NciL' Forest. 
335 
in Eyre, thence called tlio Court of Justice-seat. Tlie specific 
function ot this court was to deliver judgment and to pass sen- 
tence, on convictions made by the court of swainmote, on attach- 
ments made by the court of woodmote. 
Such was tlie original triple system of the forest courts. All 
three were essential to the administration of justice. The disuse 
of any one would cause a failure of justice. Now when it is 
mentioned that the Court of Justice-seat, which only could punish 
any oHences, and which ought (according to the New Forest 
charter) to be held every third year, became irregular in its 
meetings in the sixteenth century, and that since then only two 
courts have been held (viz., in 1634 and 1670), the small degree 
of observance which has been paid to the forest law in the New 
Forest for 300 years may be imagined. Nor was neglect con- 
fined to the judge's office. By the New Forest charter the 
swainmote court ought to meet three times a year, fifteen days 
before midsummer to clear the forest during the fence-month 
(20th June to 20th July), to fawn the deei-, and to provide for 
the agistment of cattle when the fence-month was over ; secondly, 
fifteen days before Michaelmas, to receive the agistment-money 
for cattle, and to provide for the pannage of swine ; thirdly, about 
Martinmas (11th Nov.), to receive the pannage-money : whereas 
it appears, from 1745 downwards, to have met but once a year, 
generally on the 26th August. Since the disuse, however, of 
the justice-seat, the Legislature, in 1698 and in 1800 (9 and 10 
Will. III. c. 36, 39, and 40 ; Geo. III. c. 86), made some attempts 
to keep order by enlarging the jurisdiction of the verderers. 
The jurisdiction of the forest courts now ordinarily held is 
compounded of the imperfect remnants of the old forest system 
and fragmentary additions from modern enactments. The im- 
provement of late years, in this and every other respect, is 
manifest. The administration of justice rests with the four ver- 
derers, who are elected by the freeholders. There is now no 
lord-warden : the office has not been filled since 1850. The 
present verderers are. Sir Edward Hulse, Bart, H. C. Compton, 
John Mills, and A. R. Drummond, Esqrs. They meet every 
lorty days, and act as justices of the peace do. Their penalties 
are fines and imprisonments. The offences of which they take 
cognisance are, damage of any sort to the soil or the property 
in the Forest. Cases which might not seem to come under 
their jurisdiction are taken before the county justices. 
The rights or interests claimed in the New Forest are — 
common of pasture for cattle, of pannage for hogs, and of tur- 
bary, fern, furze, heath, «Scc., besides rights of fuel-wood, of 
gravel, marl, &c. These rights over the demesne-lands of the 
Crown had their origin for the most part in an equitable claim 
