ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 15 



There never were in Lauder at one time more than, if 

 so many as, 105 burgesses. We can safely say that since 

 Lauder was created a burgh, and, so far as records show, 

 there never were more than 105 burgess-acres, and the 

 possession of a burgess-acre was always a necessary 

 preliminary to admission as an ordinar}^ burgess, so that 

 it is not possible that there could have been at any one 

 time a larger number of burgesses than there were burgess- 

 acres. Mr Gomme has been greatly misled in what he 

 states. The figures for the years 1816 and 1835 are 

 inexplicable as applied to burgess-acres, and those of 

 1835 cannot refer to the number of burgesses." 



Presuming that his figures were correct, Mr Gomme 

 sees " the community in process of decay," and quotes, 

 with approval, the view that " it may happen that the 

 whole may ultimately fall to one proprietor, who will 

 then become the corpoi'ation." But in coming to this 

 conclusion he has overlooked some important elements in 

 the case. The present community system, which has 

 existed for centuries, is safeguarded by several powerful 

 checks from falling quickly into decay, as some communities 

 with small holdings and common rights have done. One 

 is the law which prevents a sub-division of the lands. 

 Each burgess-acre must be entire, and must be owned 

 by one person. The tendency for any person to acquire 

 more " acres " than one is checked by the fact that an 

 increase in the number of "acres" held does not give a 

 corresponding increase of grazing rights. Another check 

 exists in the power possessed by the Town Council to 

 regulate the assessments for grazing " without any restric- 

 tion except the necessities of the burgh and the value 

 of the grazings." Possibly, if it ever happened that the 

 whole of the burgess-acres became the property of a 

 few persons, or of one, the Town Council might discover 

 that the necessities of the burgh required much lai'ger 

 expenditure than they do at present, when most of them 

 "are personally liable to pay the assessments imposed." 



