320 REGULATION OF COMMONS. 



does not appear to have activety opposed. The scheme 

 proposed to make the Metropolitan Board the Con- 

 servators of the Commons. It contained, however, 

 no provision, as required by the Act of 18G6, that 

 really beneficial rights should not be substantially 

 interfered with without compensation. This serious 

 defect was in vain pointed out to the Board by the 

 Commons Society. 



It followed, after the confirmation of the scheme 

 by Parliament, that the Lord of the Manor con- 

 tinued to dig gravel from the two Commons in a 

 manner prejudicial to their user by the public, and 

 contrary to the bye-laws made under the scheme. The 

 Metropolitan Board thereupon brought a suit against 

 him in 1879, to restrain him from doing this. The 

 Master of the Eolls, Sir George Jessel, decided against 

 the Board, on the ground that the Act of 1866 gave no 

 power to the Board to restrain the gravel digging (if 

 there was a right to dig antecedent to the scheme, 

 a point which he did not decide and which was not 

 raised by the Board) without compensation, and that 

 the scheme contained no provision for compensation. 

 In other respects the judgment was a complete vindica- 

 tion of the policy of the Metropolitan Commons Act, 

 for it held that the scheme could properly restrain 

 the lord in the exercise of mere acts of ownership, 

 which were not of a beneficial character to himself; 

 so that he could not keep people off the Common, and 

 could not prevent the Board from appointing Common- 

 keepers, or putting up seats, or draining, levelling, 



