The encroachments of the sea, till the complete groyne system was carried out and the sea-wall completed, extended from Russell Street to the extreme east end of the parish; and after every storm of any magnitude, the road to the east of the Old Sterne,—now known as the Marine Parade,—presented a different aspect, as the inroads of the sea frequently carried away some hundreds of tons of the Cliff; and it was no uncommon thing after a tempest, to find that so much of the roadway had been carried off, from the Cliff becoming undermined by the wash of the waves, as to leave only sufficient space for a single vehicle to pass. On the 15th of December, 1806, during a terrific storm, the roadway between the Royal Crescent and Rock Buildings was completely cut asunder, making the owners of property there uneasy for the safety of their premises. This storm gave occasion to the following trial at the Sussex Assizes, held at Lewes, August 4th, 1807:— THE KING _v._ GREGORY, PHILCOX, THUNDER, AND THREE OTHERS. RIOT AT BRIGHTON. This was an indictment against the defendants, for riotously assembling and pulling down the railing on the road east of Brighton, leading from thence to Rottingdean, and obstructing the Surveyors of the road in the execution of their duty. This case arose out of the falling of the cliff last autumn. The Surveyor of the Road thought it necessary to carry in the railing, and trenched upon the ground of the three first named defendants: they considered he had done more than necessary, and resisted his altering the railing. In consequence of this, on the 11th of February last, they employed men to cut down the polls and rails, which had been erected by the Surveyor of the Road. The next day the Surveyor employed men to re-erect them, and the defendants another party to pull them down. A riot ensued, the one set pulling down as fast as the other erected, until at last the Surveyor’s party were the victors. Mr GURNEY, for the defendants, rested his defence on the ground that the Surveyor was not under the necessity of coming upon their freehold, but that he had acted wantonly and with a view to harass the defendants. He proposed calling evidence to shew that the road at that part of it was perfectly safe. The Learned Judge held that the Surveyor of the road was clearly right. He was to judge of the necessity if he acted wrong. They ought to have brought an action of trespass, and not to have the law into their own hands. The jury found them all guilty. The three principals were fined £20 each, and the three workmen £5 each. In the Civil Court an action was tried, arising out of the same transaction, in which the plaintiff had a verdict against the Surveyor. Damages, seven guineas. CHAPTER XIII. THE DOWER OF ANN OF CLEVES.