Paper Read By C. H. Richmond Before The Washtenaw Co. Pomological Society, August 7, 1880

I PKINTKD Vi TH r. POOI F I Y. 1 Mr. President and Members of Washtenaw !onnt; ■':' : The subject y o have proposed for discussiou at tuis meeting and i whicli I have, through cnnrtp your offlcers, been invited to wri short paper, is one of interest toevery fruit-arower, :'i'! demanda more tlioughtfal consideration than I, for ':mt of time, lia e lx en '' to trive il . Yon will thereforu regard whai I have 'isay ;i'. nicrely the opening, or grouiid vvork, for vnnr diacussion. ■■The ights of orchardists. and lum ihall tJio, .aotect tlieuiseives ugain inrauders." The lirst branch of the Bubjpct, "The rights of orchardista,'' I t;i1( it. or ratlier iiiterpret as meaning the riglits of tlie fruit-grower totheproperty and producta of the orchaitL, 6e garden, afldvineyard, and bis rights to ontivl and protect the same frora the depredationa of every person who niay lie disposed to onlawfully injure, destroy, ordispossesshimof them. With this interpretation of the lirsi branch or the subject, it may be well to en()iüre, whether the l;ü;al rights of the orohardist to liis property and lts lawfull proteetion under our lawa,are raaterially diftereöt from those of the farmer or any other clasa of our ciüzens. I tliink they are nat. and I think that npon examination it will clearly appear that the underlying principies ín all our laws lor tlie piotectinn of all the propBrtj of all the eiiizens of the state are the saine. tt is true there are different kinds oí' property, for the proteetion of which there are in some cases special enaefcments qr laws, but in most cases tho law of itself is inadequate aa a meana of proteetion. It afforda proteetion no further than the féar ót tl-.e penalty and disgrace of lts violation acts as a res! raini upon the offenders and the infliction of lts penalty prevent the violators from opportumtïea for further depreda! ions. How far the owner of au orchard or vineyard may use the prerogative of hia muscle, as a raeans of defending liis property, and what means other than the law, he may use, are questions which may very properly be considered as embraced In the subject yoü have proposed for discussioii. I take it,that the word "marauders" as here nsed is intended to mean persons: lawlesa persons, who coinmit trespasses and depredatfoDs upon the property of the ïruit-growérs, and farmers in vaiïous ways and from different motives and objects. These persons may very properly be divided Into three classes: plunderers, thieves. conscious and unconscious trespassers. The lirst are a class of roving, unpriacipled individuáis, who coinmit their depredaXions upon any favorable opportunity - ehiefly in the night-time and on Snndays - sótnetimes rrom motivos of gain, but mostly from pure etlssedness; they are not sorupTiloua abottt leavins evidences of ttieir havingbeen present tor they seera to take pieasure in breaking down and destroying, as well as converting and carrying away. rI(he second,are a class who carry on their depredationa in a more systematie way, they steal for ,sain; professionals, working mostly in the night-time, and are Very carefulnot to leave traces of their vork further than the absence of the property they carry away. The tliird are a class mostly of juveniles, some of wliom are very sly, take to thieying naturally, and are cohscious of doing wrong; others of this class are too younir to realize fully the wrong, and believe the proprietor of a fruit orchard a mean man, if he will not allow thern to take of, even the unripe fruit as they want. Xiif it is in the experienee of every fruitgrovver to know of some of eacïi class I have described. In some localities they have been and are stil!, quite numerous. IIow eau t ho orchaidist and fruit-grower effect ually protect his producís against their depredations'? He.., .')■.":-■ 'ïimj 'ftmuj 'Uiinit'J ro A and eatch, and' he may invoke tbe teel on and aid of the law and the law officeis. If he exerclse his personal pretogative he m;iy use all reasenable aild stifflcient means and force to arrest or, eject a thief or trespasser oti liis pretnises; but may not snoot, maim,.or use any unreasonable or deadly weapon in so doing, to his injury, for he will be liable at law lor damages unless the inury be done strictly, in süf-defense. Añil so he may not place any deadly instrument, or device, dangeroua to life or lirnb, such as trap-guns, deadfalls, poisons or the like, in his orchavd, Belds or garden for the purpose and intent of ihjuring any petson whö may unlawfuüy enter, and on the plea of protecting his fruit or othenvise, for the law regarás such devices as imperiling the lives of the innocent as well as the wrong-doer, and cannot be allowed or justitied upon any grounds whatever. " Every man's house ia his castle is a comm'on law maxim! And a man will he justilied, and his servante will be ustified, in kilflng by any means at hand a thief or burglar who enters and attempts to rob or murder him. Kot so nlay he or they do to a trespasser on his orchard or carden. It is evident ttaat the employment ot a poüce torce sufflcient to fully proteet eaeh and every orchard woula be too expensive, and is therefore impracti'it may be possiliie, bttt I doubt if practicable, for the frait-grower to erect a fence around bis property, which eitherln Ita construction or material, wil! prove an eflectual barrier against lepredatofs. Hetnay, and perhaps to some adVantage, keep for a like purpoBe, a Kvt fence in the Bhape of a oog, but lie must be careftil thatthe cbaracter oí bis dopr is