chapter 2 - the village labourer 1760-1832: a study in the government of england before the reform...

7/29/2019 Chapter 2 - The Village Labourer 1760-1832: A Study in the Government of England before the Reform Bill

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Th e Villa ge La b ou rer 14

CHAPTER TWO

E n c l o s u r e (1 )

An enclosu re , l ike m ost Par l iam enta ry opera t ions , began with a pe t i t ion f rom a local person or

person s , se t t ing for th th e inconveniencies of the pres ent sys tem a nd t he ad vanta ges of su ch amea su re. Parl iamen t, h aving received the p eti t ion, would give leave for a Bill to be int rodu ced.

The Bi ll would be rea d a fi r s t an d a second t ime, and wou ld then be refer red to a Comm it tee,

which, a fter consider ing su ch pet i t ions a gains t the enclosur e as th e Hou se of Commons

refer red to i t , would pres ent i t s rep or t . The Bi ll would th en b e pas sed, sen t to th e Lords , a nd

receive the Royal Ass ent . Fin ally, the Comm issioners n am ed in the Bill would descen d on th e

dis t r ic t and dis t r ibute t he lan d. That i s , in br ief, the h is tory of a s u ccessfu l enclosu re agita t ion.

We will now proceed to explore i ts differen t s ta ges in d etai l .

The or ig ina l pe t it ion was often the ac t of a b ig lan downer , whose sol ita ry s ignatu re was enou gh

to se t an enclosur e process in t ra in .(1*) Before 1774 i t was not even incu mben t on th is s ingle

individual to let h is ne ighb ours kn ow th at h e was as king Par l iam ent for leave to redis t r ibute

thei r proper ty . In th a t year the House of Commons ma de a Stan ding Order prodding tha t

not ice of an y su ch p et it ion s hou ld be affixed to th e chu rch d oor in each of the pa r ishes

affec ted, for thr ee Sun days in th e mon th of Au gust or the m onth of Septemb er . This pr ovis ion

was la id down, a s we learn from th e Repor t of the Comm it tee tha t considered th e Stan ding

O rde r s in 1 775 , becau se i t had o ft en h appen ed tha t t hose w hose lan d w as to be enc losed kn ewnoth ing wha tever of t ran sa ct ions in which th ey were ra th er in t imate ly concerned , un t i l th ey

were virtu ally comp leted.(2*)

But th e pu bl ic ity tha t was s ecured by th is Sta nd ing Order , thou gh i t prevented th e process of

enclosu re from b eing comp leted in th e dar k, did not in pr actice give th e village any kind of

voice in i ts own d estin y. The prom oters laid al l th eir plan s before they took their neighbou rs

into the secre t . When th eir a r ra ngemen ts were ma tu re , they gave not ice to the par ish in

accordan ce wi th th e requi rement s of the S tan ding Order , or they fi r s t took the i r pe t it ion to the

var ious propr ie tors for s igna tu re , or in some ca ses t hey ca l led a pu bl ic meet ing. The fac ts s e t

out in th e pet it ion a gains t the En closu re Bil l for Haute Hu ntr e , show that th e promoters d id

not th ink th a t th ey were bou nd to accept the opinion of a m eet ing. In th a t cas e 'th e grea t

ma jori ty ' were hosti le, bu t th e promoters proceeded with th eir peti t ion notwiths tan ding.(3*)

Wha tever the prec ise method, un less s ome large propr ie tor s tood out a gains t the sch eme, the

promoters were mas ters of the s i tua t ion. This we know from th e evidence of witnes ses

favour ab le to enclosu re. 'Th e proprietors of lar ge est ates , ' said Arth u r You n g, 'gen erally agree

up on th e m easu re , ad ju s t t h e p r inc ipa l po in t s am ong th em se lves , and fix upon the i r a t t orney

before th ey app oint an y gen eral meet ing of th e prop rietors. ' (4*) Add ington, in h is In qu iry into

the Reason s for an d a gains t Inc los ing, qu ot ing an other wr i ter , says , ' the whole plan i s genera l ly




set t led between the sol ic itor an d two or th ree pr incipal propr ie tors withou t ever le t t ing th e res t

of them into th e secre t t i ll they are ca l led u pon to s ign the pet i t ion. ' (5*) Wha t s tan d cou ld the

sm al l propr ie tor hope to ma ke agains t su ch forces? The m at ter was a ch ose ju gée, and h is

as sent a m ere formal i ty. If he t r ied to res is t , he could be warn ed th a t th e su ccess of the

enclosure pet i t ion was cer ta in , an d th a t th ose who obst ru cted it wou ld suffer , as th ose who

as sisted i t would gain, in th e final award . His only pros pect of su ccessful opposit ion to the lordof the m an or , the m agis t ra te , the impropr ia tor of the t i th es , th e powers th a t en veloped h is li fe ,

t he pow ers tha t appo in ted the com m iss ione r w ho w as to m a ke the u lt im a te a w ard , lay in h i s

abi li ty to move a d im an d dis tan t Par l iam ent of grea t lan dlords to come to his rescu e . It n eeds

no very penet ra t ing imagina t ion to p ictu re what wou ld have ha ppen ed in a v il lage in wh ich a

landowner of the type of R icha rds on ' s hero in Pamela was ben t on an enclosu re , and th e

inha bi tants , be ing men l ike Goodma n And rews, kn ew tha t enclosu re mean t the i r ru in . Wha t ,

in point of fac t , could th e poor do to declare th e ir opposi t ion? They could tea r down the not ices

from th e chu rch doors :(6*) th ey could br eak u p a pu blic meeting, if one were held: bu t th e only

way in which they could pr otes t was b y violent an d d isorder ly proceedings , which ma de n o

impress ion a t a l l u pon Par l iam ent , a nd which t he forces of law an d order could , if necess ary ,

be su mm oned to qu ell .

The s cene n ow shi ft s to Par l iam ent , t he High Cour t of Ju s t ice , the s t ron ghold of the l iber t ies of En glish men . Par liam ent h ears th e pet it ion, an d, a lmost as a ma t ter of cours e , gran ts i t , giving

leave for the in t rodu ct ion of a B ill , and ins t ru ct ing th e mem ber who presen ts th e pet i t ion to

prepa re i t . This i s n ot a very long bu s iness , for th e promoters h ave genera l ly taken the t rou ble

to prepar e the i r B il l in advan ce . The Bi ll is su bm it ted , read a f ir s t a nd second t ime, and then

referred t o a Committee. Now a m odern Parl iamen tar y Private Bill Comm ittee is regar ded a s a

t r ibun al whose in tegr i ty an d impa r t ia lity are beyond qu es t ion, a nd ju s t ly, for the m ost

e labora t e p recau t ions a re t aken to secure th a t i t sh a l l dese rve th i s cha rac t e r . The e igh teen th -

centu ry Par l iam ent t rea ted i t s Comm it tee wi th ju s t as m u ch respect , but took no precau t ions

at a ll to obta in a d is in teres ted cour t . Indeed, the commit tee tha t con sidered an en closu re was

chosen on th e very cont rar y pr inciple . This we kn ow, not f rom the evidence of un kind a nd

pre judiced outs iders , b u t f rom th e Repor t of th e Commit tee of the House of Common s, which

inquired in 18 25 in to th e const i tu t ion of Commit tees on Pr ivate B i lls . 'Under th e presen t

sys tem ea ch Bi ll i s comm it ted to th e Member who is charged with i t s ma na gement an d su cho the r Mem bers a s he m ay choose to na m e in th e H ou se , and the M em bers se rving fo r a

par t icu lar Coun ty (u su al ly the Count y imm edia te ly connected wi th th e objec t of the Bil l) an d

the a djoining Coun t ies , an d consequ ent ly it ha s been p ract ica lly foun d th a t th e Members to

whom Bi ll s ha ve been comm it ted have been genera l ly those who ha ve been m ost in teres ted in

the r e su lt . '

Dur ing the s eventeenth an d e ighteen th cen tu r ies th ere developed the pr ac t ice of opening the

comm ittees. This was th e system of ap plyin g to Private Bills the p rocedu re followed in th e case

of Pub lic Bi ll s , and proposing a resolut ion in th e House of Common s th a t ' a l l who a t tend sh al l

ha ve voices , ' i .e . , tha t a ny mem ber of the Hous e who cared to a t tend the comm it tee sh ould be

able to vote . We can s ee how this ar ran gement ac ted. I t might h app en th a t som e of the cou nty

mem bers were hos t i le to a pa r t icu lar enclosu re schem e; in th a t cas e the promoters could ca l l

fo r an open com m i t t ee an d m a ss th e ir fr iends u pon i t . It m igh t h appen , on th e o the r h and , t ha tthe commit tee was s olid in su ppor t ing an enclosure , an d th a t some powerfu l person in th e

H ous e cons idered tha t h i s in t e re s t s , o r t h e in t e res t s o f h i s fr iend , h ad no t been du ly consu lt ed

in th e divis ion of the s poi l. In su ch a ca se h e would ca l l for a l l to 'ha ve voices ' an d s o compel

the pr omoters to sa t i s fy his c la ims . This sys tem then secu red some sor t of rough ju s t ice as

between the powerfu l in teres ts repres ented in Par l iam ent , bu t i t le ft th e sma l l propr ie tors a nd

the cot tagers , who were un represen ted in th is m êlée , absolute ly a t th e mercy of thes e

con flicting forces .




It is difficult , for examp le, to ima gin e tha t a com mittee in which t h e sm all men were

represen ted would h ave san ct ioned th e am azing c lau se in the Ash elwor th Act(7*) which

provided ' th at a l l fields or in closu res con tain ing the Propert y of Two or m ore Person s within on e

fence, an d also al l inclosu res cont ainin g the propert y of one Person on ly, if th e sam e be held by

or un der d i fferent Tenu res or In teres ts , sh al l be considered as comm onab le land a nd be divided

an d a l lot ted a ccordingly . ' This c lau se , tak en wi th th e c lau se th a t fol lows, s imp ly mean t th a tsome big lan downer ha d h is eye on som e par t icu lar p iece of enclosed proper ty , which in th e

ordinary way would n ot ha ve gone in to the m elt ing-pot a t a l l. The a r ran gements of th e

Wakef ie ld Act would ha rdly have saved th e scru t iny of a comm it tee on which th e Duk e of

Leeds ' class wa s n ot par am oun t. Under th at Act(8*) th e du ke was to ha ve fu ll power to work

mines a nd get minera ls , and th ose propr ietors whose premises s u ffered in cons equen ce were to

ha ve reason able sa t i s fac t ion, n ot from th e duk e who was enr iched b y the dis tu rbing caus e , but

from a l l th e a l lo t tees , inc lud ing presu ma bly those wh ose proper ty was dam aged. Fur th er , to

sa ve him self inconvenience, th e du ke could forbid al lot tees on Westgate Moor to build a hou se

for sixty years. A differen t kin d of Hous e of Comm ons would h ave looked closely at th e Act a t

Moreton Corbet which gave the Lord of th e man or a ll enclosures a nd en croachm ents more tha n

twenty years o ld , and a lso a t th e not un common p rovis ion which exemp ted th e t ith e-owner

from pa ying for his own fencing.

