24 THE NEW FOREST 



A new and nondescript member of the Court 

 was added, who was called the " Official Ver- 

 derer." He is nominated by the Crown, which 

 thereby gains a solitary representative in the 

 Court, provided that the Official Verderer takes 

 the view that he is in any way pledged to sup- 

 port the Crown. But his duties are entirely 

 undefined except that he is to act as the Chair- 

 man of the Court. Some Official Verderers have 

 interpreted their obligations in one way others 

 in quite a different manner. Those who con- 

 sider themselves bound to support Crown in- 

 terests and authority, and to confer on such 

 matters with the departments in charge of the 

 Forest still in charge of and wholly responsible 

 therefore to the public, in spite of the Act of 1877 

 usually have found themselves in a minority 

 of one, as against six other verderers who re- 

 garded no interests but those of their con- 

 stituents, the commoners. And this was the 

 natural and inevitable consequence of the recon- 

 stitution of the Court. 



