Italian Irrigation. 
205 
acted on the conviction ; yet in a bygone agricultural " period ' 
common lands held their fitting place ; and when that stalwart 
yeoman's son, Bishop Latimer, in preaching before the Court, 
vehemently denounced enclosures, he represented a venerable 
national feeling in favour of the inalienable heritage of the poor ; 
and his agricultural dilemma, How then will you dung your 
fallows ? " bespoke the practical farmer of the day. \ et the 
" period " of common lands has rightly been brought to an end ; 
and that agricultural epoch which may be called '• the period of 
irrigation," will perhaps never dawn upon this land, until common 
icaters are dealt with in a similar spirit, existing rights and 
powers of administration not being destroyed but vested anew. In 
what men, or what body of men, the control of the waters of a dis- 
trict is vested, is in itself a matter of perfect indifference to progres- 
sive Agriculture so long as that control be efficient, and limited 
by certain safeguards. The chief requirement of an improver is 
to know clearly beforehand what he may use, and what he must 
pay for its use ; and his worst foe is the dog in the manger, who 
will not even give a premonitory snarl or snap till plans have 
been matured and expenses incurred. Although the alternative 
is not a real one, it may be affirmed that a proprietor might be 
better off if stripped of his common-rights, but enabled to buy 
water at an easy rate, than he would be v. hen possessed of vested 
rights, in the days of jealousy and disorganisation. 
One principle of Italian legislation deserves special notice. 
The Code of Sardinia, Article 602, directs that '• In case of 
dispute between proprietors, the tribunals, in deciding, ought to 
aim at reconciling the respective intei'ests of the parties in the 
manner most just and equitable, having due regard to the rights 
of property, to the advantage of agricultiLre, and to the special uses 
to ichicli the water may be destined.^' Both in framing and in 
interpreting a law an authority may, from laudable motives, take 
its stand oa different special points of view. For instance, in 
providing for education, the legislative body (often composed 
chiefly of teachers and examiners) may either select such subjects 
as are best adapted for an examination, and form the best cri- 
terion for discriminating between the ability of the candidates, 
or else it may adopt such a scheme as may best discipline and 
inform the mind : the former being the more professional, the 
latter the more philosophical, aim. 
In like manner the maker or interpreter of law may be either 
bent on laying down such a broad rule that it may be easy, under 
any circumstances, to distinguish the case of A. from that of B., 
and, indeed, to foresee how the sentence will go ; or else his chief 
aim may be to secure to each man that which is equitable, and 
guard the path of social progress though at the risk of intro- 
