A(jri culture of Denmark. 
285 
not forget the liberty tliey had tasted in the commencement of 
the century. 
But in 1784 the Regent, afterwards Frederick VI., began 
to take part in the government of the country, and a brigliter 
prospect then arose for the yeomen. Tlie improvement of agri- 
culture, then in a very depressed state, and the emancipation 
of the yeomen, were the foremost objects of this prince. In 
1788 the law respecting the " Stavnsbaand " was repealed, and 
a commission appointed to regulate the rent and services of 
the tenants holding hereditary leases, or leases for life : by this 
act the yeomen were restored to the liberty of which, for cen- 
turies, they had been deprived. 
The other great drawback to the yeoman's advance and wel- 
fare was the manorial labour (Hoverie) to which the proprietors 
of estates were entitled, the oppressive use of which right had 
gone hand-in-hand with the " Vornedskab " and " Stavnsbaand." 
This service appears to have been at first called for in a mild 
and humane manner, inasmuch as only the yeomen who lived in 
the neighbourhood of the manor were required to perform it, 
but in course of time, when the estate was enlarged, it became 
more arbitrary and ruinous to the interest of the yeoman. 
This service was first changed by Frederick VI., as Regent. 
The royal decrees of 1791, 1795, and 1799, set a limit on this 
forced labour, and had also for their object the reduction of the 
number of tenants of compulsory leases. When subsequently a 
yeoman took land on lease (Fceste) the number of days of labour 
on the estate, or its equivalent in money, was fixed. Finally, 
by the law of July 4th, 1850, it was decided that all manorial 
labour was to cease, and in its place a fixed moderate annual 
rent to be paid, as soon as one-third of the yeomen bound to per- 
form it, or the proprietor to whom it was due, demanded it ; con- 
sequently it may now be considered as abolished in the king- 
dom. In Sleswig and Holstein, where the condition of the 
yeomen had been even worse, inasmuch as they were serfs, the 
system was abolished in 1797 and 1804, and, as a result, 20,000 
serf-families were liberated ; yet in some parts of Holstein and 
in South Sleswi-^ manorial service can still be called for. 
By numerous decrees and laws the Danish government have 
endeavoured, during the last sixty years, to improve the position 
of the tenaxits under compulsory lease (Foeste) ; the system is still 
retained, but upon very different and much more favourable con- 
ditions, and the expression " compulsory " is scarcely applicable 
to the system at present, except to distinguish it from that of 
landlord and tenant as understood in England. Of late years, 
many of these lessees have, by purchase, become the proprietors 
X 2 
