thewriteroftheReportonMiddlesex，saysthatthelandproduced£；30
ayear，(19*)andheremarkthatthisisamuchbetterwayofhelpingthe
poorthanleavingthemlandfortheiruse。Wemaydoubtwhetherthearrangement
seemedequallyattractivetothepoor。Itcouldnothavebeenmuchcompensation
toJohnCarter，whoownedacottage，toreceivethreeroods，twenty-sixperches
inlieuofhisrightsofcommon，whichishisallotmentintheaward，for
three-quartersofanacreisobviouslyinsufficientforthepastureofa
cow，butitwasperhapsstilllesssatisfactoryforJamesCartertoknow
thatoneacreandsevenpercheswereallottedtothe’lawfulownerorowners’
ofthecottageandlandwhichheoccupied，andthathisowncompensation
forthelossofhiscoworsheeporgeesewasthecoldhopethatifhekept
offtherates，SirWilliamGibbons，thevicar，andtheparishofficersmight
givehimadole。TheLalehamCommissionerswereevidentlymenofarather
grimhumour，for，insettingasidethirteenacresforthepoor，theyauthorised
thechurchwardensandoverseerstoencouragethepoor，iftheyweresominded，
bylettingthisplotforsixtyyearsandusingthemoneysoreceivedtobuild
aworkhouse。AmuchmoreliberalprovisionwasmadeatCheshunt，wherethe
poorwereallowed100acres。AtKnaresboroughandLouth，thepoorgotnothing
atall。
Beforeweproceedtodescribetheresultsofenclosureonvillagelife，
wemayremarkonecuriousfact。In1795and1796therewassomediscussion
intheHouseofCommonsoftheconditionoftheagriculturallabourers，arising
outoftheproposalofWhitbread’stoenablethemagistratestofixaminium
wage。Pittmadealongspeechinreply，andpromisedtointroduceascheme
ofhisownforcorrectingevilsthatweretooconspiCuoustobeignored。
Thispromisehekeptnextyearintheill-fatedPoorLawBill，whichdied，
almostatitsbirth，ofgeneralhostility。ThatBillwillbeconsideredelsewhere。
AllthatweareconcernedtonoticehereisthatneitherspeechnorBill，
thoughtheycoverawiderangeoftopics，andthoughPittsaidthatthey
representedtheresultsoflongandcarefulinquiry，hintatthiscauseof
socialdisturbance，orattheimportanceofsafe-guardingtheinterestsof
thepoorinfutureenclosureschemes：thisinspiteofthefactthat，as
wehaveseen，therewasscarcelyanycontemporarywriterorobserverwho
hadnotpointedoutthatthewayinwhichthegoverningclasswasconducting
theserevolutionswasnotonlyunjusttothepoorbutperiloustotheState。
Itisinteresting，inthelightofthefailuretograspandretrievean
errorinnationalpolicywhichmarktheprogressofthesetransactions，to
glanceatthecontemporaryhistoryofFrance。TheLegislativeAssembly，under
theinfluenceoftheideasoftheeconomists，decreedthedivisionofthe
landofthecommunesin1792。Thefollowingyearthisdecreewasmodified。
Certainprovincialassemblieshadaskedfordivision，butmanyofthevillages
wereinexorablyhostile。ThenewdecreeofJune1793triedtodojustice
totheseconflictingwishesbymakingdivisionoptional。Atthesametime
itinsistedonanequitabledivisionincaseswherepartitiontookplace。
Butthispolicyofdivisionwasfoundtohavedonesuchdamagetotheinterests
ofthepoorthattherewasstrenuousopposition，withtheresultthatin
1796theprocesswassuspended，andinthefollowingyearitwasforbidden。(20*)
CananyonesupposethatiftheEnglishlegislaturehadhadasswiftand
readyasenseforthingsgoingwrong，thepolicyofenclosurewouldhave
beenpursuedafter1801withthesamerecklessdisregardforitssocialconsequences？
Wehavegiveninthelastchapterthehistoryofanenclosureproject
forthelightitthrowsontheplayofmotiveintheenclosingclass。We
proposenowtogiveinsomedetailthehistoryofanenclosureprojectthat
succeededforthelightitthrowsontheattentionwhichParliamentpaid
tolocalopinionandonthegenerallyreceivedviewsastotherightsof
thesmallcommoners。Ourreaderswillobservethatthisenclosuretookplace
afterthecriticismsandappealswhichwehavedescribedhadallbeenpublished。