The Repor t of th e 1825 Commit tee descr ibes th e sys tem as ' invit ing a l l the in teres ted pa r t ies in

the Sou se to take par t in th e bus iness of th e comm it tee , which n ecessar i ly te rmina tes in the

prevalence of th e stron gest pa rt , for th ey who h ave no interes t of th eir own to ser ve will n ot be

prevai led up on to take pa r t in a s t ru ggle in which th e ir u nb iassed jud gment can ha ve no effec t . '

The ch ai rma n of the commit tee was genera l ly the mem ber who ha d m oved to in t r odu ce the Bil l.

The u nr eformed Par l iam ent of lan downers th a t p as sed th e excel lent Act of 1782 , forbidding

Members of Par l iam ent to ha ve an in teres t in Govern men t cont rac ts , never thou ght u nt il the

eve of the Reform Bi ll tha t th ere was a nyth ing remark able in th is ha bi t of refer r ing Enclosure

Bills to th e ju dgmen t of th e very lan downer s who were to profi t by th em. An d in 18 25 i t was

not t he En cLosu re Bi lls , in which. the r ich took an d th e poor su ffered, bu t th e Rai lway Bill s , in

which r ich m en were pit ted agains t r ich m en, th a t drew the a t tent ion of the Hous e of Commons

to the d i sadvan tages an d r i sks o f t h is p rocedure .

The comm it tee so composed s e ts to work on the Bi ll , an d m ean whi le , perha ps , som e of th e

person s af fec ted by the enclosu re sen d pet i t ions a gains t i t to the Sou se of Commons .

Difficul t ies of t ime an d sp ace would as a ru le de ter a l l but t he r ich d issen t ients , u nless th e

enclosu re was nea r Lond on. These p et it ions are d i fferent ly t rea ted a ccording to th e ir or igin . I f

th ey ema na te from a lord of th e ma nor , or from a t i the-owner , who for som e reason or o ther i s

dissa t i s fied with t he contem plated ar ra ngemen ts , th ey receive some a t t ent ion. In s u ch a case

the pet i t ioner proba bly ha s s ome fr iend in Par l iam ent , a nd his point of view is u nd ers tood. He

can , i f necessa ry , get t h is f r iend to a t t end the com m it t ee and in t rodu ce am en dm en t s . H e i s

th erefore a force to be reckon ed with ; the Bi ll is p erha ps a l tered to su i t h im; the pet i t ion i s a t

an y ra te refer red to th e commit tee . On the oth er h an d, i f th e pet i t ion comes f rom cot tagers or

sm al l propr ie tors , i t i s sa fe , as a r u le, to n eglec t i t .

The enclosu re h is tor ies s e t out in th e Appen dix su pply some good exam ples of th is d i fferent ia ltrea tm ent . Lord Str afford sen ds a pet i t ion a gainst th e Bil l for enclosing Wak efield with th e

resu l t t ha t h e i s a l lowed to appo in t a com m iss ione r , an d a lso tha t h is d i spu te w ith the du ke o f

Leeds i s exempted f rom th e ju r isdict ion of the En closu re Commiss ioners . On th e other h an d,

the u nfor tun a te pe r sons w ho pe t it ion aga ins t t h e m ons t rous p rovis ion tha t fo rbade them to

erect a ny bu ilding for twenty, forty or sixty years , get no kind of redress . In t he ca se of

Croydon, J am es Trecothick, Esq. , who is d issa t i s fied wi th th e Bill , is s t rong en ough to dema nd

specia l cons idera t ion. Accordingly a specia l provis ion is ma de th a t the commiss ioners a re

obliged to s el l Mr. Trecoth ick, by private cont ract , pa rt of Addin gton Hills , i f h e so wish es. But




when th e var ious f reeholders , copyholders , leaseh olders a nd inh abi tan t hou seh olders of

Croydon, who complain th a t th e promoters of the Bi ll have nam ed commiss ioners wi thout

consu l t ing th e persons in teres ted, ask leave to nom ina te a th i rd comm iss ioner , only four

mem bers of the Hous e of Common s s u ppor t Lord Wil liam Rus sel l' s proposa l to cons ider th is

peti t ion, an d fifty-one vote th e other way. An oth er exam ple of th e spiri t in wh ich Parl iamen t

received pet i t ions from u nimpor ta nt persons i s fu rn ished by th e case of the enclosu re of HolyIslan d. In 17 91 (Feb. 23)(9*) a p eti t ion was pres ent ed to Parl iamen t for th e enclosu re of Holy

Is land , as king for the divis ion of a s t in ted pa s tu re , an d th e ext inc t ion of the r ights of common

or 'eatage' over certa in infield lan ds . Leave was given, an d th e Bil l was p repa red a n d rea d a f irst

t ime on 28th Febru ary. The s am e day Par l iam ent received a p et it ion f rom freeholders an d

sta l lingers , who as k to be h eard by th ems elves or by coun sel agains t the Bil l. From Eden(10*)

we learn th a t th ere were 26 freeholders an d 31 s ta l lingers , and th a t th e la t te r were in th e s t r ic t

sen se of the term as m u ch f reeholders as the former . Whi ls t , h owever , a freeholder had t he

r igh t t o pu t 30 sh eep , 4 b lack ca t t l e and 3 hor ses on th e s t i n t ed com m on, a s t a l linge r had a

r ight of common for one hors e an d one cow only. The Hous e ordered th a t th is pe t it ion s hou ld

l ie on the ta ble t i ll th e second reading, an d th a t th e pet it ioners sh ould then be hear d . The

secon d rea ding, which h ad been fixed for 2n d April , was d eferred t i l l 20t h April, a ch an ge

which probab ly pu t th e pet i t ioners to considerable expense . On 2 0th Apr i l the Bil l was rea d a

second t im e , and the H ouse w as in fo rm ed tha t C oun se l a t t ended , an d a m ot ion w as m a de tha tCoun sel be now called in . But the m ot ion was opposed, an d on a d ivis ion was d efeated by 47

votes to 12 . The Bi ll pass ed th e House of Commons on 10 th May, an d received th e Royal

Ass ent on 9th J u ne . (11*) In t h is cas e the Hous e of Comm ons b roke fa i th with the p et it ioners ,

an d refu sed th e hear ing i t had p romised. Such exper ience was n ot like ly to encoura ge

dissen t ient s to waste the i r money on an app eal to Par l iam ent a gains t a B i ll tha t was promoted

by powerfu l poli t ic ian s . I t wi ll be observed th a t in ma ny cas es th e pet i t ioners d id not th ink th a t

i t was wor th th e t rouble and expens e to be hear d on Second Reading.

The Repor t of the Commit tee fo llowed a s tereotyped formu la : 'Tha t th e Stan ding Orders h ad

been com pl ied with : and tha t th e Commit tee had examined th e Al legat ions of the Bi ll and

foun d the sa me to be t rue ; and tha t the Par t ies concern ed ha d given th e ir Consent to th e Bill ,

to th e Satisfaction of th e Committee, except. . . '

Now what d id th is m ean ? Wha t consen ts were necessary to sa t i s fy the commit tee? The

Par l iam enta ry Comm it tee tha t repor ted on th e cos t of enclosu res in 180 0(12*) sa id tha t th ere

was no fixed ru le , tha t in som e cases th e cons ent of thr ee-four th s was requ i red, in o th ers th e

cons ent of four -fifth s. This pr oportion h as a look of fairn ess u nt i l we discover th at we ar e

deal ing in terms, n ot of persons , but of proper ty , and th a t th e su ffrages were not coun ted bu t

weighed. The m ethod b y which th e propor t ions were reckoned var ied , as a g lan ce a t th e cases

descr ibed in t he Appendix wil l sh ow. Value i s ca lcu la ted som et imes in a cres , som et imes in

an nu a l va lue , som et im es in a s ses sm en t t o t he lan d t ax , som et im es in a s ses sm en t t o t he poor

ra t e . I t is im por t an t t o r em em ber tha t i t was th e p rope r ty in t e re s t ed tha t cou n ted , an d tha t i n a

case where t here was common or waste to be d ivided a s well as open fields , one large

propr ie tor , who owned a cons iderab le proper ty in o ld enclosu res , could swam p th e ent i re

commu ni ty of sm al ler propr ie tors an d cot tagers . I f Squire Western owned an enclosed es ta te

with pa rks , garden s an d farm s of 800 a cres , and th e res t of the pa r ish consis ted of a commonor waste of 100 0 a cres an d open fields of 200 acres , a nd th e vi llage popu la t ion cons is ted of 100

cot tagers an d sm al l farm ers , each with a s t r ip of land in th e common f ie lds , an d a r ight of

common on th e waste , Squ ire Western wou ld ha ve a four- f ifth s m ajor ity in determining

whether th e open fields an d th e waste sh ould be enclosed or not , an d th e whole mat ter would

be in h is h an ds . This is a n ext rem e example of th e way in wh ich th e sys tem worked. The ca se

of Ash elwor th sh ows th a t a common might be cu t u p, on th e votes of person s h olding enclosed

proper ty , agains t the wish es of the grea t m ajor ity of th e common ers . At Laleha m the pet i t ioners

again st th e Bil l claimed th at th ey were 'a great m ajori ty of th e real Own ers a n d Proprietors of or




Persons in teres ted in , the Lan ds a nd Grou nd s in tend ed to be enclosed. ' At Simp son, where

common fields were to be en closed, th e Major Par t of the Owners an d Propr ie tors pe t i t ioned

again st th e Bil l, s ta t ing tha t th ey were 'very well sa t isfied with th e Situa tion an d Convenience

of th e ir resp ect ive Lan ds an d Proper t ies in th e ir pr esent u ninclosed Sta te . ' (13*)

Even a m ajor ity of thr ee-four th s in valu e was n ot a lways requ i red; for example , the Repor t of th e Comm it tee on th e enclosu re of Car tm el in Lan cas hi re in 17 96 gave par t iculars sh owing

tha t the whole proper ty belonging to person s in teres ted in the enclosure was as sess ed a t £15 0,

an d tha t the proper ty of those ac tu al ly consen t ing to th e enclosu re was ju s t u nd er £110 . (14*)

