nr^ 



154 



H. , 





'li 



the territorinl ilominioii nwr a Imy of confit,mratioii and tlimonsioiH such ns tlioso of Concoption Buy 

 above (li.'sn'il>t'il. 



"The few Kiifjlisli Cdiiiiium law iintliinitii.'s (111 tliis [Miint rclaio lo tlu' nin'stiiui m. to wln'ic tlie 

 boundary of couiuii's (.mkIs. ami tlii' i-xchisivo jurisiiiftiim at cuiimiou lnw of tlic (Vmi't of Ailuiiraliy 

 be','ius, which is iiol puT-ist'ly ilu' saiiu' iiiusticli as Ihal iiudci' coiisiilcmtioii ; Init this uiiich is 

 ol vioiis, that, when it is ik'i-idi'il that any bay cir csttiary of any jiaitifiilar cliuu'iisioiis is or may 1« a 

 part of an Knj,'lish louiity, and mi iniuploti ly within thi' loalin of I'lnL'laiul, it is drridi-d that a siniilai' 

 buy or c'sliiai'y is or may bo pat t of lli'j tonitorial dominions of ihtM'onntry pcissossini; tho adjacent 

 shore. 



" The oarliost antlioiity on tho subji'i't, is to bo fninid in iho Ltfand abi id;,'cin('nt of I'ity.hoiln'rt, 

 ' Corono .'I'.i'.i,' w lu'in'o it aii]icai's tliat in the S Ivlward II, in a caso in Cliaiicory (tho iiatmo and 

 subject matter of which does not apjiear . Staiininn dnsiici' exjuosed an opinion on the .subject. 

 There are one or two words in tlie lomnion ]irinted edition cf I'it/.hevbcri whidi it i.s not easy to 

 deciplier or translate, but subject to that remark this is a translation I'f ihi^ passap' : ' Nola jier 

 Staunton .liistice. that that is not sai'icc |\vhit]i l.urd Coke tianslatcs ']iart'| of the sea where a man can 

 see what is done from one ]iart of tin v.:'i'a- and the nlher. so as to see IVnm one land to tho (ither; 

 that tlie coroner shall come in such ease and jurfiain his nllice, as well as comiiy and ^'nin^' in an 

 unu of the sea, there whore a man ciin see from one ])art of the other of the [a word not dei ipheredj, 

 that ill such a ]ilace the i laintry can iuive conusance, \-c.' 



" This is by no means deliiiite, but it is clear Staunton thouj;ht .some jiortioiis of the sea mi;,'lit be 

 iu a county, and ^' ''liin tho jurisdiction of the jury of that county, and at that early time, before 

 cauuon were in ii- ■ can have had in iiis mind no reference to cannon .shot. 



" Lord Coke \- ^'nizes this authority, 4 Institute. M(l, and so does Lord Hale. The latter, in liia 

 Treatise, • De .lure .Maris,' part 1 , caji. 4, 'i.-es this lan;.,'iiai,'e : 'That arm or branch of the sea which 

 lies within the ' fauces terrio,' where a man may rea.staiably discern between shore and shore, is, oi at 

 least may be, within the body m' a county, and therefore within tlie juri.sdiction of the sherilfor 

 Coroner. Edward II, Coroiiu oW.' 



" Xeither of these ^;ieat authiaitios had occasion to apply this doctrine to any particular p]ac(!, nor to 

 define what was meant by seeiiiu: ordiscernin,!,'. If it means to .see what men are doinj,', so, for instance, 

 that eye-witnesses on slicne could say who wa.s to iilame in a fray on the waters resulting' in death, 

 the distance wcnild he very limited; if to discern what u'leat shi]is were about, .so as to be aide to see 

 their iiiaiueuvres. it would lie very iiincli more extensive ; in eitiier sense it is indetinite. I5ut in 

 Ite^'ina r. Cunningham ijiells C. (_'. Slij it did become necessary to determine whether a iiarticular spot 

 in the lirist"! Channel, on which three lerei^neis on board a forci;.,'!! shi]i hail committed a crime, 

 ■was within '.he county of (llamiavau, the indictment haviiiL;-, v'icther la'cc-^.-inily nr imt, charged the 

 ofl'eliee as liavi'ii; been coiiiniilte.l in tliat county. 



