and return the whole into the chancery, where 

 the proceeding remained of record. A writ then iffued 

 to the fheriff of the ' county to proclaim the facl:, fo that 

 all the king's fubjecls might know the bounds of fuch 

 new foreft ; and officers of the foreft were appointed 

 according to the fubfifting laws on the fubject. Under 

 pretence of this prerogative, the preceding princes had 



greatly 



