第15章

Bills，weretoreceivecompensation；buttherewasnotalkofcompensation

forthestolenlivelihoodofapinderorachimneypeeper，astherehadbeen

forthelostpickingsoftheofficialsofParliament，orastherewaswhenever

anunhappyaristocratwasmadetosurrenderoneofhissinecures。George

Selwyn，whohadbeenPaymasteroftheWorksfortwenty-sevenyearsatthe

timethatBurke’sActof1782deprivedhimofthatprofitabletitle，was

notallowedtolanguishverylongonthetwosinecuresthatwereleftto

him。In1784PittconsoledhimwiththelucrativenameofSurveyor-General

ofCrownLands。Thepinderandtheviewerreceivedadifferentkindofjustice。

Fortherichthereiscompensation，astheweaversaidinDisraeli’sSybil，

but’sympathyisthesolaceofthepoor。’Inthiscase，ifthetruthbetold，

eventhissolacewasnotadministeredwithtooliberalahand。

Alltheseclassesandinterestswerescatteredbyenclosure，butitwas

notonegenerationalonethatwasstruckdownbytheblow。Forthecommons

werethepatrimonyofthepoor。Thecommoner’schild，howeverneedy，was

bornwithaspooninhismouth。Hecameintoaworldinwhichhehadashare

andaplace。Thecivilisationwhichwasnowsubmergedhadspeltasortof

independencefortheobscurelineageofthevillage。Ithadrepresented，

too，theimportanceoftheinterestofthecommunityinitssoil，andin

thisaspectalsotherobberyofthepresentwaslessimportantthantherobbery

ofthefuture。Foroneactofconfiscationblottedoutaprincipleofpermanent

valuetotheState。

Theimmediateconsequencesofthispolicywereonlypartiallyvisible

tothegoverningorthecultivatedclasses。TherulersofEnglandtookit

forgrantedthatthelossesofindividualswerethegainsoftheState，and

thatthedistressesofthepoorweretheconditionofpermanentadvance。

Modernapologistshaveadoptedthesameview；andthepopularresistance

toenclosureisoftencomparedtothewildandpassionatefurythatbroke

againstthespinningandweavingmachines，thesymbolsandenginesofthe

IndustrialRevolution。Historyhasdrawnacurtainoverthosedaysofexile

andsuffering，whencottageswerepulleddownasifbyaninvader’shand，

andfamiliesthathadlivedforcenturiesintheirdalesorontheirsmall

farmsandcommonsweredrivenbeforethetorrent，losing

’Estateandhouseandalltheirsheep，Aprettyflock，andwhichforaughtIknowHadclothedtheEwbanksforathousandyears。’

Ancientpossessionsandancientfamiliesdisappeared。Butthefirstconsequence

wasnottheworstconsequence：sofarfromcompensatingforthismisery，

theultimateresultwasstillmoredisastrous。Thegoverningclasskilled

bythispolicythespiritofarace。Thepetitionsthatareburiedwiththeir

briefandunavailingpathosintheJournalsoftheHouseofCommons

arethelastvoiceofvillageindependence，andtheunnamedcommonerswho

bravedthedangersofresistancetosendtheirdoomedproteststotheHouse

ofCommonsthatobeyedtheirlords，werethelastoftheEnglishpeasants。

Thesewerethemen，itisnotunreasonabletobelieve，whomGrayhadinmind

whenhewrote：——

’SomevillageHampdenthatwithdauntlessbreastThelittletyrantofhisfieldswithstood，’

