THE LIBRARY. 119 



police powers conformably to the laws and local regulations. 

 7. Duty and behaviour of engineers in the service. 8. 

 General idea of the organisation of the Government of 

 Spain. 



In this handbook the distinction between possession and 

 proprietorship is distinctly drawn. The State, by which 

 it is explained is to be understood the Community, is held 

 to have the sole right to hold land of its own right, but also 

 to have the right to transfer possession, constituting thus 

 what is known as private property, which again ma} 7 be 

 limited by servitudes, and rights of usage recognised by 

 the State with the Government as its representative. 

 It is stated that while some nations hold that pro- 

 prietorship extends de ceilo a ceilo from the surface to the 

 antipodes, Spain, with some other nations, holds that it 

 extends only to a certain depth, the determination of which 

 depth affects the decision of questions raised as to the 

 proprietorship of minerals ; and that the proprietorship 

 of forests comprises that of the soil and vegetable covering, 

 herbaceous and lignous. There are discussed changes 

 which have taken place in consequence of the diminished 

 importance of pasturage in forests, and the increased 

 importance of firewood and timber. It is alleged that in 

 Spain the proprietorship of the forests has never been 

 abandoned by the State, and that the tenure or possession 

 is limited by servitudes and usage. Of servitudes there 

 are recognised three categories urban, rustic, and mixed. 

 In the first mentioned are comprised rights to light, 

 rights to form gardens, and rights of water-flow 

 to and from the property. In the second are comprised 

 right of pasturage, right of erecting fences, with right to 

 the soil for culture of crops, and right of use of forest 

 products ; and it is stated that there are special servitudes 

 peculiar to different provinces. It is maintained that the 

 State ought not to part with its legal right of possession, 

 beyond the limits imposed by cosmical, geographical, 

 and social requirements of the country, or of the 

 district, which would be affected by any such transfer ; 



