ADMIRAL FIELD (Sussex, Eastbourne)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will cause inquiry to be made of the Chief Constable at Eastbourne as to why certain Roman copper coins (over 2,000 in number) recently found on land near Beachy Head by a farm labourer named Jones, and not claimed by the authorities as treasure trove, have not been restored to him as the finder, although applied for repeatedly by him, or by persons on his behalf; whether it is alleged that the coins are of no intrinsic value; and, if so, will he direct that the same be handed to the man Jones, who is very poor, with a large family, and is anxious to sell them to visitors coming to Eastbourne; and will he state under what Statute the Chief Constable claims to retain them in his custody, and to what other person, if any, it is proposed to deliver them, and will he prohibit such delivery; or, if Jones be not the owner in law, will the Home Secretary indicate the amount he should receive as the finder under circumstances by way of reward.
§ * SIR M. WHITE RIDLEYThe Chief Constable of the Eastbourne Borough Police reports that, having received information as to the finding of these coins by Jones, he sent an officer to obtain possession of the coins, pending inquiries as to their ownership by the Crown as treasure trove. Having ascertained that the Treasury did not claim the coins, he communicated with the agent of the Duke of Devonshire, on whose land the coins were found, and that gentleman claimed them and rewarded the finder. The Chief Constable also reports that neither Jones nor any other person has repeatedly applied to him for the coins, and that the finder is aware of the manner in which they have been disposed of. The matter is not one in which I could interfere.