NUISANCE, or NUSANCE, is a term in English law derived immediately from the French mare, and ultimately from the Latin nocere, "to hurt;" signifying an unlawful act or omission which occasions annoyance, damage, or inconvenience to others. Nuisances may consist of injurious acts done, or of omissions to perform duties prescribed by law, and are of two kinds, COMM= or public nuisances, which affect all the queen's subjects, and private nuisances, which injure individuals. Instances of the former are, annoyances in high ways, public bridges, or navigable rivers, which are produced by rendering the passage inconvenient or dangerous, either positively by actual destructions, or negatively by omitting to repair in cases where the law imposes the duty of repairing.
Noxious processes of trade or manufacture in towns are common nuisances by reason of the danger to the health of the inhabitants ; and brothels, disorderly alehouses, gaming-housed, and unlicensed stage plays are held to be common nuisances, both on account of the injury done by them to public morals and of the danger to the public peace by drawing together numbers of dissolute and irregular persons. The remedy for a public nuisance is by presentment or indictment ; and the offender, upon conviction, may be punished by fine and imprison ment. It is said also that in the case of a positive obstruction to the
free enjoyment of a public right, it may form part of the judgment that the offender shall remove the nuisance at his own cost ; "and it seemeth to be reasonable," says Hawkins (book i. ch. 75, sect. 15), " that those who are convicted of any other common nuisance should also have the like judgment." Private nuisances are annoyances which affect individuals only. Thus, if my neighbour builds a house so near to mine that he obstructs my ancient lights, or throws the water from his roof upon my house or land, this is a private nuisance ; so also if he keeps noisome animals, or sets up an offensive trade or hazardous manufactory so near to my dwelling-house that the free enjoyment of my property is interrupted either by injury to my health or comfort, or the apprehension of danger. The remedy for a private nuisance is by action, in which damages may be recovered according to the injury sustained. Private nuisances, injurious to health, may be summarily suppressed on application to the magistrates, under the Nuisances Removal and Diseases Prevention Acts.