POINDING (same root as Eng. pound), in the law of Scotland, means the seizing and selling of a debtor's goods under process of law, or under the warrant of a debitumfuudi, in order to pay the debt. It is either real or personal. Real poinding is the attaching of goods or movables on the land over which some real or heritable security exists. his one mode in which heritable security is made effectual. Thus the superior of lands can poind the ground to obtain payment of his fen duties; and the holder of a herita ble bond can do the same in order to recover his debt. Personal poinding is the mode in which a decree of the court is made effectual by the messenger or bailiff seizing the movables of the debtor. They are then appraised or valued, and the messenger reports his execution to the sheriff, or other judge ordinary, who grants warrant to sell the goods by public roup after advertisements. The net amount of the sale is paid over to the creditor, or if no purchaser bid for them, they are deliv ered to the creditor at the appraised value. There is also another kind of poinding,
called a poinding of stray cattle, which takes place whenever the cattle of a stranger trespass on lands, in which case the owner or occupier of the lands can seize them bixri mann, and keep them as a security'until the damage done by the cattle is paid to the owner of the land. By an old Scotch statute the owner of the cattle is bound to pay, besides the damage, half a merle for each head of cattle; and for the damage, penalty. and expense of keeping the cattle, the owner of the land can detain the cattle until pay ment. The poinder must, however, take care to keep the cattle in a proper place, and feed them. In England the word poinding is not used, the corresponding term being distraining, or distress (q.v.).