The Farmer's Relation To Law--fences

One of the most proHnc sourccB of contentinn mnong t'arnicrs u the obligations nd liabilit ie arising out cl line fences and road teneos, umi the depmlaüons af oatllc, and we propose in tlii-i piper to t reut of the principies of fatt góverning them in tlii-. state. Tliis ari.-es out of the coroinon error prevmiliog on the i-ubject. In every new country a ngamtM regarding these principios oxi.-ts, aiising, in a tneasure, we believe, out of thecircumstancesconnected wit li die Bettlement and clearing up of the country. Wheo WttfeBMtltl :iro first made in a wooded country, as the most of thia State was when first seüled, they are far apart, and iho neighborliood extends over a large area of country. The nearest nriuhljwr is, perhaps, ííve or six milos nway. The eutting down of the forest and the clearing up of th ground for cultivatiou is a b!m job. No time can bo given to clearing land for the purposes of pasture ; cattle are few in number, aud such as there aio must roam about in thewoods on the public domain and piek up thcir living. They are not apt to wander very far away, at least not so far as to remain away at night. They keep closüly togethcr, and if one has an inclination to go up to be uiilked each night, the others will be apt to follow. In this way the custom grew up, r.ol then attondod with any convenience to eaeh otlier, becauso of' the distance generally intervening between clearings. Even when others had settled in closer, po tbat their cattle would sometinion stray as far as each other's clearing, no question would arise, calling for a resort to the courts and a judicial exposition of' the góverning principies of law. It was only when bettltinent had been made long enough to that the settlers began to have more clcarcd land than tliey cultivated, leaving an abundance of pasture that they found that iboirown hei ds of cattle feil frequenily into the company of other herds and strayed away. To avoid the annoyance of having to hunt tliera up, they put ihrm into their own pastures and strengthened iheir fenees to raiain tliem ; then a change bogan. When feed in the ranges began to be very ecanty on account of' the season of tbc y ar, and the number of cattle which sliarcd it, the Dconveniences of the custom began to be apparent, for cattle, half' famishud, would break iuto the enclosed fields to leed, and (hole who had cattle ranging ui ihi' woi ii- were content to drive (hem uut, bal those whoso own fields afforded abundant pasturage for their cattle would corrrplaln and where there was considerable dainage, demands were made for payment. At tirst, in the petty courts of the country, where, viitually, the jury were judges of both the law and the faot?, the decisions would be, regardless of law, in fav.ir of the cu.-toni8 of the country, and in that WOJ wuuld spring up the couimon error that each had a right to allow In. cattle to run at large, and settlers must fence agiin-t them. After a time some one would be so onraged or litigious that he w uld not submit to sucli aciion, hut would (ake bis cate into a higher trial court, wliere the jury would bc insiructed by the c jurt as to the law, and were only the judget of the facts as shown by the evidence. The in-turtiuus, uf cmirso, were ihat, in the rWdC' Of any statute liw, ca li uïïii' r ui Otrttlö was obligeü to keep (hem on liMOwD panel oí' land, under ilie iules of ao called cmmon law. It v:is so decidí d by the SnnreuM ('ourt of' Mie})iiran in the year 1884, in the case of Williams agaitut tlic Micliiian Central Railruad Co., reported in Seeond Mic:b gau Kepuit-, on psge 202, ainl in I8Í54, in llie M8 of JohiiMin Igviittt Wing, reponed in Third Michigan Ki-porls. on paVe 1(17. This of o urse, led lo leia-latiun, and in this State it took the share ol at lirst oiaktnji Én ciiaciuiont ol what shoiild be cunsidered legal f'enc s, and then pioviding that no oue should recover daiuaftes unless siieh a fet.ee iiiound ilif fetieed portiou 1 1' lii l'arui. In o' lier ords, the fi'iice prescribed was of Mtcli kii d and f tl ene tl) as tu turn uil except t lio xo-eaUed breefihy eattle, and the law would only allow ihe recovery of' damages oocasiooed by the acts of sueh eattle. Sueli was ically tbe efjeftt of the act nf t'ie LejüclálÜVeof tlii.s State, pas-ed in 1S47, lequirinic the OM dauiaged to c-tah ih t li. - i x stenfce ol -ui-h a fence arouud bis prèwiisi 8 as u m c dent condition tu tl. is recoven' trom the dwnerx oí the euit'e lor the damage suft'ered by hini. As iiirrra-cd. olearings would be 0145 a-'joining, and it would be olvious i h it di-iputes oud arise about lietht-r eiiher was under oli ii:at,on to build and niaiiit iin t lui par iti )ii ii'iue of thé re()ui.