第12章

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