A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



summary. As events turned out, the effect of the Deer Removal Act 

 of 1851 on the New Forest was very far-reaching. The question of 

 the ' rolling power ' of enclosure arose ; and though the opinions of the 

 lawyers consulted on both sides did not agree as to the extent of this 

 power, yet it was held by the law officers of the Crown that legally, 

 it did exist. Though far distant as regards time, the result of covering 

 the whole of the forest with timber of one kind or another would un- 

 doubtedly have seriously affected the commoner's rights of grazing, 

 because all the lawns where the good pasture lies would (in course of 

 time) have been enclosed and planted ; and though in some cases the 

 pasturage would have been improved by draining, still the character of 

 the whole forest would have been changed. Another factor in the 

 situation was the alarm felt by the residents in and near the forest who 

 were in the habit of depending on the open forest for their sport, for 

 their pleasure and their enjoyment generally. It was obviously far better 

 for them to have the use of a large open park in which to ride about, 

 to hunt and picnic in, and to enjoy as if it were their own, than to have 

 similar privileges in and among vast woods. The question of the public 

 purse or revenue did not affect them ; thus the whole of the residents 

 in the New Forest were roused against the Act, some on account of 

 their pleasure, others fearing damage to their purse. Hence, as soon as 

 the deer were removed and the expenses of the ' Register of Claims ' paid, 

 the commoners, having obtained all the benefit accruing to them on 

 their side of the bargain, proceeded to organize an agitation against the 

 payment to the public of the share due from them. The feeling ran 

 high on both sides, and much was said and done to embitter the contest. 

 It was represented to the public without scruple that the enclosures, 

 in reality made solely against the cattle of the commoners, were intended 

 to exclude the public. Although this was not the case, a large section 

 of the public felt that in a wealthy country such as England the enjoy- 

 ment of an open park was of more value than the cultivation of the 

 ground under timber. This was a perfectly sound and reasonable view 

 to take provided the country did not object to pay for so costly a 

 demesne. 



The whole subject was brought before a committee of the House 

 of Lords in 1868. The views of the commoners were fully urged before 

 that committee, and a patient hearing was given to them. The result 

 of the inquiry was that the commoners considered they had made a bad 

 bargain in 1851, and that there seemed to be so much difficulty in the 

 way of carrying out the arrangement then made (which the committee 

 appear to have considered equitable in itself) that they advised a cutting 

 of the Gordian knot by the method of disafforestation, allotting to the 

 Crown a portion in fee and to the commoners the remainder to deal with 

 as they thought fit. This obviously meant doing away with the New 

 Forest. It is true that a large acreage would fall to the share of the 

 public, but it was known that the claims of the commoners would be 

 excessive and rigidly enforced. The commission for the definition of 



456 