OtmoorisdescribedinDunkin’sHistoryofOxfordshire，(21*)asa’dreary
andextensivecommon。’Traditionsaidthatthetractoflandwasthegift
ofsomemysteriouslady’whogaveasmuchgroundasshecouldrideround
whileanoat-sheafwasburning，totheinhabitantsofitsvicinityfora
publiccommon，’andhencecameitsnameofOatmoor，corruptedintoOtmoor。
Whatevertherealoriginofthename，whichmoreprosaicpersonsconnected
with’Oc，’aCelticwordfor’water，’thistractoflandhadbeenusedas
a’publiccommonwithoutstint……fromremoteantiquity。’LordAbingdon，
indeed，asLordoftheManorofBeckley，claimedandexercisedtheright
ofappointingamoor-driver，whoatcertainseasonsdroveallthecattle
intoBeckley，wherethosewhichwereunidentifiedbecameLordAbingdon’s
property。LordAbingdonalsoclaimedrightsofsoilandofsport：these，
likehisotherclaim，werefoundedonprescriptiononly，astherewasno
traceofanygrantfromtheCrown。
TheusetowhichOtmoor，initsoriginalstate，wasput，isthusdescribed
byDunkin。’Whilstthisextensivepieceoflandremainedunenclosed，the
farmersoftheseveraladjoiningtownshipsestimatedtheprofitsofasummer’s
pasturageat20s。perhead，subjecttotheoccasionallossofabeastby
apeculiardistempercalledthemoor-evil。Butthegreatestbenefitwasreaped
bythecottagers，manyofwhomturnedoutlargenumbersofgeese，towhich
thecoarseaquaticswardwaswellsuited，andtherebybroughtuptheirfamilies
incomparativeplenty。(22*)
’Oflateyears，however，thisdrearywastewassurveyedwithlongingeyes
bythesurroundinglandowners，mostofwhomwishedtoannexaportionof
ittotheirestates，andinconsequencesparednopainstorecommendthe
enclosureasameasurebeneficialtothecountry。’
Thepromotersoftheenclosurecreditedthemselveswithfarloftiermotives：
prominentamongthembeingadesiretoimprovethemoralsofthepoor。An
advocateoftheenclosureafterwardsdescribedthepitiablestateofthe
poorinpre-enclosuredaysinthesewords：’Inlookingafterabroodofgoslings，
afewrottensheep，askeletonofacoworamangyhorse，theylostmore
thantheymighthavegainedbytheirday’swork，andacquiredhabitsofidleness
anddissipationandadisliketohonestlabour，whichhasrenderedthemthe
riotousandlawlesssetofmenwhichtheyhavenowshownthemselvestobe。’
ApiouswishtosecondtheintentionofProvidencewasalsoastrongincentive：
’Goddidnotcreatetheearthtoliewasteforfeedingafewgeese，butto
becultivatedbyman，inthesweatofhisbrow。’(23*)
ThefirstproposalforenclosurecametoParliamentfromGeorge，Duke
ofMarlborough，andotherson11thMarch，1801。Thedukepetitionedforthe
drainageandtheallotmentofthe4000acresofOtmooramongtheparishes
concerned，namelyBeckley(withHortonandStudley)，Noke，Oddington，and
Charlton(withFencottandMoorcott)。ThispetitionwasreferredtoaCommittee，
toconsideramongstotherthings，whethertheStandingOrderswithreference
todrainageBillshadbeendulycompliedwith。TheCommitteereportedin
favourofallowingtheintroductionoftheBill，butmadethisremarkable
admission，thatthoughtheStandingOrderswithrespecttotheaffixingof
noticesonchurchdoorshadbeencompliedwithonSunday，3rdAugust，’it
appearedtotheCommitteethatonthefollowingSunday，the10thofAugust，
thePersonemployedtoaffixthelikeNoticeswaspreventedfromsodoing
atBeckley，OddingtonandCharlton，byaMobateachPlace，butthatheread
theNoticestothePersonsassembled，andafterwardsthrewthemamongstthem
intotheChurchYardsofthoseParishes。’NoticewasdulyaffixedthatSunday
atNoke。ThenextSundaymatterswereevenworse，fornonoticeswereallowed
tobefixedinanyparish。
TheBillthatwasintroducedinspiteofthislocalprotest，wasshipwrecked
duringitsCommitteestagebyapetitionfromAlexanderCroke，LL。D。，Lord
oftheManorofStudleywithWhitecrossGreen，andfromJohnMackaness，Esq。，
whostatedthatasproprietorsintheparishofBeckley，theirinterests
hadnotbeensufficientlyconsidered。