AswereadthedescriptionsofthestateofFrancebeforetheRevolution，

thereisonefactthatcomfortstheimaginationandbracestheheart。We

readoftheintolerableservicesofthepeasant，ofhisforcedlabour，his

confiscatedharvests，hiscrushingburdens，hispainfulandhumiliatingtasks，

includinginsomecaseseventhedutyofprotectingthesleepoftheseigneur

fromthecroakingoftheneighboringmarshes。ThemindofArthurYoungwas

filledwiththisimpressionofunsupportableservitude。Butamorediscerning

eyemighthaveperceivedatruththatescapedtheEnglishtraveller。Itis

containedinanentrythatoftengreetsusintheofficialreportsonthe

stateoftheprovinces：ceseigneurlitigeavecsesvaissaux。Thosefewwords

flashlikeagleamofthedawnacrossthissombreandmelancholypage。The

peasantmaybeoverwhelmedbythedî；me，thetaille，thecorvé；e，

thehundredandoneservicesthatknithistenuretothecapriceofalord：

hemaybewretched，brutal，ignorant，ill-clothed，ill-fed，andill-housed：

buthehasnotlosthisstatus：heisnotacasualfigureinadriftingproletariat：

hebelongstoacommunitythatcanwithstandtheseigneur，disputehisclaims

atlaw，resumeitsrights，recoveritspossessions，andestablish，oneday，

itsindependence。

InEnglandthearistocracydestroyedthepromiseofsuchadevelopment

whenitbrokethebackofthepeasantcommunity。Theenclosurescreateda

neworganisationofclasses。Thepeasantwithrightsandastatus，witha

shareinthefortunesandgovernmentofhisvillage，standinginrags，but

standingonhisfeet，makeswayforthelabourerwithnocorporaterights

todefend，nocorporatepowertoinvoke，nopropertytocherish，noambition

topursue，bentbeneaththefearofhismasters，andtheweightofafuture

withouthope。Noclassintheworldhassobeatenandcrouchingahistory，

andiftheblazingricksin1830oncethreatenedhisrulerswiththeanguish

ofhisdespair，innochapterofthathistorycouldithavebeenwritten，

’Thisparishisatlawwithitssquire。’Fortheparishwasnolongerthe

communitythatofferedthelabourerfriendshipandshelteredhisfreedom：

itwasmerelytheshadowofhispoverty，hishelplessness，andhisshame。

’Gotoanale-housekitchenofanoldenclosedcountry，andthereyouwill

seetheoriginofpovertyandPoor-rates。Forwhomaretheytobesober？

Forwhomaretheytosave？Fortheparish？IfIamdiligent，shallIhave

leavetobuildacottage？IfIamsober，shallIhavelandforacow？If

Iamfrugal，shallIhavehalfanacreofpotatoes？Youoffernomotives；

youhavenothingbutaparishofficerandaworkhouse！——Bringmeanother

pot。’(16*)

1。SeetheEvidenceofWitnessesbeforetheCommitteeonCommonsInclosure

of1844。(Baily，land-agent)：’GeneralcustomtogivetheLordofManor1/16th

ascompensationforhisrightsexclusiveofthevalueofmineralsandof

hisrightsasacommonrightowner。’Anotherwitness(Coulson，asolicitor)