-ite height and s ¦lidity, and if t w the duty of bi'th, whicli part was i ach to do. Of course this led to turther leüi.-la'ion, and in tliis nianner Legialuturee havi been grada aUy ehaiiüiiK' tlie lawa legarding Fences and obligati'iiis of buil'iinir and maintaining theuj, and at the sjiuje time the conioiunity have not chanped their views of' their rights and datifl On harinony with f-uch (;n:u")iH'iits. In tliis way many conimon errors rtarditig tlie lights and duties of ownurs of land and ol eattle have arisen. We will now tate the law as it f-tmds to-day without nuticiiiK the changes that have been made frora time to time. W herever the board of mpervisors, since the year 1667, have deteruiined that, it is not lawf'ul for any eattle, horses, sheep or swine to run at large in any public highway in this State, such have np right to run at large, and are Hable to be taken up and inipounded as e:-trays by the owners or occupiers of lands opposite to whieh tbey are fouüd. In 1877 it was made the duty of the overseer of the highways to take up as estrays any s.uch found at large in any highway within his road district. And in such townships the qwner of' wild lands has also the right to seize as au estray any such wild animáis found on his own wild land. These animáis are to be sold by the taking of certain steps under the direcüon of the proper officer.1 of the township, and certain fees for doing the same are to be paid to such officers out of' the proeeeds of such .¦ale, alsn a compensaron to tbe one taking up s-ueh estrays, and the rebidue is to be paid over to the foriner owners of such animáis if he applies thcrefor within a year after the sale. The right is al.-o gtven biin of redeeming within sir inonths after the sale by paying the fees and oompensation. After the year the residue (if no redeniption has been made) goes into the township treasury for township purposes. It is now the duty of owners of adjoining occupied lands to keep up partition f enees four and a half feet high and in good repair, consisting of rails, timber, boards or stone walls or any combination thcreof, and all brooks, rivers, ponds, créeles, ditches and bedges or otlier thingswhich shall be considered as equivalent thereto by the fence-viewers within whose jurisdiction it is. If the parties dispute as to tbe división of the fence and their obligation to build or repair, then resort may be had to two or more of the fence-viewers of the town, who are called in for that purpose in a certain nianner and on oertaio not oes specified in the statutes of this State on this sul.ject, and their judgment on the matter is binding, and noappcal can be made tbcrefrom ; but to have that effect, it must be recorded in the township clerk's office. The ovnrscers of highwaya in any township are the fence-viewers of that township. Two of them cOMtitute a quorum for doing business as fence-viewers ; and tlie decisión of a majority of thosc called, wc thiuk, is sufficient, although the statute languagc u'sed is sueh that it might be conslrued to require a unanimous decisión. But it seems to us that euch a view of the statutes would make it pos.-ible to defeat the object of the law, and that the other view will secure all that the law was designed to accomplish. Unless the partition fence has been divided by agreement or the action of the lenco viewers, neither adjoining owner or occupant can recover for tbe damages causod by the tresfassing of the other's anímala on his field. In Wa.-htenaw county a ca-e aróse and was carried to the Supremo Court, wherc it was deeided in I8(i8, in whieh the faets were as fnllows : Avleswarth owned some cultivated land, and next adjoining him werc the encloscd lands of' one Kniokcr boeker; between the farni the partition fence was not of the required heifrnt. Mrs. Ilurrington and othern were the owners and occupants of In n l r adjoining Ktiiekerb( cker, and their rtalle escaped froni their land and went across Kniekerbocker's and mi (¦ Aylei-worth's. 'Jhiicouit held that they were liable for the damage, that the owner in this State is not bound to fence except as against tbe owner or occupant of adjoinÍDK oocupied lands. That caso is so very iDHtructive that we advise our readers to rcad it; it will bc found in the Seventeenth Michigan Reporta commencing on page 417. - Grand Itapids World.