ThenextapplicationtoParliamentwasnotmadetill1814。Intheinterval
variousplanswerepropounded，andArthurYoung，inhisSurveyofOxfordshire
fortheBoardofAgriculture，publishedin1809(aworkwhichDunkindescribes
assupportedbythefarmersandtheirlandlordsandashavingcaughttheir
strain)，lamentedthewretchedstateoftheland。’Imadevariousinquiries
intothepresentvalueofitbyrightsofcommonage；butcouldascertain
nomorethanthegeneralfact，ofitsbeingtoaverybeggarlyamount……
Uponthewhole，thepresentproducemustbequitecontemptible，whencompared
withthebenefitwhichwouldresultfromenclosingit。AndIcannotbutremark，
thatsuchatractofwastelandinsummer，andcoveredthewinterthrough
withwater，toremaininsuchastate，withinfivemilesofOxfordandthe
Thames，inakingdomthatregularlyimportstotheamountofamillionsterling
incorn，andisalmostperiodicallyvisitedwithapprehensionsofwant——
isascandaltothenationalpolicy……Ifdrainedandenclosed，itissaid
thatnodifficultywouldoccurinlettingitat30s。peracre，andsomeassert
even40s。’(p。228)。
WhenthenewapplicationwasmadeinNovember1814，itwasagainreferred
toaCommittee，whoagainhadtoreportturbulentbehaviourinthedistrict
concerned。Noticeshadbeenfixedonallthechurchdoorson7thAugust，
andonthreedoorson14thAugust，’butitwasfoundimpracticabletoaffix
theNoticesontheChurchdoorsoftheothertwoParishesonthatday，owing
tolargeMobs，armedwitheverydescriptionofoffensiveweapons，having
assembledfortheproseofobstructingthepersonswhowenttoaffixthe
Notices，andwhowerepreventedbyviolence，andthreatsofimmediatedeath，
fromapproachingtheChurches。’(24*)Fromthesamecausenonoticescould
beaffixedonthesetwochurchdoorson21stor28thAugust。
TheselocaldisturbanceswerenotallowedtocheckthecareeroftheBill。
Itwasreadafirsttimeon21stFebruary，andasecondtimeon7thMarch。
Butmeanwhilesomeseriousflawshadbeendiscovered。TheDukeofMarlborough
andtheEarlofAbingdonbothpetitionedagainstit。TheCommittee，however，
wereabletointroduceamendmentsthatsatisfiedboththesepowerfulpersonages，
andon1stMayMr。FanereportedfromtheCommitteethatnopersonshadappeared
forthesaidpetitions，andthatthepartiesconcernedhadconsentedtothe
satisfactionoftheCommittee，andhadalsoconsented’tothechangingthe
Commissionersthereinnamed。’BeforetheReporthadbeenpassed，however，
apetitionwasreceivedonbehalfofAlexanderCroke，(25*)Esq。，whowas
nowinNovaScotia，whichmadefurtheramendmentsnecessary，andtheCommittee
wasempoweredtosendforpersons，papersandrecords。Meanwhilethehumbler
individualswhosefuturewasimperilledwerealsobestirringthemselves。
TheyappliedtotheKeeperoftheRecordsintheAugmentationOfficefor
areportonthehistoryofOtmoor。ThisReport，whichispublishedatlength
byDunkin，(26*)statesthatinspiteoflaboriousresearchnomentionof
OtmoorcouldbefoundinanysinglerecordfromthetimeofWilliamtheConqueror
tothepresentday。EvenDoomsdayBookcontainednoreferencetoit。Nowhere
diditappearinwhatmanorOtmoorwascomprehended，norwasthereanyrecord
thatanyofthelordsofneighbouringmanorshadeverbeenmadecapableof
enjoyinganyrightsofcommonuponit。Thecustomofusagewithoutstint，
infact，pointedtosomegrantbeforethememoryofman，andmadeitunlikely
thatanylordofthemanorhadeverhadabsoluterightofsoil。Armed，no
doubt，withthislearnedreport，some’Freeholders，Landholders，Cottagers
andPersons’residinginfourparishessentupapetitionaskingtobeheard
againsttheBill。Buttheyweretoolate：theirpetitionwasorderedtolie
ontheTable，andtheBillpassedtheCommonsthesameday(26thJune)and
receivedtheRoyalAssenton12thJuly。
TheActdirectedthatone-sixteenthofthewhole(whichwasstatedto
beover4000acres)shouldbegiventotheLordoftheManorofBeckley，
LordAbingdon，incompensationofhisrightsofsoil，andone-eighthascomposition
