242 THE NEW FOREST. 
embodied in several very influential petitions presented 
by Mr. Fawcett. The Committee was presided over 
by the late Mr. W. H. Smith, and among the 
members were Mr. Cowper Temple and Sir William 
Harcourt. 
The result was eminently satisfactory. The report 
of the Committee consisted of a series of resolutions 
favourable to the Commoners, and to the maintenance 
of the Forest in its then state. ‘The more important 
were as follows :— 
1. That the New Forest should remain open and unin- 
closed except to the extent to which it was expedient 
to maintain the existing right of the Crown to plant 
trees. 
2. That the ornamental woods and trees should be care- 
fully preserved, and the character of the scenery 
maintained. 
3. That the power of inclosure conferred by the statutes of 
1698 and 1851, should be exercised on that area 
which had till then been taken in at various times, 
and been either kept or thrown open. . . That 
the rolling power of inclosure over the open portion 
of the Forest, not then planted or inclosed under the 
two Acts, should cease. 
In 1577, an Act was passed embodying these 
proposals. It also reorganised the ancient Court of 
Verderers on a popular basis of representation of the 
Commoners, so as to enable it to represent and protect 
their interests. This measure, which was strongly 
supported by the Commons Society, passed without 
