150 EPPING FOREST. 
The consequent litigation involved him in heavy 
law expenses, for it was held by Sir George Jessel that 
his action, in pulling down the fences, was a proceeding 
which was contrary to the terms of the Epping Forest Act 
of 1871, and therefore (for the time being) illegal, though 
it was quite clear that in other times he would have acted 
legally in removing the fences. A considerable part of 
these expenses, however, was ultimately repaid to Mr. 
Burney by the Corporation, on the ground that his action 
had an important influence in inducing the Government 
to disregard the recommendations of the Commission on 
this point. Certainly the Corporation was not averse to 
having the hands of Government forced. 
In 1878, Sir H. Selwin-Ibbetson (now Lord Rook- 
wood), on behalf of Lord Beaconsfield’s Government, 
introduced and carried a measure for the final settle- 
ment of Epping Forest. The position had been some- 
what simplified by the fact that the Corporation of 
London had, in the interval since the determination 
of their suit, bought up the interests of the Lords of 
Manors over a considerable part of the Forest—in all 
amounting to about 3,000 acres. They gave an average 
of about £20 per acre—a very small sum in proportion 
to the value of the land, if the Lords of Manors had 
been able to inclose, but a large sum in proportion to 
the interests of the lords on the assumption, now 
determined to be the case, that they could not inclose. 
In fact, the purchase of the lords’ interests was scarcely 
necessary, though it facilitated somewhat the settlement 
of the question, and was probably justified in the view of 