Yet the en closu re was recommen ded an d car r ied . Anoth er i llus t ra t ion i s s u ppl ied by the Repor t

of th e Comm it tee on th e enclosu re of His ton a nd Imp ington in 18 01, where th e par t ies

concerned a re repor ted to have cons ented except the p ropr ietors of 1020 acres , out of a to ta l

acreage of 3680. (15*) In th is cas e the Bi ll was recommit ted , an d on i t s next ap peara nce th e

commit tee gave the cons ents in te rm s of as sess men t to the Lan d Tax ins tead, pu t t ing the to ta l

figu re a t £3 04 , an d th e a s ses s m en t o f t he consen t ing pa r t i es a t £188 . Th i s s eem s to ha vesat i s fied th e House of Common s. (16*) Fu r th er , the par t icu lars g iven in th e case of the

enclosu re of Bish opst one in Wilts (enclosed in 1 809 ) sh ow th at t h e votes of copyholders were

hea vily d iscoun ted. In th is case the copyholders who dissen ted held 1079 acres , th e

copyholders who were neu ter 81 a cres , and the to ta l a rea to be d ivided was 2 602 acres . But b ysome ingenious a c tu ar ia l ca lcula t ion of the revers iona ry in t eres t of th e lord of th e ma nor a nd

the in teres t of the t i the-owner , the 10 79 a cres h eld by copyholders a re wr it ten down to 474

acr es . (17*) In the ca ses of Simp son an d Lou th , a s rea ders wh o consu l t the proceedings wil l see ,

th e committees were sa t isfied with ma jori t ies jus t ab ove thr ee-fifth s in value. At Rau n ds , wh ere

496 3 acres were 'in t eres ted, ' the owners of 570 are s ta ted t o be agains t , a nd of 721 neu ter .(18*)

An in teres t ing i llus tra t ion of th e lax pr actice of th e comm ittees is provided in t he h istory of an

at tem pted en closu re a t Qu ainton (1801). (19*) In a ny case th e s igna tu res were a doub tfu l

eviden ce of cons ent . ' It is eas y, ' wrote an acu te obser ver, 'for th e lar ge proprietors t o overcome

opposi t ion. Coaxing, br ib ing, threa ten ing, together with ma ny oth er a c ts wh ich su per iors wil l

ma ke u se , often ind u ce the infer iors to cons ent to th ings which t hey th ink wil l be to the i r

fu tu re d isadvan tage . (20*) We h ear ech oes of su ch p roceedings in th e pet i t ion f rom var iou s

owners an d pr opr ie tors a t Armley, who ' a t th e ins ta nce of severa l oth er owners of land, ' s igned

a pet i t ion for enclosure a nd wish to be hea rd agains t i t , an d a lso in t he u na vailing pet it ion of som e of th e proprietors a n d freeh olders of Winfrith Newbu rgh in Dors etsh ire, in 1 76 8,(21*) who

declared th a t i f the Bi ll passed in to law, the i r 'Es ta tes m u st be to ta l ly ru ined th ereby, an d th a t

some of the Pet it ioners by Threa ts a nd Mena ces were prevai led u pon to s ign the Pet it ion for th e

sa id Bil l: but u pon Recollection, an d cons iderin g the impen ding Ruin, ' they pra yed to 'ha ve

Liber ty to re t rac t from th eir s eeming Acquiescence . ' From th e sa me ca se we learn tha t i t was

the p ra c t ice som et im es to gran t copyho lds on th e cond it ion th a t t h e t enan t w ou ld u nde r t ake

not to oppose enclosu re . Somet imes , a s in th e case of the Sedgmoor En closu re , which we sha ll

d iscus s la ter , ac tu al frau d was em ployed. But even i f the p romoters emp loyed n o un fa i r

m e thods th ey ha d one a rgum ent pow er fu l enough to be a de t e r r en t i n m an y m inds . For an

opposed En closu re Bil l was mu ch m ore expensive tha n a n u nopp osed Bil l, and a s th e sma ll

men fe lt the bu rden of the cos ts m u ch m ore than the large propr ie tors , they would na tu ra l ly be

sh y of add ing to the very hea vy expens es u nless th ey s tood a very good cha nce of defea t ing the

s c h e m e .

It is of capi ta l imp or tan ce to remem ber in th is conn ect ion th a t th e enu mera t ion of ' cons ents '

took accou n t only of propr ietors. It ignored en tirely two lar ge class es to whom en closu re mea nt ,

not a grea ter or less d egree of wealth , bu t ac tu al ru in . These were su ch cot tagers a s en joyed

thei r r ights of common in vir tu e of rent ing cot tages to which s u ch r ights were a t ta ched, a nd

thos e cot tagers a nd squ at ters who e ither ha d n o s t r ic t legal r ight , or whose r ights were difficu l t

of proof. Neither of th ese class es was t reat ed even out wardly an d forma lly as h aving an y claim

to be consu lted before an en closure was san ct ioned.




It i s c lear , th en, th a t i t was only the p ressu re of th e powerfu l in teres ts th a t decided whether a

commit tee shou ld ap prove or d isapprove of an En closu re Bil l. It was th e sam e pressu re tha t

determined the form in wh ich a B il l becam e law. For a procedu re th a t en abled r ich men to fight

out th e ir r iva l c la ims a t Westm ins ter le ft the c lasses t ha t could not sen d coun sel to Par l iam ent

withou t a weapon or a voice . And i f there was no lawyer th ere to pu t h is case , what prospect

was th ere tha t th e obscu re cot tager , who was to be tur ned a dr i ft with his fam i ly by anEn closu re Bil l promoted b y a Member or group of Members , would ever t rou ble the cons cience

of a comm it tee of landowners? We ha ve seen a l ready how this c lass was regarded by th e

landowners a nd th e cham pions of enclosure . No cot tagers ha d votes or th e mean s of

influ en cing a single vote at a s ingle election. To Parl iam ent , if th ey had an y existen ce at a l l,

th ey were merely dim s ha dows in th e very backgroun d of the en closu re schem e. It would

require a cons iderable effor t of the ima gina t ion t o su ppose th a t th e Par l iam enta ry Comm it tee

spen t very mu ch t ime or energy on th e a t temp t to give body and form to th is hazy and r emote

socie ty , an d to t rea t thes e sha dows as l iv ing men a nd women , about to be tossed by th is

revolu t ion f rom thei r an ces t ra l homes. As i t ha ppen s , we need not pu t ours e lves to th e t rouble

of su ch specu la t ion, for we ha ve the eviden ce of a witnes s wh o wil l not b e su spected of

injus t ice to his clas s. 'Th is I kn ow, ' sa id Lord Lincoln(22*) introd u cing the Gen eral En closu re

Bil l of 1845 , ' tha t in n ineteen cases out of twenty , Comm it tees of th is Hous e s i t t ing on pr ivate

Bills n eglected th e r ight s of the poor. I do not s ay th at th ey wilfu lly neglected th ose r ights -- farfrom i t : bu t th is I a f firm, tha t th ey were neglec ted in cons equen ce of the Commit tees being

perm it ted to remain in ignora nce of th e c la ims of th e poor man , becau se by reason of h is very

pover ty he i s un able to come u p to London for cou ns el, to produce witn esses , an d to ur ge his

claims b efore a Comm ittee of th is Hous e. ' An oth er Member(23*) h ad d escribed a year ea rl ier

the cha racter of th is pr iva te B i ll procedu re . ' Inc losure Bi ll s ha d b een in t rodu ced h ere tofore an d

pas sed withou t d iscus s ion, an d n o one could te ll how ma ny persons ha d su ffered in th e ir

interes ts a nd r ight s by the inter feren ce of th ese Bil ls . Certain ly th ese Bil ls h ad b een referred to

Commit tees up s ta i rs , but everyone k new how these Comm it tees were genera l ly cond u cted.

They were a t tended only by hon oura ble Members who were in teres ted in th em, being Lords of

Manor , an d th e r ights of the poor , thou gh they might b e ta lked abou t , had f requen t ly been

taken aw ay unde r t ha t sys t em . '

Thes e s ta t ement s were mad e by poli t ic ian s who rem embered wel l the s ys tem th ey weredescr ib ing. There is a noth er witnes s whose a u thor i ty is even greater . In 178 1 Lord Thu r low,

th en at t h e beginn ing of his long l ife of office as Lord Cha n cellor ,(24*) sp oke for an hou r a nd

th ree qu ar ters in favou r of recomm itt ing the Bil l for en closing Ilmin gton in Warwicksh ire. If the

speech ha d b een ful ly repor ted i t would be a cont r ibut ion of inf in i te va lu e to s tu dents of the

socia l h is tory of e ighteenth -centu ry England, for we are to ld tha t h e proceeded to examine,

para graph by para graph, every provis ion of the Bil l, an imadver t ing an d point ing out s ome acts

of injus t ice, pa rt ial ity, obscu ri ty or cau se of confus ion in ea ch. ' (25*) Unfortu n ately this pa rt of

h is s peech was om it ted in th e repor t as be ing 'i r re la t ive to the deba te , ' which was concern ed

with t he qu es t ion of th e propr ie ty of commu ting t ith es . But t he rep or t , incomp lete as i t is ,

conta ins an i llumina t ing pas sage on the condu ct of Pr ivate B il l Commit tees . 'His Lordship . ..

next tu rned his a t tent ion to the m ode in wh ich p r ivate b i l ls were permi t ted to mak e the i r way

th rough bo th H ouses , an d th a t i n m a t t e r s i n w hich p rope r ty w as concerned , t o t he g rea t i n ju ry

of ma n y, if n ot th e total ru in of som e private families: ma n y proofs of th is evil had come to h iskn owledge as a mem ber of the oth er House , n ot a few in his pr ofess ional cha racter , before h e

ha d the h onour o f a s ea t i n t h a t H ouse , no r ha d h e been a t o t a l s t r ange r t o su ch evils s ince hewas ca l led u pon t o pres ide in an other p lace . ' Going on t o speak of th e commit tees of the Hou se

of Commons an d ' the ra pidity wi th which pr ivate B i ll s were h u rr ied throu gh, ' he declared t ha t

' it was not u nfrequen t to decide up on th e mer i t s of a B i ll which would a ffec t the p roper ty an d

interes ts of person s inh abi t ing a d is t r ic t of severa l miles in extent , in less t ime th an i t took h im

to determine u pon th e propr iety of issu ing an order for a few poun ds , by which no m an 's

proper ty could be injur ed. ' He conclu ded b y tell ing th e Hous e of Lords a story of how Sir




George Savile once n ot iced a ma n ' ra ther mean ly ha bi ted ' watch ing the pr oceedings of a

commit tee wi th an xious in t eres t . When th e comm it tee ha d agreed on i t s repor t , the agi ta ted

specta tor was s een to be in grea t d is t ress . Sir George Savile as ked h im what was th e mat t er ,

and he found th a t t he m a n w ould be ru ined by a c lau se tha t h ad been pas sed by the

commit tee , an d th a t , ha ving heard th a t th e Bil l was to be in t rodu ced, he had m ade h is way to

London on foot , too poor to come in an y other way or to fee cou ns el. Savi le th en ma de inqu i r iesan d l ea rn t t ha t t hese s t a t em en t s w ere co r rec t , whereupon he secured th e am end m ent o f t he

Bil l, ' by which m ean s a n inn ocent , ind igent m an an d h is fam i ly were rescu ed from des t ru ct ion. '

It would not h ave been very easy for a 'mean ly hab i ted m an ' to make th e jou rn ey to London

from Wakefield or Kna resborou gh or Hau te Hu nt re , even i f he kn ew when a Bi ll was coming on,

an d to s ta y in London u nt i l it went in to commit tee ; and i f he did , h e wou ld not a lways be s o

lucky as to find a Si r George Savile on th e commit tee - - the pu bl ic ma n who was regarded by

h is contem pora ries, to wh atever pa rty th ey belonged, as th e Bayard of poli t ics.(26*)

We get very few gl imp ses in to th e u nd erwor ld of the comm on a nd obscu re people, whose h omesan d for tu nes t remb led on th e cha nce tha t a qua rre l over t ithes a nd t he confl ic t ing c la ims of

squ i re an d pa rson m ight d is tu rb th e un an imi ty of a score of gent lemen s i t t ing roun d a ta ble .

