ON THE Law of Boundaries and Fences INCLUDING THE Rights of Property on the Sea-Shore and in the AND THE LAW OF WINDOW LIGHTS. BY RANSOM H. TYLER, Counselor-at-Law, Author of "American Ecclesiastical Law," "Commentaries on the Law ALBANY: WILLIAM GOULD & SON. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-four, by WILLIAM GOULD & SON, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. PREFACE. THE growing importance of the subjects treated in the following pages makes it probable, in the judgment of the writer, that a work devoted especially to their consideration will be found convenient and useful, and may meet with favor from the legal profession. It has been often and truly observed, that a large proportion of the litigation in this country respecting the title to real property arises in cases of disputed boundaries; and yet, hitherto, the law by which such questions are governed has remained scattered through innumerable volumes, the most of which are inaccessible to the major part of the profession. It is obvious, therefore, that a work in which the law upon the subject is all brought together, and within reasonable limits, must be desirable to the practitioner, and be the means of much saving of time and expense. So, also, litigation and dispute are constantly arising in respect to the maintenance of fences in the country, and, from an excusable want of familiarity with the law upon. the subject, the most capable lawyers find it necessary in most cases, when applied to, to consult statutes and digests to a tedious degree, in order to be able to give the appropriate advice. The same remark, therefore, may be made in respect to this as to the subject of boundaries: a book in which the law relating to fences is concisely exhibited cannot fail to be convenient and acceptable to the practitioner. And, finally, the rules and regulations relating to the right to window lights, on the right to light and air, so important in the old world, art becoming of no inconsiderable interest on this side of the Atlantic, and this interest must necessarily increase with the growth and age of the country. Even at the present, grave questions, involving the right to light and air, are often presented to the courts for adjudication, making it desirable that the law upon the subject should be ready of access, and reasonably well understood. Notwithstanding their importance, no American work has been heretofore produced in which any of these subjects has been specially treated, and the object of the following pages is to supply this supposed want. There have been published two or three very small English books upon the subject, but they are so filled with the consideration of the local policy of Great Britain that they are really of little or no value to the American practitioner. What I have found in those works, however, which I deemed of any service, I have freely extracted and incorporated into my own work; endeavoring to give, in all cases, the proper credit. But what is much more important, I have made it a point to consult all the American statutes and judicial decisions upon the subjects treated, and especially those of the most recent date, and then state the law, as it is settled, in plain, clear and concise language, so that the same may be comprehended without reference to other authority. It has been my aim to produce a book which shall not only be convenient, but which may be depended upon; and, to this end, I have spared neither labor nor pains in searching for the latest authorities, and have endeavored to extract the doctrine of the cases with scrupulous care. I believe that my labors will be appreciated by the courts and the profession, to whom they are confidently committed. MAY, 1874. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Definition of the term Boundary-Preliminary observations in respect to the subject of Boundary-General principles applicable to the descrip- PAGE. The rights of property on the sea-shore-How the same may be affected by grants or prescriptions-The Law of Boundary with reference to these rights-What is the Boundary of private property bordering on the sea, The rights of property on navigable rivers where the tide ebbs and flows- The Law of Boundary with reference to these rights-The Rules appli- cable to the Boundary of private property bordering on navigable rivers, The rights of property on unnavigable rivers where the tide does not ebb and flow-The Rules of Law applicable to the Boundary of private pro- perty bordering on these streams-The Common-law Doctrine as to what are unnavigable rivers, and where the same is recognized-Law of Boun- |