THE COMMONS SOCIETY. 43 



to lead to successful results. It was found, on looking 

 carefully at tlie legal decisions of the Judges for some 

 time preceding, that their general tendency had been 

 rather to favour inclosure than the reverse. It was 

 determined to reverse this tendency by presenting the 

 cases in the order best calculated to bring the Courts 

 gradually to a different view of the subject, and to 

 revive the older presumptions of the Law in favour 

 of the Commoners, and against inclosure. We were 

 assisted in this process through Mr. Lawrence finding 

 it possible to revive an old and long disused form of suit, 

 by a single Commoner, on behalf of the other tenants of a 

 Manor, claiming a declaration of their common rights, 

 and asking for an injunction to restrain the Lord of 

 the Manor from inclosing the waste lands. This process 

 enabled us to resort to the Equity Courts, whose Judges 

 have taken a much broader and less technical view of 

 the subject than the Common Law Judges. It was also 

 possible at that time, within certain limits, to choose 

 the Courts in which to proceed, and therefore the Judges 

 by whom the suits should be tried and determined. 



We had the benefit, therefore, of the enlightened 

 views of such Judges as Lord Romilly and Sir 

 (xeorge Jessel, to whose strong judgments the cause of 

 Commons owes so much. It will be seen that this 

 policy was eminently successful, and that a series of 

 decisions were given by the Judges which completely 

 justified the contention of the lieport of the Committee 

 of 18G5, and established the fact that practically in- 

 closures could no longer take place under the Statute 



