The Queen, at the prosecution of Edward Deane Freeman v William Pigott and Others

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 04 June 1851
• Date: 04 June 1851
• Court: Court of Criminal Appeal

Cr. Appeal.

THE QUEEN, At the Prosecution of EDWARD DEANE FREEMAN,

and

WILLIAM PIGOTT and others.

Regina v. Ormsby 1 J. & Sy. 52.

AnonymousENR 3 Salk. 187.

COMMON LAW REPORTS. 471 T. T. 1851. Cr. Appeal. Court of Criminal appal.* THE QUEEN, At the Prosecution of EDWARD DEANE FREEMAN, v. WILLIAM PIGOTT and others. June 4. TaE following case was submitted for the opinion of this Court by The traversers were indicted Mr. Berwick, Assistant-Barrister for the East Riding of the county for a rescue of goods seized of Cork :- for county rates due out The traversers were tried at the last Quarter Sessions for the East of a townland, ofpart of Riding of the county of Cork, holden at Fermoy, on an indictment which two of the charging them with the rescue, on the 9th of September 1850, of w traversersere, at the certain goods seized for county rates, due out of the townland of time the rates became due, Corbally, in the barony of Fermoy, of part of which William Mahony in tionth east teup a- - and Robert Hayes, two of the traversers, were and had been at the nants. No applotment of time the rates claimed became due in the occupation as tenants. county cess had been made It appeared in evidence that on the 8th of September 1848, the on the occu piers under Treasurer of the county of Cork issued to the prosecutor Edward 6 & 7 w. 4, . c 151, Deane Freeman his warrant of that date for the collection of the an count d116, no s. ac- in it- county rates of the barony of Fermoy, presented at the Summer ing, as di wrrected sec- Assizes of 1848. Mr. Freeman was then, and had acted for many tibyon,that had been years before as, the barony constable, duly appointed as collector for served on the cdhurscohrwsare-nes. that barony. Another collector was appointed by the Grand Jury en chal of the at the Summer Assizes of 1849, for the collection of the present- parish ; but a voluntary ap ments of that Assizes, Mr. Freeman having, in consequence of the plotment was made, and an difficulty of collection, declined to act for the levy of that or any arrear accru ing, the collec tors distrained on the townland for the arrear, selecting the party by whose default the deficiency appeared to arise, namely, two of the traversers. The goods seized were left on the lands until the sale day, when they were rescued by the traversers and others. Held, that such seizure was illegal, and that the traversers were JustiÂfied in resisting the sale, as under 6 & 7 W. 4, c. 116, s. 151, the barony constable had no authority to levy county cess until he had delivered to the churchwarden or Seneschal an account in writing as directed by that section, and that therefore the conviction of the traversers for a rescue was bad. 6 & 7 W. 4, c. 116, has repealed 35 G. 3, c. 55. * Coram-MoNAHAN, C. J.; TORRENS, J.; CRAMPTON, J.; PERRIN, J.; tALi, J., and JACKSON, J. 472 COMMON LAW REPORTS. future Assizes. He continued, however, to collect from the cessÂpayers of the different townlands named in his warrant the amount remaining due thereout for the cess of the Summer Assizes of 1848. So far as it appeared, no applotment of county cess had ever been made under the provisions of the 151st section of 6 & 7 W. 4, c. 116, on the occupiers of the townlands contained in Mr. Freeman's warÂrant of the barony of Fermoy, and no account in writing, as directed by that section, had been served by Mr. Freeman, after he had received the warrants, on the Seneschal or churchwardens of the parish in which the lands in question were situate, nor had he been ever required so to do by any two landholders. In fact, it appeared that the course pursued by Mr. Freeman was to hand to some resÂponsible inhabitant of each townland a statement of the whole amount applotted on that townland ; and this was divided among the occupiers, who generally paid according thereto; and in case of non-payment of any part of the rate, the collectors distrained on the townland for the arrear, selecting, however, in general the party by whose default the deficiency appeared to arise. In consequence of an arrear of county cess for the levy of Summer Assizes of 1848...