The Crown Suits Act 1769The citation of this Act by this

short title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster system, Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title an ...

was authorised by the

Short Titles Act 1896 The Short Titles Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. 14) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Short Titles Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c. 10). This act was retained for the Republic of I ...

, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the

Interpretation Act 1978 The Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act makes provision for the interpretation of acts of Parliament, Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Asse ...

. ( 9 Geo. 3. c. 16) was an Act of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...

passed in 1769. In 1765

William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (14 April 173830 October 1809) was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig and then a Tories (British political party), Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He s ...

, brought against

James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale (5 August 173624 May 1802) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons for 27 years from 1757 to 1784, when he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Earl of Lonsdale. Life ...

and the corporation of

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

bills in chancery for the perpetuation of testimony, believing that he was the owner of a fishery on the River Eden in right of the

socage Socage () was one of the feudal duties and land tenure forms in the English feudal system. It eventually evolved into the freehold tenure called "free and common socage", which did not involve feudal duties. Farmers held land in exchange for ...

manor of Carlisle. However, because of the type of fishing carried on by the defendants it had become useless. Lonsdale's team discovered in the original grant from

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily () * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg (1817–1890) N ...

to the first Duke of Portland that the socage manor of Carlisle and the forest of Inglewood had been expressly omitted in the grant. An act from the reign of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

, the Crown Suits, etc. Act 1623 ( 21 Jas. 1. c. 2) however, had laid down that the title for lands in undisturbed possession of over sixty years could no longer be challenged except by the Crown. In 1767, therefore, Lonsdale successfully petitioned the Treasury for a grant of Crown interest in the two properties "for three lives, on such terms as to their lordships should seem meet". Portland's allies claimed no land was safe if the legal maxim '' Nullum tempus occurrit regi'' ("No time runs against the king") was to be implemented. In February 1767, therefore, Sir George Savile introduced a bill to abrogate the legal maximum and to abolish Lonsdale's rights. This was defeated by 134 votes to 114. In 1768 another bill was introduced, this time including a clause that excluded all Crown grants made before 1 January 1769 from the operation of the bill unless the grantees prosecuted their claims within one year. With the passing of this act Lonsdale at once filed a bill against Portland and evicted three hundred tenants. However, the Court of Exchequer ruled against Lonsdale on the grounds that the grant was unlawful under the provisions of the

Crown Lands Act 1702 The Crown Lands Act 1702 ( 1 Ann. c. 1) is an Act of the Parliament of England, originally entitled ''An Act for the better Support of Her Majesties Houshold and of the Honour and Dignity of the Crown''. The Act was still partly in force in Grea ...

( 1 Ann. c. 1) because of the insufficiency of the rent reserved by the Crown. Portland's title to the socage manor of Carlisle and Inglewood forest was never tried and he eventually sold the properties to the Duke of Devonshire in 1787.

Notes

References

{{reflist Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1769