The Making of the Land. 221 



the expenditure, falls to the lord of the manor. He is entitled to 

 the timber and the young trees, or their equivalent in money ; 

 he has to pay all expenses connected with the Act of Enclosure, 

 and to erect and for ever maijitain suitable fences round his 

 own allotment. 



But the landed interest, or at any rate the capitalist portion 

 of it, wanted something more complete than the patchwork 

 legislation hitherto in vogue. This was partially attained l»y 

 the statute of 41 Geo. III. c. 109, though that which most of 

 the correspondents to the Board suggested was a procedure 

 like that initiated by 6 and 7 Will. IV. c. 116, and completed 

 by 8 and 9 Vict. c. 118 and 9 and 10 Vict. c. 70, — statutes all 

 tending to abolish the necessity for separate and private Acts 

 of Parliament. 



The first of these Acts was the immediate outcome of the 

 investigations instituted by the Board of Agriculture, and 

 formed the framework of all subsequent legislation on this 

 subject. One of its ends was to close the door once and for 

 all against all pretexts which might subsequently upset an 

 Act of Enclosure. For this purpose section 6 directed all 

 claimants of common rights on pain of forfeiture to present 

 their demands in writing, and section 14 declared that the 

 several shares shall be in full satisfaction of all previous 

 rights. 



The commissioners themselves were hedged in by restric- 

 tions in order to prevent, as far as possible, any private feel- 

 ings peculiar to human nature interfering with the proper 

 discharge of their judicial duties. On taking the oath, each 

 of them precluded himself from purchasing lands for five years 

 within the parish where he was to act. Their sole duty was 

 to assign the several allotments to the actual possessors of the 

 tenements in lieu of which the allotments were being made ; 

 and they had nothing whatever to do with the question of 

 title. As soon as they conveniently could after the allotment, 

 they had to draw up an award which furnished the quantities, 

 situations, and descriptions of the parcels allotted, and all other 

 regulations. This had to be written on parchment, read and 

 executed by the commissioners at a meeting of the proprietors 



