Rivers and River Transport 113 



navigable, and in which the public have a common right to 

 passage, the King is said to have * an interest in jurisdiction,' 

 whether the rivers were the King's property or private pro- 

 perty. These rivers were called ' fluvii regales,' ' haut streames 

 le roy,' or ' royal streams,' because of their being dedicated 

 to public use, all things of public safety and convenience 

 being under his care and protection." Navigable rivers being 

 thus, the writer continues, the King's highway by water, 

 many of the incidents belonging to a highway on land attached 

 to such rivers, and any nuisances or obstruction upon them, 

 even though occurring on the private land of any person, might 

 be made the subject of indictment. 



In regard to the Severn and the right of access thereto, 

 it was found necessary, in 1430-1. following on complaints which 

 had been made to Parliament, to pass an Act (9 Hen. VI., c. 5) 

 for the protection of boatmen in the Severn estuary against 

 " many Welshmen and ill-disposed persons " who " were used 

 to assemble in manner of war and stop trows, boats and floats 

 or drags on their way with Merchandise to Bristol, Gloucester, 

 Worcester, and other places, hewing these craft in pieces, 

 and beating the sailors with intent to force them to hire boats 

 from the said Welshmen, for great sums of money, an evil 

 example and great impoverishment of a King's liege people, 

 if remedy were not hastily provided." 



Under this Act the Severn was declared a free river for all 

 the King's subjects to carry on within the stream of the 

 river. The Act made no mention, however, of any right on the 

 part of the boatmen to use the land alongside the river for 

 the purpose of towing their vessels ; and in regard to this 

 point the writer in the " Penny Cyclopaedia " says : " Though 

 a river is a public navigable river, there is not, therefore, 

 any right at common law for parties to use the banks of it as 

 a towing path." 



By an Act passed in 1504 riparian owners along the Severn 

 were authorised, notwithstanding the earlier enactment of 

 the freedom of the river itself, to take " reasonable recompense 

 and satisfaction " from every person going upon their land 

 to draw a boat. There is no evidence that the landowners 

 availed themselves of this authority ; but in a later Act, 

 passed in 1532, it was stated that although, " time out of 

 mind," people had used, without any imposition or toll, a path 



