@wserra,
sorry for my delayed response; have been doing some traveling and such and in the mountains i have much better things to do than play computer.
but as to your question. now i believe it was rob (menard) who first coined the term freeman on the land. however the meaning is like law and has evolved over time. and as was pointed out earlier it has no definition or cite in law. this is a bit off kilter. if one was to ask say, judge rooke im sure he could come up with one. however other groups like say 'the progressive conservatives', 'the wild rose party', 'social credit', 'new democratic party', etc. also once had no meaning, definition, or legitimacy. through time and action this changed. i guess one could say 'freeman on the land' is a concept or ideal. one that evolves to meet the needs of the people, as best it can.
now we need to keep in mind i do not speak for the wfs, any of its members, or really anyone but myself. so since the question is actually,
wserra wrote:I'm not so much interested in where it comes from as what bmxninja357 means by it.
i can answer without over reaching my boundaries.
if i was to define the first word i would use this definition,
"freeman
One born or made free as to civil rights.
Source : William C. Anderson, A Dictionary of Law (1893)"
now im sure at some point the "on the land" did refer to admiralty law; but as i have said my understanding has grown and as a whole i would say the term, 'freeman on the land' is a simple way to distinguish this group from others.
and as an aside, some seem to belive 'freeman' comes from the magna carta when it actually dates back much further. for example:
http://books.google.ca/books?id=C8IT45X ... &q&f=false
(bottom right of page 883)
hope that answers a few things.
peace,
ninj