第59章

Ploughmenwhohaveperformedtheirploughingonthelord’slandbadly，villainswhohavefledfromthefeeandliveonstrangesoil，amanwhohasnotfulfilledsomeinjunctionofthelord，awomanwhohaspickedalockappendedtothedoorofhercottagebyamanorialbailiff，aninveterateadultererwholosesthelord’schattelsbybeingfinedintheecclesiasticalcourts——

allthesedelinquentsofverydifferentkindsarepresentedtobepunished，andgetamercedorputintothestocks，accordingtothenatureoftheiroffences。Itoughttobenoticedthatanactioncommittedagainsttheinterestsofthelordisnotpunishedbyanyone-sidedactofhiswill，orbythecommandofhissteward，buttreatedasamatteroflegalpresentment。Thenegligentploughmanisnottakentotaskdirectlybythebailifforanyotheroverseer，butispresentedasanoffenderbyhisfellow-peasants，andaccordingtostrictlegalformality。Ontheotherhand，theentriesarewordedinsuchawaythatthepartplayedbythecourtisquiteclearonlyastothepresentingofmisdeeds，whiletheamercementorpunishmentisdecreedinsomemannerwhichisnotspecifiedexactly。Weread，forinstance，inarolloftheAbbeyofBechow’thecourthaspresentedthatSimonCombehassetupafenceonthelord’sland。Thereforeletitbeabated……Thecourtpresentedthatthefollowinghadencroachedonthelord’sland，towit，WilliamCobbler，MaudRobins，widow(fined12d。)，JohnShepherd(fined12s。)。

Thereforetheyareinmercy。’(45*)Whohasorderedthefencetobethrowndown，andwhohasimposedthefinesonthedelinquents？

Themostnaturalinferenceseemstobethatthepenaltieswereimposedbythelordorthepresidingofficerwhorepresentedhiminthecourt。Butitisbynomeansimpossiblethatthecourtitselfhadtodecideonthepenaltyortheamountoftheamercementafterfirstmakingthepresentmentastothefact。Itsactionwouldmerelydivideitselfintotwoindependentdecisions。

Suchaprocedurewouldbeanecessityinthecaseofafreetenantwhocouldnotbefinedatwill；andthereisnothingtoshowthatitwasentirelydifferentinregardtotheserviletenantry。Whenthelordinterferesatpleasurethisisnotedasanexceptionalfeature。(46*)Itisquitepossible，again，thattheamercementwasimposedontheadviceorbyadecisionofcertainsuitorssingledoutfromtherestaspersonsofspecialcredit，asinacasefromthesamemanorialrollsofBec。(47*)Itishardlynecessarytodrawverypreciseconclusions，asthefunctionsofthesuitorsdonotappeartohavebeensharplydefined。Butforthisveryreasonitwouldbewrongtospeakoftheone-sidedrightofthelordorofhisrepresentativetoimposethepenalty。

Thecharacteristicmixtureofdifferentelementswhichwenoticeinthecriminaljurisdictionofthemanorialcourtmaybeseenalsoifweexamineitsciviljurisdiction。Wefindthehalimottreatinginitshumbleregionallthequestionsoflawwhichmaybedebatedinthecourtsofcommonlaw。Seisin，inheritance，dower，leases，andthelikearediscussed，andthepleading，thoughsubjecttothecustomofthemanor，takesverymuchtheshapeofthecontentionsbeforetheroyaljudges。Nowthiscivillitigationisinterestingfromtwopointsofview：itinvolvesstatementsoflawanddecisionsastotherelativevalueofclaims。Inbothrespectsthepartieshavetorefertothebodyofthecourt，toitsassessorsorsuitors。Theinfluenceofthe’country’onthejudgmentgoesfurtherherethanintheCommonLawCourts，becausethereisnoindependentcommonlawtogoby，andthecustomofthemanorhasgenerallytobemadeoutbythemanorialtenantsthemselves。Andsoaparty’putshimselfonhiscountry’，notonlyinordertodecidesomeissueoffact，butalsoinregardtopointsofcustomarylaw。Inquisitionsaremadeandjuriesformedquiteasmuchtoestablishthejurisprudenceofthecourtastodecidewhohasthebetterclaimunderthesaidjurisprudence。Theoreticallyitisthefullcourtwhichisappealedto，butinordinarycasesthedecisionrestswithajuryoftwelve，orevenofsix。Theauthorityofsuchaverdictgoesbackhowevertothesupposedjuridicalsenseorjuridicalknowledgeofthecourtasabody。Nowitcannotbecontestedthatsuchanorganisationofjusticeplacesalltheweightofthedecisionwiththebodyofthesuitorsasassessors。Thepresidingofficerandthelordwhomherepresentshavenotmuchtodointhecourseofthedeliberation。IfwemaytakeupthecomparisonwhichMrMaitlandhasdrawnwithGermanprocedure，(48*)weshallsaythatthe’Urtheilfinder’haveallthebestofitinthetrialasagainstthe’Richter。’This’Richter’isseeminglyleftwiththedutiesofachairman，andtheformalrighttodrawupandpronounceadecisionwhichismateriallydependentontherulingofthecourt。Butaspecialreserveofequityisleftwiththelord，andinconsequenceofitsoperationwefindsomedecisionsandsentencesaltered