London was far away, and the Olymp ian peace of Par l iam ent was rare ly broken by the pr otes ts

of it s v ict ims. Bu t we get one s u ch gl imp se in a pas sage in th e Ann u al Regis ter for 1767.

'On Tues da y even ing a great n u mb er of far mer s were obser ved goin g along Pall Mall with

cockades in th e ir ha ts . On en quir ing the reason , it app eared th ey a l l l ived in or near th e par ishof Sta n well in th e coun ty of Midd lesex, and t h ey were retu rn ing to their wives an d families to

car ry them th e agreeab le n ews of a Bill being rejected for inclosing the sa id comm on, which if

car r ied in to execut ion, might h ave been the ru in of a grea t n u mb er of fam i lies . ' (27*)

When the Comm it tee on th e Enclosur e Bil l ha d repor ted to th e House of Commons , the res t of

the proceedings were genera l ly formal . The Bill was read a t h i rd t ime, engrossed, s ent u p to th e

Lords , where pet i t ions m ight b e presen ted as in the Comm ons, a nd received th e Royal Assen t .

A s tu dy of the pages of Hans ard an d Debret t te l ls u s l it t le about t ran sact ions th a t f ill the

J ourn als of the Hou ses of Par l iam ent . Three deba tes in th e House of Lords a re fu l lyrep orted,(28*) an d th ey il lu str ate th e play of forces a t Westmin ster . The Bish op of St .

Davids(29*) moved to recomm it an En closu re Bil l in 178 1 on th e groun d th at , l ike m an y other

En closu re Bil ls , i t provided for the comm u tat ion of t i thes - - an ar ra ngemen t which he th ought

open to ma ny objec t ions . Here was an i ssu e tha t was vita l , for it concerned th e in t eres ts of the

class es represen ted in Par l iam ent . Did th e Chu rch s tan d to gain or to lose by taking lan d

ins tead of t i the? Was i t a bad t h ing or a good th ing tha t the pa rson s hou ld be put in to the

pos it ion o f a f a rm er , t ha t he sh ou ld be un de r t he t em p ta t ion to en te r in to an a r r an gem ent w ith

the lan dlord which m ight pre judice his su ccessor , tha t h e sh ould be re l ieved from a sys tem

which often ca u sed ba d blood between him a nd his pa r ishioners? Wou ld it 'make h im neglec tthe sacred fu nct ions of h is m inis t ry ' as th e Bish op of St . Davids feared, or would i t improve his

u sefu lnes s by rescuing him from a s i tua t ion in which ' the pa s tor was to ta l ly sun k in the t i the

collec tor ' as the Bishop of Peterborou gh(30*) hoped, a nd was a ma n a bet ter pa rson on th e

Su nd ay for be ing a farm er th e res t of the week a s Lord Coventry bel ieved? The bishops an d th epeers ha d in th is d iscuss ion a s u bject tha t touch ed very nea r ly the l ives an d in teres ts of

them selves an d th e ir fr iends , an d th ere was a considerable and a nima ted debat e , (31*) a t th e

end of which th e House of Lords app roved th e pr inciple of commu ting t i thes in En closu re Bi ll s .

This deba te was followed by an oth er on 6th April , when Lord Bath u rs t (Presiden t of th e

Counci l) as a coun terblas t to h is col league on the Woolsack, moved, bu t a fterwards withd rew, a

ser ies of resolu t ions on th e sam e su bject . In th e cou rse of th is deba te Thu r low, who thou ght

perh aps t ha t h is zea l for the Chu rch h ad su rpr ised an d i r r ita ted h is fe llowpeers , among whom

he was n ot cons picuous in li fe as a pr ac t i s ing Chr is t ian , expla ined th a t th ough h e was zealous




for the Chu rch, 'h is zea l was n ot par t ia l or confined to the Chu rch, fu r th er tha n i t was

conn ected with th e other grea t n a t ional es tabl ish men ts , of which it formed a p ar t , an d no

inconsiderable one . ' The Bishop of St . Davids re tur ned to th e su bject on th e 14th J u ne , moving

to recomm it the Bill for enclosing Kington in Worcester sh ire. He rea d a s tr ing of resolu tions

which he wish ed to s ee app lied to a l l fu tu re En closu re Bil ls , in order to defend the in t eres ts of

th e clergy from ' th e oppres sions of th e Lord of th e Man or, land owners , etc. ' Thu rlow sp oke forhim, bu t h e was defeated b y 24 votes to 4 , h is on ly other su ppor ters b e ing Lord Gal loway an d

th e Bish op of Lincoln.

Thu rlow's story of Sir George Savile 's 'mea nly ha bited ma n' did n ot distu rb th e confiden ce of

the House of Lords in the ju s t ice of the exis t ing procedure towards the poor : the enclosure

debat es revolve sole ly roun d th e qu es t ion of the r e la t ive c la ims of the lord of th e ma nor a nd the

ti the-own er. Th e Hous e of Comm ons was equ ally free from s cru ple or misgivin g. On e peti t ioner

in 1800 commen ted on th e ext raordinary ha s te with wh ich a New Fores t B il l was pu sh ed

thr ough Par l iam ent , an d su gges ted tha t if i t , were pas sed in to law in th is rapid man ner a t th eend of a s ess ion, some in jus t ice might u ncons cious ly be done. The Sp eaker repl ied with a grave

an d dignified rebu ke: 'The Hou se was a lways comp eten t to give every su bject the cons ideration

du e to it s impor tan ce , an d could not th erefore be t ru ly sa id to be inca pab le a t a ny t ime of

discu ss ing any qu estion gravely, dispa ss iona tely, an d with s tr ict regard to jus t ice.' (32*) Herecommen ded th a t th e pet it ion s hou ld be pas sed over as i f it ha d never been presented . The

m em ber w ho had p resen ted the pe t it ion p l eaded th a t h e had no t r ead i t . Such w ere the

plau s ibil it ies an d decorum in which th e Hous e of Commons ma pped u p i t s abu ses . We can

im ag ine th a t s om e o f t he m em bers m us t h ave sm iled to each o the r l ike the R om an au gur s ,

when th ey exchan ged thes e solemn h ypocr is ies .

We ha ve a s ideligh t on th e vigilan ce of th e Hous e of Comm ons , when a n E n closu re Bil l cam e

down f rom a comm it tee, in a speech of Windh am 's in defence of bul l-bai t ing. Wind ha m

at ta cked th e pol it icians who h ad in t rodu ced th e Bil l to abol ish bu ll -bai t ing, for ra is ing such a

ques t ion a t a t ime of na t iona l cr i s is when Par l iam ent ou ght to be th inking of o ther th ings . He

then went on to compare th e su bject to local su bjec ts th a t ' conta ined n othing of pu bl ic or

genera l in t eres t . To procure th e discus s ion of such su bjects i t was necess ary to resor t to

can vass an d in t r igu e . Memb ers whose a t tend an ce was indu ced by local considera t ions in mostcases of th is des cr ip t ion, were presen t : the discu ss ion, i f an y took place , was m an aged by the

fr iends of the m easu re : and th e decis ion of the Hous e was u l t ima te ly , perh aps , a ma t ter of

mere cha nce . ' From Sh er idan ' s sp eech in a ns wer , we learn tha t th is i s a descr ip t ion of th e

pas s ing of Enclosu re Bill s . 'Anoth er h onou rab le gent leman who ha d opposed th is B il l with

pecul iar vehem ence, considered i t as one of th ose l ight a nd t r ivia l subjec ts , which was n ot

wor th y to occup y the del ibera t ions of Par l iam ent : an d h e compared it to cer ta in o ther s u bjects

of Bil ls: th at is to sa y, bil ls of a local na tu re, respectin g inclosu res a nd other d isposa l of

proper ty , which m erely pass ed by chan ce , as Members could not be got to a t tend the i r progress

by dint of canvass ing, ' (33*) Doubt less m ost Members of th e House of Commons sh ared the

sen t iments of Lord San dwich, who to ld th e House of Lords th a t h e was so sa t i s fied ' tha t th e

more inc losu res th e bet ter , tha t a s far as h is poor ab il it ies would enab le h im, he would su ppor t

every inclosu re bill th at s hou ld be brough t into the Hous e. ' (34 *)

For the las t a c t of an enclosure dra ma the scen e shi ft s ba ck to the par ish . The comm iss ioners

ar r ive , receive and d etermine c la ims, a nd pu bl ish an award, m app ing out the n ew vil lage . The

l ife an d bu s iness of the vil lage are n ow in s u spen se , an d th e commiss ioners a re often

au thor ised to prescr ibe the course of hus ban dry du r ing the t ran s i t ion . (35*) The Act which th ey

adm inis ter pr ovides tha t a cer ta in propor t ion of the lan d i s to be a ss igned to th e lord of the

ma nor , in v ir tu e of h is r ights , a nd a cer ta in propor t ion to the owner of the t i thes . An occas iona l

Act provides th a t s ome sm al l a llotmen t sh al l be m ade to th e poor : otherwise the comm iss ioners

ha ve a free ha nd : the i r powers a re v ir tu a l ly absolute . This i s the impr ess ion left by a l l




contemp orary writers . Ar th u r Youn g, for examp le, wr ites em ph at ica l ly in th is sen se . 'Thu s i s

th e propert y of prop rietors, an d esp ecially of th e poor ones, en tirely at th eir mercy: every

pas s ion of resentm ent an d p re ju dice ma y be gra t i fied wi thout cont rol, for they ar e ves ted wi th a

despot ic power kn own in n o other b ran ch of bus iness in th is free coun try . '(36*) Similar

tes t imony is foun d in the Repor t of the Selec t Commit tee (1800 ) on th e Expens e an d Mode of

