Commonwealth v. Wilder

This is an indictment under the Gen. Sts. c. 161, § 82, for cutting down an elm tree standing on land of the inhabitants of Lancaster.

The principal question to be decided arises upon the following facts : In 1871, the defendant sold and conveyed to the inhabitants of Lancaster a parcel of land contiguous to a county road within the limits of that town. The parcel was bought by the inhabitants for the purpose of straightening, grading and relocating the road and for obtaining the material necessary to be used in the grading ; though this purpose did not appear in the *2deed, which conveyed the…