KFLCC Kingdom Law 2nd Ed.

990

RAILWAY

RANSOM

State v. Brin, 30 Minn. 522, 16 N. W. 406; Millvale Borough v. Evergreen Ry. Co., 131 Pa. 1, 18 Atl. 993, 7 L K. A. 369; Massa chusetts L. & T. Co. v. Hamilton, 88 Fed. 592, 32 C. C. A. 46. — Railway commissioners. A body of three commissioners appointed under the English reg ulation of railways act, 1873, principally to en force the provisions of the railway and canal traffic act, 1854, by compelling railway and canal companies to give reasonable facilities for traffic, to abstain from

note one of the divisions of a state, and des ignates a row or tier of townships as they appear on the map. In forest law. A sworn of ficer of the forest, whose office chiefly con sists in three points: To walk daily through his charge to see, hear, and inquire as well of trespasses as trespassers in his bailiwick; to drive the beasts of the forest, both of venery and chace, out of the deafforested in to the forested lands; and to present all trespassers of the forest at the next courts holden for the forest. Cowell. RANK, n. The order or place in which certain officers are placed in the army and navy, in relation to others. Wood v. U. 3., 15 Ct. CI. 158. RANK, adj. In English law. Exces sive ; too large in amount; as a rank modus. 2 Bl. Comm. 30. RANKING OF CREDITORS is the Scotch term for the arrangement of the prop erty of a debtor according to the claims of the creditors, in consequence of the nature of their respective securities. Bell. The corresponding process in England is the mar shalling of securities in a suit or action for redemption or foreclosure. Paterson. The redemption of captured property from the hands of an enemy, particularly of property captured at sea. 1 Kent, Comm. 104. A sum paid or agreed to be paid for the redemption of captured property. 1 Kent, Comm. 105. A "ransom," strictly speaking, is not a recap ture of the captured property. It is rather a purchase of the right of the captors at the time, be it what it may; or, more properly, it is a relinquishment of all the interest and benefit which the captors might acquire or consummate in the property, by a regular adjudication of a prize tribunal, whether it be an interest in rem, a lien, or a mere title to expenses. In this re spect, there seems to be no difference between the case of a ransom of an enemy or a neutral. Maisonnaire v. Keating, 2 Gall. 325, Fed. Cas. No. 8,978. In old English law. A sum of money paid for the pardoning of some great offense. The distinction between ransom and amer ciament is said to be that ransom was the re demption of a corporal punishment, while amerciament was a fine or penalty directly Imposed, and not in lieu of another punish ment. Cowell; 4 Bl. Comm. 380; U. S. v. Griffin, 6 D. C. 57. Ransom was also a sum of money paid for the redemption of a person from captivity or imprisonment. Thus one of the feudal "aids" was to ransom the lord's person if taken prisoner. 2 Bl. Comm. 63. —Ransom bill. A contract by which a cap tured vessel, in consideration of her release and of safe-conduct for a stipulated course and time, agrees to pay a certain sum as ransom. RANGER. RANSOM. In international law.

RAN.

Sax. In Saxon and old English

law. Open theft, or robbery.

RANCHO. Sp. A small collection of men or their dwellings; a hamlet As used, however, in Mexico and in the Spanish law formerly prevailing in California, the term signifies a ranch or large tract of land suit able for grazing purposes where horses or cattle are raised, and is distinguished from hacienda, a cultivated farm or plantation

RANGE. In the government survey of the United States, this term is used to de