"The Iiristo! Channel, it is to be ri'inembcred. is an arm nf tho sea dividiuj; KiiLdaiul from Wales. 

 Into the upjier end (jf this arm of the sea the Itiver Severn flows, 'i'lien liie arm of the .sea lies 

 between Somersetshire and CUamorj,'anshire, and alterwarils between l)evonshire and the counties of 

 Glamorgan, Carmartlieu, and IVmliroke. It widens as it descends, and liel\\ecn I'ort Eynou Head, 

 tho lowest point of ClamorLtanshire, and the oppposite slmre of J)evon, it is wider than Conception 

 Bay; between Haiti, md roint, in Devonshire, and rembrokeshirt! it is much wider. TIk! ca.se 

 reserved wa 5 carefully ]iiepared. 1 1 describes the s]iot where the crime was committed as luung in 

 tlie Bri.stol Channel OeLween the Clanioruanshire and Somersetshire coasts, and abeut ten miles or 

 more from that of •"■nmerset. it iiej,'atived the spot beiiiL; in the Kivcr Severn, tho moiitli of which, it 

 is stated, was iiro\ed to be at Kintr's lioad, hij^her ti]i the Channel, ijnd that was to be talieii as the 

 lindin'j; of the jury. It also showed that the s]iot in i|uestitiii was outside reiiarth Head, and <'oiUd 

 not therefore be treated as within liie smaller liay formed by reiiarth Head and Lavcruoi k I'uint. 

 And it set out what eviiU'iice was given to prove thai the sjioi had been treated as part of tiie county 

 of Glamoru'an, and the (piestimi was stated to be whether the prisoners were projierly ooiivieted of 

 an olleiice witiiin the county of Ciiamoryan. The case was much considered, being twice argued, and 

 Chief Justice Cockburn delivered judgment, saying, ' The only ipiestion with which it becomes necessary 

 forns to deal, is. whether tin; ]iart of the sea on which the vessel was at the time Mheii the offence was 

 committed, forms part of the body of the county of Clamorgaii. and we are of o]iinion that it does. 

 The sea iu i|Uestioii is part of the Bristol (,'liannel, both shiu'es of whieh form jnirt of Enghind and 

 Wales, of the county of Somerset on the one side, and the county of tllamorgan on thi! other. We 

 are of opinion that looking at the Ineal situation of this sea, ii must be taken to belong to the 

 counties lesjiectively by the shores of w hich it is bounded : and the fact of the Holms, bctwei'ii which and 

 the shore of the county of (llaiiiorgan, the jdace iu cpiestion, is situated, having always been treated us 

 ]iart of the jiarish of CarditV. and as ]part of the county iif (llaiuorgaii, is a strong illuslratioii of the 

 ]irineiple on which we jaoceed, namely, thai the whol(! of this inland sea between the counties of 

 Somerset and Clamorgin, is to be eon^idered as within the counties, by the shores of which its several 

 jiarls are resi)eetively biaindeil. We are therefore of opinion that the jdace in ipiestion is witluii the 

 Ijody of the county of (Ilamoigan.' Tla; case reserved in Cuniiingham's case incidentally slates that 

 it was about ninety miles Iroiii i'eiiarth Koads f^when^ the crime was coinniiltedj to the mouth of the 

 Channel, which points to the headlands in I'emiuoke, and Hartland roint in Jlevoiishire, as being tho 

 fauces of that, arm of the .sea. It wa,4 not, however, necessary for the decision of Cuiininghanrs case 

 to detiM'tnine what was the entrance of the liristo] Channel, further than that it was below the 

 jdace where the crime was ccanmitted, mid thoiigli the language used in the dmlgn, cut is such as to 

 show that the iia[ire.ssion of the Court was, thai at least the whole of that )iart of the Channel between 

 the eoiintit'S of ,'^omerset and (■lainorgan was within those counties, [h rhajis that was not deterniiiied. 

 Kilt this much was determined, that a ]ilace in the sea, out of any river, and where the sea wa.s more 

 than ten miles wide, was within the c(junty of I'llainorgaii, ami con.-eciuenlly. in every .sense of the 

 words, within the tcrri'orv of (.Ijvat Britain. It also shows ih.ai usaee and the nainiier in which tluit 