good, and bla disposition and temper is not habituallv yicious, and Uiat liis intelllgence is suf flcient to distinguish} if allöwed to act on bis own rosponsibility, the intentional trespasser or thief from the person of honest inlentions, orbe may involve by bis indiscretions, bis owner in trouble, more serions and expensive thanthe loss of the fruit he is kept to (ruard and protect. Lpt me now direct your attention to some of the provisioris of law which are directly applicable to the subject under consideration: First. Aiiy person who shaïl enteT a vine yard during the months of August, September and October. and eat orcafry awav any of the fruit of snch vinev'ard without the consent of the owner, 01' occnpant of the same, slmll be liable to a line tor each offense committed of live dollars or twcntv days imprisonmeni in the county jftil, or both in the discretton of the court.- 0. L. '73, chap. 345, lavrs of 1868. Any person who shall willfully and maliciously or wantonly and without canse, cut'down or destroy, or olherwisê injure any fruit tree, or any other tree not hisown, standing or growing for simde, ornament or other usefnl purpose, or shall maliciously break down, injure, mar or defaee any fence belonging to or enclosing lands not his ow n. or shall maliciously throw down or open any gate, bars or fence, and leave the same down or open, or shall maliciously or injuriously sever froin the Ereehold of snother, any produce thereof oranvthina sttaching theretp, shall be punished by impriaonment m the county ail not more thau one year, or by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars.- C. L., chap. 181, sec. 49. nd when the damages f'rom the offence comraitted as above gtated In section forty-nine shall be to the owner of said treeor trees to tlie anlouni oi twenty-flve dollars, the penalty shall be imprisonment in the state prlson not exceeding five years. or imprisonment in the county ail nol exceeding one year, or fine not exceeding flve hundred dollars, in the discretion OÍ the court.- C. L., chai). 181, laws 1835. ny person who shall Wllfully CUt down or destroy any timber, or carry away any timber cutjown or any fruit, root or plant, or any n-ass hay or grain standing qrbemg on the land otamother and without the leave, or license oi' the owner, of the viUueof live dollar, shall be punishetl by imprisonnieiit in the eounty jnil not more ihan sixty days, or uv ,ne uot ( x.eeeding one hundred doflarsV- C. L., chap. 181, sec. ói. F.vrry person who sball wilfnlly com mil iuiy trespass, by entering upon the garden", orchard orother improved huid of another, without perrnisaion of the owner thereof, and with the intent to Dut, take, carrj away,destroj irinji;re ■es. grain, gruss, hay, fruit or vigetables there growing "being, shall be HinWned by mprisonment in the county jaii Dot more i'u m thirtj dnys or by Bne uot exceeding twenty dollars. And f any 01 ces menfioned In this or in the preceding section (51) 3hal1 be ■ ■ tnihitted en the flrat day of' the week, ot in disguise, (r aecrtlj In the riigbt, the Itnprisonment sball not be !(sst!':-in live duvs nor the tine lijss than flve dollars.- C. lj..fhap. 181, se''. 52. Vhe !sw providp that any person who shall wronpfully take ;md curry iiway ain fruit tree, ornamental tree,#bush, plant, vine or vegetable With the intent to deprive Öie owner thereof of the sume: or shan with wfongfn tendeLach tliem trom the protmd or i'ijure thein in any marnier, shall be giulty of a miwJenieanor, and on convietion friay be imprisoned in the county jail not more than six nionths, or öned not exceeding $250, or the court niay' inose both.- C. L., chap. 181, law 185. [t will be fonnd upon examining the Unvs to which I have referred, that the statu tes define the nature and deiiree of the various oft'ences whicli may be committed by depredators, whether critnes of greater or less degree, and have made rïefmite provisión for the pnnishment of each. it is a principie of common la' that ' the intent and the act must concur to eonstitute the crime."' Chiidren betweèn the ages of seven and fourteen pre prima fm-ir incapable of committins crimes, while those above tlie ase of fourteen are subject to the Btlrae rules of construction as those of f uil age. .'i'iie legislature of 1873 pnssed a la for the formatinti of eonipahies for the detection and appr&hension of horse tliieves and other felons.- Session laws 1873, page 66. Under the provisions of that law, any ten persons residente of this state may fiorni a eompan, by signisg articles of associtttion: stating the name of the coropany, the name and resideöce of each of its Oetübers, and file and record the same in the office of the register of deeds in the county in whicn a majority of the members of the company reside. When the articles of association are so recorded the company willbeabody corporate, and may sue and be sucd; may appoint officers and di'line llii'ir dmies; m;iv adniit and pxpel members; may liokl and possess real and personal property to the arnount of ts-n tliousaml dollars. Each and every member of the company, when enaged in arrestitiff offemlers againat the criminal laws of the state, snall have all the protection, rights and privileges of constables, and mas cali to their aid the peace oflicers of the state, in aceordance with law, in the pursuit of felons and reclaiming stolen property. I call'your attention to this law.beüeving that under its provisions a company can lie orgattiaed that may and will be of service ín protecting the property of the fruit-prowor, as well as m the rletectton and apprehension of thievefi