ATTACKS BY RAILWAY COMPANIES. 339 



fells surrounding Lake Thirlmere shall not be in any 

 manner restricted or interfered with by the Corporation." 



In 1892 a similar proposal was made by the 

 Corporation of Birmingham, on even a larger scale, in 

 connection with the supply of water to their town. 

 They introduced a Bill to enable them to purchase, in 

 the mountain regions of South Wales, the sources of the 

 rivers Elan and Clair wen, with a very great area of 

 adjoining land, and with no less than fifty square miles 

 of open and uninclosed land subject to common rights. 

 It proposed to buy up all the rights over this immense 

 district, and to convert it into the private property of 

 the Corporation. The rights of common were enjoyed 

 by a great number of small farmers to whose occu- 

 pation they were essentially necessary as a means of 

 existence ; the public also had largely resorted to these 

 hills for the sake of their fine air and scenery. 



It appeared to the Commons Society that though it 

 might be requisite that the Corporation, for the sake 

 of securing the purity of its water supply, should have 

 large powers over the collecting ground, yet it was 

 quite unnecessary to deprive the small farmers of their 

 rights of common, or to convert the land into private 

 property. The scheme, in fact, was in this respect a 

 great inclosure, without any of the securities afforded to 

 the public, the commoners, and the labouring people of 

 the district by an ordinary Inclosure award, which 

 would have to be submitted to local inquiry, approved 

 by the Agricultural Department, and confirmed by the 

 Standing Committee of the House of Commons. 

 W 2 