definedthesurfacerightsas’gameandstockage，’andsaidthattheproportion

determinedupontheresultofabargainbeforehand。

2。’Manysmallproprietorshavebeenseriouslyinjuredbybeingobliged

inpursuanceofill-framedprivatebillstoenclosurelandswhichnewerrepaid

theexpense。’Marshall，TheAppropriationandEnclosuresofCommonable

andIntermixedLands，1801，p。52。

3。CostofEnclosure——TheexpensesofparticularActsvariedverymuch。

BillingsleyinhisReportonSomerset(p。57)gives£；3anacre

asthecostofenclosingalowlandparish，£；2，10s。foranuplandparish。

Theenclosureofthe12，000acreKing’sSedgmoor(Ibid。，p。196)came(with

thesubdivisions)tonolessthan£；59，624，4s。8d。，ornearly£；5

anacre。StanwellEnclosure，ontheotherhand，cametoabout23s。anacre，

andvariousinstancegivenintheReportforBedfordshireworkout

ataboutthesamefigure。Whentheallotmentstothetithe-ownersandthe

lordofthemanorwereexempted，thesumperacrewouldofcoursefallmore

heavilyontheotherallottees，e。g。，ofLouth，wheremorethanathirdof

the1701acresenclosedwereexempt。Inmanycases，ofcourse，landwassold

tocoverexpenses。Thecostoffencingallotmentswouldalsovaryindifferent

localities。InSomerset，from7s。7d。to8s。7d。for20feetofquickset

hedgewascalculated，inBedfordshire，10s。6d。perpole。Seealsoforexpense

Hasbach，pp。64，65，andGeneralReportonEnclosures，Appendix，xvii。

MainItems：——

Countrysolictor’sfeesfordrawingupBillandattendingintown；

AttendanceofwitnessesatHouseofCommonsandHouseofLordstoprove

thatStandingOrdershadbeencompliedwith；

Expensesofpersonstogetsignaturesofconsentsandafterwardstoattend

togetconsentofprincipalproprietors)；

ExpenseofParliamentarysolicitor，20gs。，butmoreifopposition；

Expenseofcounseliftherewasopposition；

Parliamentfees，seep。76。

InquiryintotheAdvantagesandDisadvantagesresultingfromBills

ofEnclosure，1789，p。14。

Cf。Ashelworth，Cheshunt，Knaresborough。

Previoustoenclosurethereweretwenty-fivefarmers；thelandisnow

dividedamongfiveorsixpersonsonly。

Itwasthenconfidentlysaidthatseveralpoorpersonsactuallyperished

fromwant，andsogreatwastheoutcrythatsomeofthefarmerswerehissed

inthepublicmarketatBicester。

Dunkin’sOxfordshire，pp。2and3。

F。Moore，ConsiderationsontheExorbitantPriceofProprietors，

1773，p。22；quotedbyLevy，p。27。

EssayontheNatureandMethodofascertainingthespecificShare

ofProprietorsupontheInclosureofCommonfields，withobservationson

theinconveniencesofcommonfields，etc。，p。22。

TheKirton，SuttertonandWigtoft(Lincs)Actsprescribedapenalty

fortakingturforsodafterthepassingoftheAct，of£；10，andin

defaultofpaymentimprisonmentintheHouseofCorrectionwithhardlabour

forthreemonths。

TheonlyprovisionforthepoorintheMauldenAct，(36Geo。III，

c。65)wasafuelallotmentasacompensationfortheancientusageofcutting

peatormoorturf。Thetrustees(rector，churchwardenandoverseers)were

todistributetheturftopoorfamilies，andweretopayanysurplusfrom

therentoftheherbagetothepoorrates。

AtSt。NeotsagentlemancomplainedtoArthurYoungin1791thatin

theenclosurewhichtookplacesixteenyearsbefore，’thepoorwereill-treated

byhavingabouthalfaroodgiventheminlieuofacowkeep，theinclosure

ofwhichlandcostingmorethantheycouldafford，theysoldthelotsat

£；5，themoneywasdrankoutattheale-house，andthemen，spoiledby

thehabit，came，withtheirfamiliestotheparish。’——AnnualsofAgriculture，

ChapterFiveTheLabourerin1795

Inanunenclosedvillage，aswehaveseen，thenormallabourerdidnot

dependonhiswagesalone。Hislivelihoodwasmadeupfromvarioussources。

Hisfiringhetookfromthewaste，hehadacoworapigwanderingonthe

commonpasture，perhapsheraisedalittlecroponastripinthecommon

fields。Hewasnotmerelyawageearner，receivingsomuchmoneyaweekor

adayforhislabour，andbuyingallthenecessariesoflifeatashop：he

receivedwagesasalabourer，butinparthemaintainedhimselfasaproducer。

Further，theactualmoneyrevenueofthefamilywasnotlimitedtothelabourer’s

earnings，forthedomesticindustriesthatflourishedinthevillagegave

employmenttohiswifeandchildren。

Inanenclosedvillageattheendoftheeighteenthcenturytheposition

oftheagriculturallabourerwasverydifferent。Allhisauxiliaryresources

hadbeentakenfromhim，andhewasnowawageearnerandnothingmore。Enclosure

hadrobbedhimofthestripthathetilled，ofthecowthathekeptonthe

villagepasture，ofthefuelthathepickedupinthewoods，andoftheturf

thathetorefromthecommon。Andwhileasocialrevolutionhadsweptaway

hispossessions，anindustrialrevolutionhadsweptawayhisfamily’searnings。

Tofamilieslivingonthescaleofthevillagepoor，eachoftheselosses

wasacripplingblow，andthetotaleffectofthechangeswastodestroy

theireconomicindependence。

Someoftheseauxiliaryresourceswerenotvaluedveryhighlybytheupper

classes，andmanychampionsofenclosureprovedtotheirownsatisfaction

thattheadvantage，forexample，oftherightofcuttingfuelwasquiteillusory。

Suchwritershadaverysuperficialknowledgeofthelotofthecottagers。

Theyarguedthatitwouldbemoreeconomicalforthelabourertospendon

hisordinaryemploymentthetimehedevotedtocuttingfuelandturf，and

tobuyfiringoutofhiswages：anargumentfromthetheoryofthedivision

oflabourthatassumedthatemploymentwasconstant。Fortunatelywehave，

thankstoDavies，averycarefulcalculationthatenablesustoformrather

acloserjudgment。Heestimates(1*)thatamancouldcutnearlyenoughin

aweektoservehisfamilyalltheyear，andasthefarmerswillgivethe

carriageofitinreturnfortheashes，heputsthetotalcostat10s。a

year，oralittlemorethanaweek’swages。(2*)Ifwecomparethiswithhis

accountsofthecostoffuelelsewhere，wesoonseehowessentialcommon

fuelrightsweretoalabourer’seconomy。AsSidleshaminSurrey，forinstance，