Obta ining Bil ls of En closu re : ' the expediency of despa tch, withou t th e ad di t ional expens e of mu l t ip l ied l it iga t ion, ha s s u gges ted th e necess i ty of inves t ing them with a su mm ary, an d in

mos t cas es u n contr ollable ju risdict ion. ' (37*) In th e Genera l Report of the Boar d of Agricu ltur e

on En closu res , pu bl ish ed in 18 08, thou gh an y more carefu l procedure i s deprecated as like ly

to cau se delay, it i s s ta ted tha t th e adjus t ing of proper ty wor th £ 50,000 was left to the

ar bitra t ion of a m ajori ty of five, 'often pers ons of mea n ed u cation. ' Th e au th or of An In qu iry in to

the Ad vantages and disad vanta ges resu lt ing from Bills of Inclosure , pub l ish ed in 1 781 , wr i tes

as i f i t was th e prac t ice to a l low an app eal to Qua r ter Sess ions ; su ch an app eal he

cha racter i sed as u se less to a poor man , an d we can well be lieve tha t most of th e squ i res who

s a t o n s u c h a t r i b u n a l t o p u n is h va g ra n t s o r p oa c h e r s h a d h a d a h a n d i n a n e n c lo s u r e in t h e

pas t o r had the i r eyes on an enc losure in th e fu tu re . Thu r low cons ide red su ch an appea l qu i t e

ina dequa te , g iving th e m ore po lit e r eason th a t Q u ar t e r Sess ions had no t t h e necessa ry

time .(38*) The Act of 180 1 is si lent on th e su bject , bu t Sinclair 's dra ft of a Gen eral Inclosu re

Bill , published in the Anna ls of Agricu ltu re in 1796,(39*) provided for an appeal to QuarterSess ions . In th e case of five enclosures m ent ioned in th ese cha pters (Hau te Hun tre , Simp son,

Sta n well , Wak efield an d Winfri th Newbu rgh), th e decision of th e comm issioners on claims wa s

final , except th a t a t Wakef ie ld a n objec tor might obl ige the commiss ioners to ta ke th e opinion

of a cou ns el chosen by them selves . In five cases (Ash elwor th , Croydon, Ch esh u nt , Laleham an d

Louth ), a d isa ppointed c la ima nt might br ing a s u i t on a fe igned i ssu e agains t a p ropr ietor . At

Armley and Kna resborough th e fina l decis ion was left to a rbi t ra tors , bu t whereas a t Armley the

arbi t ra tor was t o be chosen b y a neu t ra l au th or ity , the Recorder of Leeds , the a rbi t ra tors a t

Kna resborough w ere na m ed in th e Ac t , and w ere p resum ably a s m u ch th e nom inees o f t he

promoters as th e commiss ioners th emselves .

The s ta temen ts of contemp orar ies a l ready quoted go to show that n one of th ese ar ra ngemen ts

were regarded as ser ious ly fe t ter ing th e power of the commiss ioners , an d i t i s easy to

u nd ers ta nd th a t a lawsu i t , which m ight of cours e overwhelm him, was n ot a remedy for the us eof a s ma ll propr ietor or a cot tager , though it m ight be of some advan tage to a la rge propr ie tor

w ho had no t been for tun a te enough to secure adequa te r ep resen ta t ion o f h i s i n t e res t s on the

Board of Commiss ioners . But the d ecis ion as to c la ims was only par t of th e bu s iness . A ma n 's

c la im m ight be a l lowed, an d yet gross in ju s t ice might be don e him in the r edis t r ibu t ion. He

might be given infer ior lan d, or lan d in an inconvenient pos i t ion. In m ost of the cas es c i ted in

this ch apter th e award of the comm iss ioners is s t a ted to be fina l , and t here i s no ap peal from

it . Two except ions are Kna resborou gh a nd Armley. The Kna resborou gh Act i s s i lent on t he

point , a nd th e Arm ley Act al lows an ap pea l to th e Recorder of Leeds. So far th erefore as th e

cla ims a nd a l lo tmen ts of th e poor were concerned, th e commiss ioners were in n o dan ger of

be ing overru led. Their f reedom in other ways was res t r ic ted b y the S tan ding Orders of 1774,

which obl iged them to give an accoun t of th e ir expens es .

It wou ld seem to be obvious th a t a ny socie ty which h ad a n e lementa ry not ion of the m ean ingan d im por t ance o f jus t ice wou ld have t aken th e u tm os t pa ins to see tha t t he m en appo in ted to

th is extraord inar y office h ad n o motive for sh owin g part ial i ty. Th is might not rea son ab ly h ave

been expected of the s ocie ty about which Pit t declared in th e House of Common s, th a t i t was

the b oas t of the law of England tha t i t a fforded equa l secur i ty an d protec t ion to the h igh a nd

low, the r ich a nd poor . (40*) How were these commiss ioners a ppointed a t th e t ime th a t Pit t was

Pr ime Minis ter? They were app ointed in each case b efore the Bi ll was presen ted to Par l iam ent ,

an d genera l ly , as Youn g te ll s us , they were appointed by th e promoters of the enclosure b efore

the p et it ion was su bmit ted for local s igna tu res , so tha t in fac t th ey were nominated by th e




person s of influence who agreed on th e meas u re . In on e case (Moreton Corbet in Sh ropsh i re ;

195 0 acres en closed in 17 97) th e Act appointed one commiss ioner only , an d he was to na me

his su ccessor . Somet imes , as in t he cas e of Otmoor , (41*) it might h app en th a t th e

commiss ioners were ch an ged whi le th e Bil l was p ass ing throu gh Comm it tee , i f some powerfu l

person s were able to secu re bet ter represen ta t ion of the i r own interes ts . In the ca se of

Wak efield a gain, th e Hous e of Comm ons Comm ittee placated Lord St ra fford by giving him acommiss ioner .

Now, who was su pposed to ha ve a voice in the a ppointmen t of the comm iss ioners ? There is to

be foun d in the Anna ls of Agricu ltu re(42*) an ext remely in t eres t ing pap er by Si r J ohn Sincla i r ,

pre l imina ry to a m emoran du m of the Genera l En closu re Bil l which he prom oted in 1 796 .

Sincla i r expla ins tha t he h ad h ad e ighteen hu nd red En closu re Acts (tak en indiscr imina te ly)

exam ined in o rde r t o a sce r ta in w ha t w as th e us ua l p rocedure an d w ha t s t ipu la t ions w ere m ade

with regard to pa r t icular in teres ts ; th is with th e in tent ion of incorpora t ing the recognised

pra ct ice in h is Genera l Bi ll. In th e course of thes e rema rks he s ays , ' the pr obable resu lt will bethe a ppointmen t of one Commiss ioner by th e Lord of th e Man or , of an other by th e t i the-owner ,

an d of a th ird by the m ajor par t in value of th e proprietors . ' (43 *) It wil l be obser ved tha t th e

th ird comm iss ioner i s n ot appointed b y a ma jor i ty of the comm oners , n or even b y the ma jor i ty

of th e propr ietors, bu t by th e votes of th ose who own th e greater p ar t of th e village. Th isena bles us to as sess th e value of what m ight h ave seemed a s afeguard to the poor - - the

provis ion tha t the n am es of the comm iss ioners sh ould appea r in th e Bil l presen ted to

Par l iam ent . The lord of the ma nor , th e imp ropr ia tor of t i thes , an d th e ma jor i ty in valu e of th e

owners are a sm al l minor i ty of the p ersons af fec ted by an en closu re , and a l l tha t th ey have to

do is t o m ee t rou nd a t a b l e and n am e th e com m iss ione r s w ho a re to r ep resen t t h em . (44*) Thu s

we find th a t the powerfu l persons who carr ied an enclosu re agains t the wi ll of the poor

nom inated th e t r ibun al before which th e poor had to mak e good the i r severa l c la ims. This was

the way in which t he cons t i tu t ion th a t Pi t t was defend ing afforded equa l secur i ty an d

protec t ion to the r ich an d to the poor .

It wil l be n ot iced fu r th er th a t t wo in teres ts a re chosen out for specia l representa t ion. They are

the lord of th e man or an d th e imp ropr ia tor of t i thes : in o th er words , the very person s who are

formal ly ass igned a cer ta in m inimu m in th e dis t r ibut ion b y the Act of Par l iam ent . E very Actaf ter 177 4 declares th a t th e lord of th e man or is to ha ve a cer ta in propor t ion, an d th e t ith e-

owner a cer ta in propor t ion of the lan d divided: scarce ly an y Act s t ipula tes th a t a ny sh are a t a l l

i s to go to the cot tager or the s ma l l propr ie tor . Yet in th e app ointm ent of commiss ioners th e

interes ts th a t a r e protec ted by the Act have a prepond era t ing voice , and th e in t eres ts th a t a re

left to th e capr ice of th e commiss ioners ha ve no voice a t a l l. Thu r low, speak ing in the House of

Lords in 1781, (45*) sa id tha t i t was gross ly u nju s t to the pa rson t ha t h is proper ty sh ould be a t

the d isposal of thes e commiss ioners , of whom h e only nom inated one . 'He than ked God tha t

the p rope r ty of an Eng lish m an depended n o t on so loose a t r i bun a l in an y o the r i ns t an ce

whatever . ' Wha t , then , was th e pos i t ion of the p oor and the s ma ll farm ers who were not

represen ted a t a ll among the comm iss ioners? In th e paper a l ready qu oted, Sincla i r ment ions

tha t in some cas es th e comm iss ioners were peers , gent lemen an d c lergymen , res id ing in the

neighb ourh ood, who ac ted withou t fees or emolu men t . He spoke of th is as u nd er taking a

u se fu l du ty , and i t does no t s eem to h ave occur red to h im th a t t h e re was an y ob jec t ion to su cha p rac t ice . 'To lay down the pr inciple th a t men are to s erve for noth ing,' sa id Cobbet t , in

cr i t ic is ing the sys tem of u np aid ma gis t ra tes , 'puts me in mind of th e servant who went on h i re ,

who being ask ed what wages he dema nd ed, sa id he wanted n o wages: for tha t he a lways foun d

abou t th e hou se l it t le th ings to p ick u p. '

There is a cur ious pas sage in t he Genera l Repor t of th e Board of Agr icul tu re(46*) on the su bject

of the app ointm ent of commiss ioners . The writer , a f ter dwell ing on the u nexam pled powers th a t

the comm iss ioners enjoy, remark s th a t th ey are not like ly to be abu sed, becau se a




commiss ioner ' s prospect of fu tu re employmen t in th is profi table capa city depends on h is

cha racter for in tegr ity an d jus t ice . This i s a r eass u r ing re jec t ion for th e c lass es th a t p romoted

enclosures a nd app ointed comm iss ioners , bu t it r ings wi th a very different sou nd in o th er ears .

