150 EPPING FOREST. 



The consequent litigation involved him in heavy 

 law expenses, for it was held by Sir George Jessel that 

 his action, in pulling down the fences, was a proceeding- 

 which was contrary to the terms of the Epping Forest Act 

 of 1871, and therefore (for the time being) illegal, though 

 it was quite clear that in other times he would have acted 

 legally in removing the fences. A considerable part of 

 these expenses, however, was ultimately repaid to Mr. 

 Burney by the Corporation, on the ground that his action 

 had an important influence in inducing the Government 

 to disregard the recommendations of the Commission on 

 this point. Certainly the Corporation was not averse to 

 having the hands of Government forced. 



In 1878, Sir H. Selwin-Ibbetson (now Lord Eook- 

 wood), on behalf of Lord Beaconsfield's Government, 

 introduced and carried a measure for the final settle- 

 ment of Epping Forest. The position had been some- 

 what simplified by the fact that the Corporation of 

 London had, in the interval since the determination 

 of their suit, bought up the interests of the Lords of 

 Manors over a considerable part of the Forest in all 

 amounting to about 3,000 acres. They gave an average 

 of about 20 per acre a very small sum in proportion 

 to the value of the land, if the Lords of Manors had 

 been able to inclose, but a large sum in proportion to 

 the interests of the lords on the assumption, now 

 determined to be the case, that they could not inclose. 

 In fact, the purchase of the lords' interests was scarcely 

 necessary, though it facilitated somewhat the settlement 

 of the question, and was probably justified in the view of 



