138 Forests, [Ch.VIIL of officers, for the purpose of preserving the game in those forests (a). Numberless oppressive regulations and laws, and amongst other the assumed right of tlie King to grant forests, over his subjects' lands, were annihilated by the chart a de foresta, for which our ancestors contended as zealously as they did for magna charta; and Lord Coke contends, that the charta de foresta was only declaratory of the common law {b). ' Forests -were at first in the hands of the Crown only, but several were gradually conferred by our antient Kings on their great lords and followers as rewards for their services. And at the present day it is clear that forests and other franchises can only be claimed by grant from the Crown, or by prescrip- tion which supposes it(c). Twenty years* uninterrupted en- joyment of a franchise is presumptive evidence in favor of the claimant {d). The royal grant of a forest or any other game franchise im- parts to the grantee various peculiar privileges, with respect to the preservation of game within the districts over which the grant operates; and the legislature has frequently interfered to protect them [e). And it is considered that the owner of a forest, chase, park or warren is, as such, independently of any other qualification, entitled to kill game within his fran- chise ; though if he sport out of the limits of his district he will be liable to a penalty, unless otherwise qualified (/). There are various courts and officers incident to a forest : and when a forest is granted by the Crown " cum omnibits in- cidentihus et pertinentiis^'^ the grantee takes it as a forest with courts and officers, except the justice -in eyre; and this too may be granted to a subject by express words [g). If however those words be omitted, the grantee holds the franchise as a chase only, though the term forest be applied to it in the pa- tent {li). And in such case offenders in the forest are punish- (rt) 1 Inst. 100. See 3 Cruise Dig. (e) Sec Chitty's Game Laws. 291. (/) '« Mod. 482. 1 Chitty's Game {b) 4 Imt. 300. Laws, 41, 2. (c) 1 Ibid. 233, a. {g) Manwood, 159. 4 Inst. 314. {d) 1 Chitty's G. L. 22, cites G East, Com. Dig:, tit. Chase, A. 2. 215. 7 Ibid. 199. 11 Ibid. 488. 2 {h) Ibid. Saund. 175, note 2. able.
