Lost Property.

Lost Property. In point of law, the finder of lost property is entitled to keep it until the owner is found; but there are certain circumstances in which the keeping of it will amount to larceny. The rule in England is that, if the finder find the property in such circumstances that he either knows the owner, or has reasonable grounds for believing that he can be found, then the taking of the property with intent to keep it will be larceny. If, for example, a servant finds a sovereign in her master's house, and keeps it, that is larceny; so, too, where the prompter on the stage of a theatre picked up a £50 note which had been dropped by one of the actors. On the other hand, if at the time of finding there be no reasonable probability of ever discovering the true owner, then there is no larceny, even though the finder does afterwards acquire knowledge of or reasonable probability of discovering the true owner. Again, there cannot be a conviction if the finder did not when he took the goods intend to convert them, or if he was under the reasonable impression that the owner had abandoned his right of property therein. It has also been decided that the mere keeping of a lost article, in hopes of getting a reward for giving it up, though the owner be known, does not amount to larceny. There is also no obligation on the finder of lost property to incur expense in advertising for the owner; and it is to be borne in mind that the real owner is not divested of his property by the loss, but can demand it from whosoever is in possession of it. But lost bills of exchange and notes, if transferred for valuable consideration without notice, become the property of the transferee. Moreover, the loser of a bill or note payable to bearer could not at English common law sue the party liable either on the bill or note itself, or on the indorsement, but by sec. 69 of the Bills of Exchange Act, 1882, the court may order that the loss of the instrument shall be no defence to the action if a proper indemnity be given. In Scotland, also, the tenor of a lost bill may be established by a process for proving the tenor. The finder of lost property is not entitled to it, where the property consists of gold, silver, &c., hidden in the earth, in which case the treasure-trove belongs to the crown; and the finder is bound to give notice thereof, under a penalty, though he is not guilty of theft till 'office be found,' or till the coroner's jury have declared it crown property. It is not theft to convert unclaimed wreck.