56 I N C L O S U R E S, 5 



a trial at law; namely, whether the commons 

 Ihould be divided among the houfesonly; or 

 whether one moiety of them ihould remain 

 \yith " the lands of the townfhip, which, 

 " upon the firft of January 1784, belonged 

 " to the owners cf ancient common-right 

 *• mtfiuagcs, cottages or fites." 



In confcquence of this orc!er of Parlia- 

 ment, ihequollion was tried, on a feigned 

 jffuc, at the afTize for the county, in the fum- 

 nier of 1785. 



The trial was coaduded with the fame ex- 

 ertions on the part of the promoters of the 

 bill, and \y'n\i the fame tamcnefs and iil- 

 ludged confidence on tlie part of its oppo- 

 fers, as had been evident in every liage of 

 the buf.nefs. Thcfe circumftances co ope- 

 rating with the " uncertainty of the law," 

 a vcrdift was obtained in favour of the 

 ]-iOufcs. 



Thus, by mana^wvre ; v.irhout even the 

 Ihadow of ri'-hi beino; olfercd 1 the owner of 

 a iiicr^' cottage without a garden-place, or 

 of a heap cf fhones which had long lain as 

 ruins, and who could have no rightful ad- 

 vantage whatever from the commons in their 



open 



