COMMONS & OPEN SPACES 187 



the morning of Monday the 14th August, " a few persons 

 made their appearance and began to help themselves to 

 the corn." Summoned before the magistrates, the bench 

 decided that after the usual opening day the corn "was 

 common property, and could be claimed by no one 

 parishioner more than another." On the strength of this 

 decision the whole parish turned out, and a terrible scene 

 of looting the crop took place, while the poor owners 

 vainly tried to save what they could. The freeholder 

 with the most wheat, a Mr. Adamson, lost over ;Cioo 

 worth, although he worked all night to save what he 

 could. A case followed, as Mr. Adamson prosecuted 

 Thomas Wright, one of the many looters who thought 

 they had a right to it, for stealing his wheat. This time 

 the magistrates fined the man twenty shillings, and half- 

 a-crown, the value of the wheat he had actually taken, 

 as he had no right to take away the crop, although he 

 had a right to put cattle on the Downs. Further trials 

 for riot before the Court of Queen's Bench resulted in 

 the prisoners being discharged after they had pleaded 

 guilty. It appeared both the looters and Mr. Adamson 

 were in the wrong. They had no right to remove the 

 corn, neither had he, after the 12th August, and those 

 who had grazing rights could have turned on their 

 cattle to eat the standing corn. This incident just 

 shows how the right of freeholders and copyholders 

 could not lightly be trifled with. 



The report of the Select Committee on Open Spaces 

 in 1865 pointed out in the same way, that although the 

 right to these common lands had been enjoyed from time 

 immemorial, the rights were vague as far as the public 

 at large were concerned. They were probably limited to 

 a certain defined area or body of persons, as the inhabi- 



