260 FOREST OF DEAN. 



caused by this great increase of mines, has long ago 

 necessitated the appropriation of parts of the Forest 

 for their accommodation. Of the 24,000 acres, of which 

 the Forest consisted in the time of Charles II., only 

 18,500 acres are now forest or waste, 700 acres belong 

 to the Crown, and 4,800 acres are the property of private 

 individuals, as a result of encroachments from time 

 to time on the waste, eventually recognised by the 

 Crown. On this private land has grown up the town 

 of Cinderford, and several other villages, in a very 

 irregular manner, often without adequate drainage. 



In 1874, in consequence of complaints of the want 

 of sufficient accommodation for the population, and of 

 the sanitary defects of the district, a select Committee 

 was appointed by the House of Commons to iuquire into 

 the condition of the Forest. The inquiry escaped the 

 notice of those interested in Commons, and the Com- 

 mittee, then appointed, contained no member who 

 represented the views of the Commons Society. 



The Committee reported that the rights of Free 

 Miners tended to obstruct the advantageous develop- 

 ment of the Forest mineral field, and were detrimental 

 to the interests of the Crown, and of the public ; that 

 the rights were almost valueless to those not already 

 holding gales ; that the general feeling in the neigh- 

 bourhood was in favour of the commutation of the legal 

 rights of the Commoners ; and that the convenience of 

 the mining population, and of the mining works, 

 required that the Crown should have power to sell 

 portions of the Forest free from Common rights. They 



