BANSTEAD COMMONS. 195 
Commoners, in the award of the Commissioners, he 
would be able to inclose under the Statute of Merton, or 
even to treat the Common as his freehold, discharged 
of any rights. 
With this object, then, in view, Sir John Hartopp set 
to work to buy off the persons whose common rights 
were admitted in the award of Mr. Wetherell. One by 
one the Commoners were so dealt with. To some the 
temptation offered was the enfranchisement of their 
copyholds free of charge; to others, money payments. 
To two at least the promise was. made of large allot- 
ments of the Common when inclosed. As he reduced 
in this manner the number of Commoners who could. 
resist his scheme of inclosure, so the terms of the 
remainder rose, and it became necessary to expend very 
large sums in buying off those who held out the 
longest. In none of the other Commons cases had 
there been such an assiduous and well-devised effort to 
clear away the rights of Commoners, with the object 
of converting the wastes into private property. It is 
said that Sir John Hartopp expended in this manner 
not less than £18,000, and in so doing got rid of 
the rights of twenty-seven persons in respect of 1,400: 
acres of land. 
The largest landowner in the Manor, having rights 
of common, was the late Earl of Egmont. His con- 
sent was obtained by a mixed process of threat and 
bribe. Lord Egmont was opposed in principle to the 
inclosure of the Common, but he was advised by his 
lawyers that Sir John Hartopp had already acquired 
N 2 