It wou ld dear ly have been mu ch bet ter for the poor i f the comm iss ioners ha d n ot had an y

prosp ect of fu tu re employmen t a t a l l. We can obt a in som e idea of th e kind of men whom th e

landowners cons idered to be comp etent an d sa t i s fac tory commiss ioners from th e Stan dingOrders of 18 01, wh ich forba de th e employmen t in th is capa city of th e bail iff of th e lord of th e

ma nor . It wou ld be in teres t ing to know how mu ch of England was app ropr ia ted on the

init iat ive of th e lord of th e ma nor , by his ba iliff, act ing u n der th e au th ori ty given to him b y the

High Cour t of Par l iam ent . I t i s s igni fican t , too , tha t down to 18 01 a comm iss ioner was on ly

debar red from bu ying lan d in a par ish in which h e had ac ted in th is capa city , u nt i l h is award

was ma de, The Act of 1801 debar red him from bu ying lan d u nd er su ch c i rcums tan ces for the

following five years.

The sh are of th e sma l l ma n in th ese t ran sact ions f rom f irs t to las t can be es t imated f rom th elangua ge of Ar th u r Youn g in 1 770. 'The sm al l propr ie tor whose proper t y in th e townsh ip is

perh aps his a l l, ha s l it t le or n o weight in regula t ing the c lau ses of the Act of Par l iam ent , h as

se ldom, i f ever , an oppor tu ni ty of pu t t ing a s ingle one in th e Bil l favourab le to h is r ights , a nd

ha s as l it t le inf lu ence in th e choice of Commiss ioners . ' (47*) But even th is descr ip t ion does lesstha n jus t ice to h is he lplessn ess . There rema ins to be cons idered the procedure before the

comm issioners th ems elves. Most En closu re Acts s pecified a date before which al l claims h ad t o

be presented. It is obvious t ha t there m u st h ave been very ma ny sm al l propr ie tors who h ad

nei ther the coura ge nor th e knowledge necessa ry to pu t an d defend th e ir case , and th a t vas t

nu m bers o f cla im s m u s t h ave been d i s r ega rded becau se they w ere no t p re sen ted , o r because

th ey were pres en ted too late, or beca u se th ey were irregular in form . The Croydon Act, for

example , prescr ibes tha t c la iman ts m us t send in the i r c la ims ' in Writ ing un der the i r Hands , or

th e Hands of th e ir Agents , d is t inguish ing in s u ch Cla ims the Tenu re of th e Esta tes in respect

whereof su ch Cla ims are ma de, and s ta t ing there in su ch fu r th er Par t iculars a s sh al l be

n ecess ary to descr ibe su ch Claims with Precision. ' An d if th is was a d ifficult fence for th e sm all

propr ie tor , un accu stomed to legal forms a nd d ocumen ts , or to forms a nd d ocum ents of an y

kind, what was th e pl ight of the cot tager? Let u s imagine th e cot tager , un able to read or wr i te,

enjoying cer ta in cu s toma ry r ight s of common withou t a ny idea of the i r or igin or h is tory or legalbas is : kn owing only th a t as long as h e can rem ember h e has kept a cow, dr iven geese across

th e wast e , pul led his fu e l out of th e neighb our ing bru sh wood, and cut tu r f from th e comm on,

an d th a t h is fa th er d id a l l th ese th ings b efore h im. The cot tager learn s th a t before a cer ta in da y

he h as to presen t to h is land lord ' s ba i li ff, or to the par son, or to one of the m agis t ra tes in to

whose ha nd s perh aps he h as fa l len before now over a l it t le mat ter of a h are or a p ar t r idge , or to

some s olici tor from th e coun try town, a c lear an d correc t s ta t emen t of h is r ight s a nd his c la im

to a sh a re in t h e aw ard . Le t us r em em ber a t t he s am e t im e a l l t ha t w e know from F ie ld ing and

Sm ollet t of th e repu tat ion of lawyers for cru elty to th e poor. Is a cottager to be tr u sted to face

th e ordeal , or to be in t ime wi th his s ta tem ent , or to ha ve tha t s ta temen t in proper legal form?

The comm iss ioners can re jec t h is c la im on th e groun d of an y technica l ir regular i ty, as we learn

from a pet i t ion presen ted to Par l iam ent in 1 774 b y severa l persons in teres ted in th e enclosu re

of Kna resborough Fores t , whose c la ims ha d been disa l lowed by th e commiss ioners becau se of

cer ta in 'mis ta kes ma de in th e descr ip t ion of su ch tenem ents . . . notwiths tan ding the sa id er rorswere merely from ina dverten cy 'an d in n o way altered th e merits of th e peti t ion ers ' claims. ' A

Bill was before Parl iam ent t o amen d th e previou s Act for enclosing Kn ar esb orou gh Forest , inrespect of the m ethod of paymen t of expenses , an d hen ce these pet it ioners h ad a n oppor tu ni ty

of ma king the i r t rea t men t pu bl ic. (48*) It i s eas y to gu ess wh at was the fa te of ma ny a sm al l

propr ie tor or cot tager , who had t o descr ibe his tenem ent or common r ight to an u ns ympath et ic

t r ibun al . We are n ot su rpr ised th a t on e of the witnes ses to ld the En closu re Comm it tee of 1844

th at th e poor often d id not kn ow what the i r c la ims were , or how to present them . It i s




signi fican t th a t in the case of Sedgmoor , out of 4063 c la ims sent in , only 1798 were

allowed.(49*)

We ha ve now given a n accoun t of the procedu re by which Par liam entary enclosu res were

carr ied out . We give e lsewhere a de ta i led an alys is , d isenta ngled f rom the J ourn als of

Par l iam ent a nd other s ources , of par t icu lar en closu res . We propose to g ive here twofru s t ra t ions of the temper of the Par l iam enta ry Comm it tees . One i l lu s t ra t ion i s provided b y a

speech ma de by Si r Will iam Meredi th , one of the Rockingh am Whigs , in 1772 , a s peech th a t

n eeds n o commen t. 'Sir Will iam Meredith m oved, Th at i t might be a genera l order , tha t no Bill ,

or c lau se in a B il l, ma king an y offence cap i ta l, sh ould be a greed to bu t in a Commit tee of the

whole Hou se . He observed, tha t a t p resent the fac il ity of pas s ing su ch c lau ses was sh am efu l :

th a t h e once pass ing a Comm it tee- room, when only one Memb er was h olding a Commit tee ,

with a c lerk 's boy, he ha ppen ed to hear someth ing of ha nging; he imm edia te ly had t he cu r ios i ty

to a sk w ha t w as go ing fo rward in tha t sm a ll Com m i t t ee tha t cou ld m er it su ch a pu n i shm ent?

He was an swered, tha t i t was a n Inclos ing Bi ll , in which a grea t ma ny poor people wereconcerned, who opposed th e Bil l; tha t th ey feared th ose people wou ld obs t ru ct th e execu t ion of

th e Act , an d th erefore th is c lau se was to ma ke i t capi ta l fe lony in an yone who did so . This

resolution was unanimously agreed to. ' (50*)

The oth er i llus t r a t ion i s provided b y the h is tory of an a t tem pted en closu re in which we can

watch th e minds of th e chief ac tors wi thout screen or d isgu ise of an y kind : in th is cas e we have

very for tu na te ly a v ivid revela t ion of th e spi r i t an d m an ner in which Comm it tees con du ctedth eir bu s iness , from th e pen of th e cha i rman hims elf. George Selwyn gives u s in h is le t te rs ,

pu bl ish ed in th e Car l is le Papers , a v iew of th e proceedings from t he ins ide . It i s wor th whi le to

se t out in some deta i l the pas sages f rom th ese le t te rs pu bl ish ed in the Car l is le Papers , by way

of su pplemen ting an d explaining th e official records of th e House of Common s.

We learn from th e J ourn als of the Hou se of Comm ons t ha t , on 10 th November , 177 5, a p e t it ion

was pr esented to the Hou se of Commons for the enclosu re of King 's Sedgmoor , in th e Coun ty of

Somerse t , th e pet i t ioners u rging th a t th is lan d was of very li t t le va lue in i t s pres ent s ta te , an d

tha t i t was capa ble of grea t improvement by enclosu re an d d ra ina ge. Leave was given to br ing

in a B ill , to be prepared by Mr. St . J ohn an d Mr. Coxe. Mr. St . J ohn was b rother of LordBolingbroke. On 13 th November , th e Bil l was p resen ted a nd read a f ir s t t ime. Four d ays la ter i t

rece ived a s econd read ing, an d was s ent to a Comm it tee of Mr. St . J ohn an d others . At th ispoint , those who objec ted to th e enclosure b egan to ta ke ac t ion. Fi rs t of a l l there is a pe t i t ion

from Wil liam Wal ler , Esq. , who sa ys th a t u nd er a grant of Char les I he i s en t i t led to th e soi l of

th e moor : it i s agreed tha t he s ha l l be h eard b y cou ns el before the Commit tee . The n ext day

there a r r ives a pe t i t ion f rom owners an d occupiers in th ir ty- five 'par ishes , h am lets a nd places , '

who s ta te tha t a l l these pa r ishes h ave enjoyed r ights of comm on with out d iscr imina t ion over

the 18 ,000 ac res o f pas tu re on Sedgm oor : t ha t t hese r igh t s o f pas tu re and cu t t i ng tu r f and

ru sh es an d sedges h ave exis ted f rom t ime immem oria l , and th a t n o Enclosu re Act is wan ted for

th e dra ining of Sedgm oor, becau se a n Act of th e reign of Will iam III had conferred a l l th e

necessa ry powers for th is pu rpose on th e J u s t ices of the Peace . The p et it ioners prayed to be

heard by themselves an d coun sel agains t th e appl ica t ion for enclosu re on Comm it tee and on

Repor t . The Hous e of Commons ordered tha t the pet i t ion sh ould lie on th e Table , and th a t th epet i t ioners sh ould be h eard when t he Repor t h ad been r eceived f rom Comm it tee . Five days

la ter th ree lords of ma nors (Si r Char les Kemys Tynte , Baron et , Coples ton Warre Bamp fylde ,

