Communal Property. 211 



of the seigneur, brought new complications. One of 

 the worst features originating in the 14th century as 

 an outgrowth of feudal relations, was "the right of 

 the third" {triage), which gave to the seigneur, when- 

 ever he wished to exercise it, one-third of the property 

 free of all rights of user. In this way, the communal 

 area was diminished until, in 1667, the widespread 

 abuse of this right led to an ordinance abolishing it. 

 It was, however, re-established by the ordinance of 

 1669 in all cases where the forest had been gratui- 

 tously ceded by the seigneurs, or when the remaining 

 two-thirds was deemed sufficient for the needs of the 

 parish. Not until 1790-1792 was this exorbitant 

 right finally abolished. 



As an outgrowth of the revolutionary doctrine of 

 1793, the most radical legislation decreed presumptive 

 ownership by the municipal corporations of all lands 

 for which the claimant could not show a deed of pur- 

 chase, excluding any title acquired as a result of 

 feudal relations. The day of revenge of all old wrongs 

 had come, and, appeal to justice being useless, the 

 municipalities increased their holdings freely. Al- 

 though later legislation attempted to arrest this 

 public theft and to restitute some of the stolen pro- 

 perty, much of the communal forest area of to-day 

 consists of this kind of ill-gotten property. 



Another method of increasing municipal properties 

 was by exchange of territory for the rights of user. 

 Efforts to get rid of these rights, which grew up as 

 described and to prevent their extension were insti- 

 tuted much earlier than in Germany, Philip of Valois 

 expressly forbidding such extension as early as 1346. 



