History of Agricultural Rent in England 19 



their legal rights to an extreme. They 

 suddenly dispossessed the people of these 

 customary rights over the waste and 

 commons. Fortunately, at the same time, 

 the beginnings of manufactures in the 

 towns required more labour, and after the 

 trouble caused by the transition, it may be 

 said that, on the whole, the prosperity and 

 power of the nation increased. In time, also, 

 the natural balance was effected between 

 sheep and corn, and a system of mixed 

 farming took the place of the old arable 

 cultivation in common. 



From the economic point of view, the 

 modern period may be said to begin with 

 the reign of Elizabeth, and by the end of 

 that reign, the modern system of letting 

 land to tenants for a money rent was well 

 established. The chief points of contrast 

 with the mediaeval period, beyond those 

 already noted, are that a larger part of the 