Esq. , an d William Hawker , Esq.) peti t ion agains t th e Bil l an d comp lain of th e ha ste with which

the pr omoters ar e pu sh ing the Bil l thr ough Par l iam ent . This pe t it ion i s tak en m ore ser ious ly: a

mot ion i s ma de an d defeated to defer the Bi ll for two month s , bu t the Hous e orders tha t the

pet i t ioners sh al l be heard before the Comm it tee . Two of these th ree lords of ma nor p resent a

fu r the r pe t i t ion ea r ly in D ecem ber , s t a t ing tha t t h ey and th e ir t ena n t s a r e m ore than a m a jor ity

in nu mb er and value of the pers ons in teres ted, an d a second pet i t ion i s a lso present ed by the




th ir ty-seven pa r ishes a nd h am lets a l ready men t ioned, in which it is conten ded th a t , in spi te of

th e difficult ies of collecting signa tu res in a s catt ered distr ict in a very sh ort t ime, 749 p erson s

interes ted h ad a l ready s igned th e pet i t ion a gains t th e Bil l, th a t the effec t of th e Bil l ha d b een

misrepresen ted to man y of the ten an ts , th a t th e fac ts a s to the di fferent in teres ts af fec ted had

been m is represen ted to the C om m i t t ee, t ha t t he n um ber an d r igh t s o f t he pe r sons su ppor t ing

the Bi ll had b een exaggera ted (only 213 h aving s igned th e ir na mes as consen t ing), an d th a t i f ju s t ice wa s to be don e to th e va r iou s pa r t ie s con cern ed , it wa s es s en t ia l th a t t im e s h ou ld be

given for th e hea ring of comp laints a n d th e circu lat ion of th e Bil l in th e distr ict . Th is peti t ion

was presen ted on 11th December , an d the Hous e of Commons ordered th a t th e pet it ioners

sh ould be h eard wh en th e Repor t was r eceived. Next day Mr. Selwyn, a s Ch ai rman of the

Commit tee, presen ted a Repor t in favour of the Bi ll, men t ioning am ong other th ings th a t th e

nu m ber o f t enem ent s conce rned w as 1269 , and tha t 303 r e fus ed to s ign ; bu t a t t en t ion w as

dra wn to th e fac t th a t th ere were severa l var ia t ions between th e Bil l as i t was presen ted to th e

House , an d the Bi ll as i t was presen ted to the par t ies concerned for the i r cons ent , an d on th is

grou nd th e Bil l was defeated by 59 to 3 5 votes .

This i s th e cold impers onal a ccount of the proceedings given in th e officia l jou rn als , bu t th e

let ters of Selwyn tak e u s b ehind th e scenes an d s u pply a far live lier p ic tur e . (51*) His a ccou nt

begins with a let ter to Lord Carlisle in November:

'Bully h as a s chem e of en closu re, which, if i t su cceeds , I am told wil l free h im from a ll h is

di fficu l t ies . I t i s to come into ou r Hous e immedia te ly. I f I had th is from a bet ter ju dgmen t th antha t of our s an guine coun sel lors , I sh ould ha ve more h opes from i t . I am ready to a l low tha t h e

ha s been very fau l ty, bu t I cann ot he lp wish ing to see h im on ce more on h is legs . .. . '

(Bully, of cour se, is Bolingbroke, br oth er of St . J ohn , called th e coun sellor, au th or of th e Bil l. )

We learn from th is le t te r tha t th ere are o ther mot ives th an a pa ss ion to dra in Sedgmoor in th e

promot ion of th is grea t impr ovemen t sch eme. We learn from th e next le t te r tha t i t is n ot only

Bu lly 's fr iend s an d creditors wh o ha ve som e reas on for wishin g it well :

'Stavorda le is retu rn ing to Redlinch ; I believe th at h e sets ou t to-morr ow. He is a lsodeeply engaged in th is Sedgmoor Bi ll , an d i t i s su pposed t ha t h e or Lord I lches ter ,

which you please, will get 20 00 l . a year by i t . He will get more, or s ave more a t least , by

going away an d leaving th e Moor in my h an ds , for he to ld me h imsel f th e other n ight

tha t th is las t t r ip to town h ad cos t h im 4000 l . '

Anoth er le t te r warns Lord Car l is le tha t th e only way to get h is credi tors to pa y the i r debts to

him, when t hey come into th e ir mon ey th rough th e enclosu re , is to press for payment , an d goes

on to descr ibe the un expected opposi t ion th e Bil l ha d encou ntered. Selwyn ha d been m ade

cha i rman of th e Comm it tee.

' . . . My dea r Lord, if your d elicacy is su ch th at you will not be pres sing with h im abou t i t ,

you ma y be ass u red th a t you wil l never receive a far th ing. I have spoke to Hare a bout i t ,

who [was] kept in i t t i ll h alf an hou r after 4; as I was also to-day, an d sh all be to-

morrow. I th ought th a t i t was a ma t ter of form only , bu t ha d n o sooner begu n to read

th e pream ble to the Bil l, bu t I foun d m yself in a n es t of horn ets . The room was ful l, an d

an opposi t ion ma de to it , an d dispu tes u pon every word, which kept me in the Cha i r , as

I have told you . I have ga ined i t s eem s g rea t r epu ta t ion , an d am a t t h is m inu te r epu ted

one o f t he bes t C ha i rm en u pon th is s t and . B u l ly and H ar ry cam e hom e an d d ined w ith

me.. . . '




The n ext le t te r , wr i t ten on 9th Decemb er , shows th a t Selwyn is af ra id tha t Stavordale may not

get h is money out of h is fa th er , and a lso tha t h e is becoming s t i ll more anxiou s ab out th e fa te

of th e Enclosu re Bil l, on which of cour se th e whole pack of card s dep end s:

' . . . I h ave tak en th e l iberty to ta lk a good dea l to Lord St avorda le, pa rt ly for h is own

sa ke an d pa r t ly for Yours , and p ressed h im mu ch to get out of town a s soon asposs ible, an d n ot quit Lord I . [I lches ter] an y more. His at ten tion th ere can n ot be of long

du rat ion, an d h is a bsen ce may be fa ta l to u s a l l. I pa inted i t in very s t rong colou rs , an d

he h as promised m e to go, as soon a s th is Sedgmoor Bi ll is repor ted. I moved to h ave

Tuesd ay fixed for i t . We ha d a d eba te an d division u pon my motion, a nd th is Bil l wil l at

last n ot go down so glibly as Bully hop ed th at i t would. I t wil l meet with more

oppos it ion in th e H. of Lords , an d Lord North b eing adverse to i t , does u s n o good. Lord

Ilches ter ge ts , it i s sa id , £500 0 a year b y it , an d am ongst o thers Si r C . Tynte someth ing,

who, for what r eason I can not ye t comprehen d, opposes i t . . .. '

The n ext le t te r descr ibes th e fina l ca tas t roph e:

'December 12 . Tu esd ay night. . . Bu lly has lost his Bill . I reported i t to-da y, an d th e

Ques t ion was to withd raw i t . There were 59 agains t u s , an d we were 35. I t was worsema na ged by the agent s , su pposing no t reachery, tha n ever bu s iness was . Lord Nor th ,

Robin son , an d Keene divided a gainst . Charles(52*) sa id al l th at cou ld be said on our

s ide . Bu t as th e bus iness was m an aged, it was the wors t Quest ion th a t I ever voted for .

We were a Comm ittee ab solu tely of Almack 's ,(53 *) so if th e Bil l is not res u med , an d

bet ter condu cted an d su ppor ted, th is ph an tom of 30,000 l . c lear in Bul ly 's pocket to

pay off h is an nu i t ies vanishes .

' It i s su rpr is ing what a fa ta l ity a t ten ds some p eople ' s proceedings . I begged las t n ight as

for a lms, th a t th ey would meet m e to se t t le the Votes . I ha ve, s ince I have been in

Par l iam ent , been of twenty a t leas t of thes e meet ings , an d a lways brou ght nu mbers

down by th ose mean s . But my ad vice was s lighted, a nd twenty people were walking

ab out th e s t ree ts who could have car r ied th is point .

'The ca u se was n ot bad, bu t th e Quest ion was to ta l ly ind iges t ib le . The m ost

conscient ious m an in the Hous e in Qu est ions of th is n a tu re , Sir F . Drake , a very old

acqua in t a nce o f m ine , t o ld m e tha t n o th ing cou ld be so r igh t a s t he en c losure . B u t t hey

sen t one Bil l in to th e count ry for the a ssen t of the p eople in teres ted, an d brou ght m e

an other , d i ffer ing in twenty par t iculars , to car ry throu gh th e Comm it tee, withou t once

men t ioning to me th at th e two Bi ll s d i ffered. This th ey thought was cu nn ing, and I

bel ieve a h app y comp osi t ion of Bul ly 's cu nn ing an d J ohn ' s idea of h is own par ts . I had

no idea , or could h ave , of th is d i fference . The adverse pa r ty sa id noth ing of i t , comm e de

ra ison, res erving the objec t ion t i l l the Repor t , an d i t was ins u rmou nt able . If one of the

Clerks only had hint ed i t to me, inexper ienced as I am in thes e sor t of B il ls , I wou ld

ha ve s topped i t, an d by tha t m ean s h ave given th em a be t t e r chan ce by a new B ill t han

th ey can h ave now, tha t people will h ave a preten ce for not a l tering th eir opinion. . . . '

Thes e le t ters compen sa te for the s i lence of Hans ard , so rea l and ins t ru ct ive a p ic tur e do they

presen t of th e meth ods a nd mot ives of enclosur e . 'Bu l ly has a s chem e of enclosure wh ich, i f i t

su cceeds, I am told wil l free h im from a ll h is difficult ies. ' The jou rn als m ay ta lk of th e

u nd ra ined fer t il ity of Sedgmoor , but we ha ve in t h is sen tence th e asp ect of the en closu re tha t

in teres ts Selwyn, th e Chai rma n of the Comm it tee , an d f rom b eginn ing to end of the

proceedings n o other asp ect ever enters h is head. And i t in teres ts a grea t ma ny other people

bes ides Selwyn , for Bully owes m oney; so too does Sta vorda le, an other pros pective ben eficiar y:

he owes m oney to Fox, and Fox owes mon ey to Car li s le . Now Bu l ly an d Sta vorda le are not t he




only eighteen th-centu ry ar i s tocra ts who are in d i fficu l t ies ; the waiters a t Brooks ' s an d a t

Whi te ' s kn ow th at wel l enou gh, as S elwyn fe lt when , on h ear ing th a t on e of th em h ad b een

at test ed for felon y, he exclaimed, 'Wha t a n idea of us h e wil l give in Newgate. ' Nor is Bu lly the

only ar i s tocra t in d i fficul t ies whose th oughts tu rn to enclosur e ; Selwyn 's let te rs a lone , with

thei r reference to previous su ccesses , would ma ke th a t c lear . It i s here th a t we begin to

app recia te t he effec t of our sys tem of fam i ly se t t lements in keeping th e ar i s tocracy together .Thes e youn g men, whose for tun es come an d go in t he h u rr icanes of the faro table , wou ld soon

ha ve diss ipated the i r es ta tes if they ha d been free to do it ; as th ey were res t ra ined b y

set t lements , th ey cou ld only mor tgage them. Bu t th ere is a l imi t to th is process , an d a fter a

t ime the i r debts begin to overwhelm them ; perha ps a lso too man y of the i r fe llow gamblers a re

th eir creditors to m ak e Brooks's or Wh ite 's qu ite as comfortable a place as i t us ed to be, for we

ma y doub t wheth er al l of th ese creditors were trou bled with Lord Carlisle 's m orbid delicacy of

fee ling. Happi ly there i s a n escape from t his p a inful s i tua t ion: a sch eme of enclosu re which wi ll

pu t h im 'once more on h is legs . ' The other p ar t ies concerned a re genera l ly poor men , an d th ere

is not mu ch d an ger of fa i lu re . Thu s i f we t race the ad vent u res of th e gaming table to the i r b it te r

end , we begin to u nd ers ta nd tha t thes e wi ld revellers a re gambl ing not wi th the i r own es ta tes

bu t with t he es ta tes of the i r ne ighb ours . This i s the on ly proper ty they can rea l ise . Qu idqu id

del iran t r eges p lec tun tu r Achivi.

