398 STATUTE OF MERTON. 
be taken out of the sole management and control of 
the Lord of the Manor, and, in spite of his opposition, 
placed under the management of a Board of Conserva- 
tors elected by the ratepayers of the district. 
The two measures taken together amount practically 
to this—that Commons are no longer to be regarded 
as the private property of the Lords of Manors (subject 
only to the rights of a limited body of Commoners), 
entirely under their control and management, and 
liable to inclosure in respect of so much of them as 
may not be wanted to satisfy existing rights; but 
that, on the contrary, the public interest is to prevail 
over that of the Lords of Manors; that, if the lords 
neglect or are unable to protect them from nuisances and 
disorder, or to maintain them in a proper condition, the 
Commons may be taken out of their hands, and placed 
under the control and management of local authorities, 
with power to expend the ratepayers’ money upon 
their maintenance; that, subject to this, the lords’ 
rights—such as those of sporting, of gravel digging, 
or of timber—will be preserved ; but that the right of 
inclosing under the Statute of Merton will practically 
be reduced to zz/ by the requirement that such inclosures 
shall not be permitted unless it be proved, to the satis- 
faction of the Board of Agriculture, that the public is 
interested in their being carried out. 
It has taken nearly thirty years of sustained efforts 
to effect this revolution in the position of Lords of 
Manors, and to obtain this recognition of public interests 
in common lands. The result has only been reached 
