THE COURT OF VERDERERS 23 



Some clauses of the Act are overridden by 

 others, and altogether it is a clumsily drafted 

 affair, difficult to understand, although many 

 counsels' opinions have been called in to en- 

 deavour to arrive at an interpretation on various 

 points, and one or two lawsuits have resulted. 

 Altogether this Act has cost a great deal of 

 money to interpret. 



So impossible of administration was it that 

 two years later the New Forest Act of 1879 

 had to be passed in order to enable the new 

 authority over commoners' rights to escape the 

 responsibility of enforcing the terms of the 

 register of those rights, which was compiled in 

 1854 and regarded as so great a safeguard to 

 them. 



By the terms of this Act the verderers were 

 authorised to issue licences to non-commoners to 

 depasture their cattle in the Forest in contra- 

 vention of the Forest laws, which was rather 

 an admission of weakness in the new regime. 



The ancient oath of the verderer, which dated 

 back to Norman times and rather resembled the 

 the oath of allegiance taken by a member of 

 the House of Commons, was abolished, so that 

 the members of the new Court should be 

 troubled by no scruples when they attacked the 

 interests of the Crown. 