The pa r t icular obs tac le on which t he s chem e spl it was a f rau du lent i r regular i ty the Bi ll

su bmit ted for s igna tu re to th e inha bi tants d i ffer ing s er ious ly (in twenty par t iculars) from th e

Bil l presen ted to Par liament . Selwyn c lear ly a t tached no impor ta nce a t a l l to th e Pet it ions tha t

were received a gains t th e Bil l, or to th e eviden ce of i ts local un popu lari ty. It is clear too, th at i t

was very rare for a sch eme l ike th is to miscarry , for , speak ing of h is b ecoming Cha i rman of th e

Commit tee , he ad ds , ' I though t i t was a ma t ter of form on ly. ' Fur th er with a l i t t le care th is

projec t would h ave weathered th e discovery of th e frau d of which th e au thor were gu i lty . ' I

begged las t n ight as for a lms th a t th ey would m eet us to se t t le the Votes . I ha ve, s ince I have

been in Par l iam ent , been of twenty a t leas t of th ese meet ings , and a lways brou ght nu mb er

down by these m ean s . But my advice was s l ighted, an d twenty people were walking abou t th e

s t ree ts who could h ave car r ied th is point . ' In o ther words , th e Bil l wou ld h ave been car r ied , a l l

i t s in iqu i t ies n otwi ths ta nd ing, i f only Bu lly' s fr iend s h ad taken Selwyn 's advice an d p u t

th ems elves ou t to go down to Westmin ster . So li t t le impres sion did th is piece of tr ickery ma keon th e mind of the Ch ai rma n of the Comm it tee, tha t he in ten ded to th e las t , by collec t ing h is

friends , to carry the Bill , for the fairnes s a nd good order of which h e was res pon sible, throu gh

th e Hou se of Common s. This gl imp se in to the opera t ions of the Comm it tee ena bles us to

pic ture th e grou ps of comrad es who sa u nt ered down from Alma ck ' s of an af tern oon to carve u p

a m an or in Comm it tee of th e Hou se of Commons . We can s ee Bul ly 's f r iends meet ing roun d th e

ta ble in t heir s olemn ch ar acter of judges a n d legislator, to give a score of vil lages to Bu lly, and

a dozen to Stavordale , mu ch as Ar taxerxes gave Magnesia to Them is tocles for h is bread , Myu s

for h is m eat a nd Lam psa cus for h is wine . And i f those f r iends ha ppen ed to be Bul ly 's c reditor

as wel l, it wou ld perhap s n ot be un jus t to su ppose th a t th e ir ac t ion was not a l together f ree

from th e kind of gra t i tude th a t ins pi red the bou nty of the grea t k ing. (54*)

NOTES:

1. E.g ., Laxton en closed on pet i t ion on Lord Carbery in 177 2. Tota l a rea 1200 acres . En closu re

proceedings completed in th e Commons in n ineteen days . Also Ash bu ry, Berks , en closed on

peti t ion of Lord Cra ven in 17 70 . Th ere were contra ry peti t ion s. Also Nylan ds , enclosed in 17 90

on p eti t ion of the lady of th e ma n or. Also Tilsworth , Beds, en closed on p eti t ion of Ch ar les

Chester , Esq. , 17 67, a nd Westcote , Bu cks , on pet i t ion of the most noble George , Du ke of

Mar lborough, J an u ary 24, 1765 . Somet imes th e lord of the m an or ass ocia ted th e vicar with h is

pet i t ion; thu s Wal tham , Croxton a nd Brau ns ton, cover ing 560 0 a cres , in Leices tersh ire , were

al l enclosed in 176 6 b y the Duk e of Rut lan d a nd th e local rec tor or v icar . The re la t ions of




Chu rch an d Sta te are very hap pi ly il lu s t ra ted by th e langua ge of the pet i t ions , 'A pet i t ion of the

most noble J ohn , Duke of Rut land , an d th e hu mble pet i t ion ' of the Rev. - - -- - Brown or Rasta l l

or Mar t in .

2. This Stan ding Order does n ot seem t o ha ve been ap plied u n iversa lly, for Mr. Braggs on

D ecem ber 1 , 1800 , m ade a m ot ion th a t i t shou ld be ex tended to the coun t r i e s w here it ha d n o thi ther t o obta ined . See Senator , vol. xxvii, December 1, 1800.

3 . See pa r t icu lars in Appen dix.

4 . A S ix Mon th s ' Tour th rou gh th e North of En gla nd , 177 1, vol. i , p. 122 .

5. Pp. 21 f.

6 . Cf. Otmoor in n ext chap ter .

7. S ee Appen dix.

8. S ee Appen dix.

9 . See Hous e of Com m on s Jou rn a l.

10 . Eden, The S tate of the Poor , vol. ii, p. 1 57 .

11. Eden , wr it ing a few years la ter , rema rks tha t s ince th e enclosu re ' the proper ty in Holy

Islan d h as gotten into fewer ha nd s, ' vol. ii , p. 149 .

12. Report of S e lect Com m itte e on Mos t Eff ectua l Mean s of Fa cilita ting Enclos ure, 1800 .

13. Cf. also Wraisb u ry in Bu cks, Hous e of Com m on s Jou rn a l, Ju ne 17 , 1799 , where the

pet i t ioners agains t the Bi ll cla imed t ha t th ey spoke on beh al f of 'by much th e grea tes t Par t of

the Propr ie tors of th e sa id Lan ds of Groun ds . ' ye t in th e enu mera t ion of consen ts th e

commit tee s ta te th a t th e owners of proper ty ass essed a t £6, 18 s . a re h os t i le out of a to ta l va lu e

of £29 5, 14s .

14. Hous e of Com m on s Jou rn a l, March 2 1 , 1796 .

15. Hous e of Com m on s Jou rn a l, J u ne 1 0, 180 1; cf. a l so case of Laleham . See Appen dix.

16 . Ib id. , Ju ne 15 , 1801 .

17 . Ibid. , May 3, 1 80 9.

18 . Ib id. , Ju ne 15 , 1801 .

19 . See App en dix A (13 ).

20. A Polit ica l En qu iry in to the Cons equ ence s of enclos in g Wa s te La nd s , 1785 , p . 108 .

21 . See App en dix A (12 ).

22. Hous e of Comm ons, May 1 , 1845 .




23. Aglionb y, Hous e of Commons , J u ne 5 , 1844 .

24 . Th u rlow was Ch an cellor from 1 77 8 to 17 83 (when Fox contrived to get r id of h im) an d from

1 7 8 3 t o 1 7 9 2 .

25. Parliamen tary Register , House of Lords , March 3 0, 178 1.

26. S ir George Savile (172 6-17 84), M.P. for Yorksh ire, 1759 -178 3; car ried th e Cath olic Relief

Bil l, which pr ovoked th e Gordon Riots, a nd pres ent ed th e great Yorks hire Peti t ion forEconomical Reform.

27. Ann ua l R egis te r , 1867, p. 68. For a detai led history of the Stanwell Enclosure, see Appendix

A (10 ). Unh ap pily th e farm ers were only reprieved; Stan well was en closed a t th e second

at tempt .

28 . See Parliamentary Register , Hou se of Lords , March 30 , 1781; Apr i l 6 , 178 1; J u ne 1 4, 178 1.

29 . Joh n War ren (1730-1800 ).

30. Hohn Hinchcliffe (173 1-17 94), at one t ime Mas ter of Trinity College, Cam bridge.

31. Parliamen tary Register , March 30, 1781.

32. Senator , vol . xxvi, Ju ly 2, 18 00.

33. For both speeches see Parliamen tary Register , May 24, 180 2.

34 . Ib id. , Ju ne 14 , 1781 .

35. See Chesn u t , Louth , Simp son a nd Stan well in Appen dix.

36. Six Months' Tour through the North of England , 177 1, vol. i , p. 122.

37 . See Annua l R egis te r , 1800 , Appen dix to Chronicle , p. 87.

38. Parliamen tary Register , J u n e 1 4 , 1 7 8 1 .

39. An n a ls of Agricu ltu re, vol. xxvi, p. 11 1.

40. Februa ry 1 , 1793.

41. See Cha pter iv.

42. Vol. xxvi, p. 70.

43. Sincla i r ' s lan guage shows th a t th is was th e genera l a r ra ngemen t . Of cours e there are

except ions . See e .g ., Hau te Hun tre an d other ca ses in Appen dix .

44. Cf. Billingsley's Report on S om ers et , p . 59, where th e ar ran gemen ts ar e descr ibed as ' a li t t le

sys tem of pa t r onage. The lord of the s oil , the rec tor , an d a few of the pr incipal commoners ,

monopol ize an d dis t r ibute the app ointm ents . '

45 . Parliamen tary Register , J u n e 1 4 , 1 7 8 1 .




46. General Report on Enclosures , 1808 .

47. Six Months' Tour through the North of England , vol. i , p. 122.

48 . See App en dix A (6).

49. Report on S om ers et , p . 192.

50. Parliamen tary Register , J a n u a r y 2 1 , 17 7 2 .

51 . Car l isle MSS.; Hist orical MSS. Com miss ion , pp. 301 ff.

52 . C har l es J am es Fox .

53. The ea rl ier n am e of Brooks's Club .

54. For th e su bs equ ent history of King's S edgmoor, see Appen dix A (14).

chapter 2 - the village labourer 1760-1832: a study in the government of england before the reform...

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