If that investigation did not bring out all the circumstances satisfactorily, it would be the duty of the Government to direct further inquiry. COMMONS' ENCLOSURE BILL.] On the Motion that the Speaker do leave the Chair to go into Committee on the Commons' Enclosure Bill, ex from the population returns of 1841; Armagh, eleven acres; Down, fifteen acres ; Meath, thirty-seven acres; Cork, 113 acres; Galway, thirty acres; Mayo, twenty-three acres. The wages of the Irish labourers did not exceed 6d. or 8d. a day, and they were therefore driven to the necessity of occupying small tenements. Mr. George Nicholls, in his Third Report on Holland and Belgium, stated "The farms in Belgium rarely exceed 100 acres; the number containing fifty acres is not great; those of thirty and twenty acres are more numerous; but the number of holdings of from five to ten fifteen and twenty acres is very considerable, especially those of the smaller extent, and to these I chiefly confined my inquiries." It further appeared that the small farms, of from five to ten acres, which abounded in many parts of Belgium, closely resembled the small holdings in Ireland; but the small Irish holder, in many cases, existed in a miserable state, destitute of the common comforts and conveniences of civilized life, whilst the Belgian peasant farmer enjoyed a large portion of these comforts. Mr. Nicholls described the management, the dress and condition of the small occupier, which in every respect indicated the greatest degree of rural comfort. Mr. Nicholls also said Mr. Sharman Crawford rose to move the postponement of the Bill until next Session. It appeared to him that the Bill would take away the rights of common from all future generations, and that the benefits of such rights of common would be taken away from the poor without any adequate compensation. The provisions of the Bill would offer a bribe to those who had the present use of those rights to sell that which they had no power to dispose of, namely, the rights of future generations. Ten acres was the utmost amount of common allowed for a population of from ten thousand to thirty thousand. He did not object to enclosures of commons on just and equitable terms, but the interests of the poor were not provided for by the Bill before the House. If the pasturage of cows on commons was sub-houses, the mode of living, the mode of ject to proper regulations, it would be of great benefit to the poor man. The perience of past Enclosure Bills, proved to him that the interests of the poor were not cared for. It was said, that the poor would benefit by the employment which the enclosure of commons would give rise to; but he thought that was very doubtful-he did not think the evidence of the past was very encouraging on this point. From the reign of Queen Anne down to the reign of George the Fourth, upwards six acres, the whole was worked by spade the reign of George the Fourth, upwards Mr. Nicholls said, that in a farm of closed; he did not, however, think that labour, and that the farmer had no assistthe employment of the poor and the im-ance save that of his wife and children, provement of their means would bear any proportion to the quantity of land which had been enclosed. Waste land, if applied to the purposes of small occupation, would be of great benefit to the poor, both by increasing their employment, and their supply of food. The House did not seem to like small occupancies, and the example of Ireland had been referred to. It was, however, unfair to say that the distress of the people of Ireland arose from small occupancies. The following was the average size of farms in different counties, computed on the number of arable acres in each county, and taken of 6,000,000 acres of land had been en "The productive powers of the soil are inferior to the soil of Ireland. To the soil and climate, therefore, the Belgian farmer did not owe his superiority in comfort over the Irish the habits of economy and forethought of the cultivator, but to the system of cultivation, and people." excepting occasionally the aid of a neighbour or hired labourer in the harvest seathe comfort displayed in the whole ecoson. It was most gratifying to observe nomy of these small cultivators, and the respectability in which they lived. He described the circumstances of a particular small occupier in Ghent : "Ile had a wife and five children, and appeared to live in much comfort. He paid for house and land 9l. 7s, 6d. per annum. He beyond that employed on his farm. He owed little or nothing, but had no capital questioned him respecting his resources in case of sickness. He replied, that an illness of long duration would press heavily on him, and he might be obliged to sell part of his stock. If his wife and family were long ill, the doctor would give him credit, and he would, if he retained his strength, pay him in a year or two. The thought of applying for assistance in any quarter never appeared to have entered his mind." Mr. Nicholls added measure being delayed, at least for that period; and he would, therefore beg leave to move that the House go into Committee on the Bill that day three months. with the hon. Member for Rochdale, who Colonel Sibthorp said, he fully agreed had just sat down, that it was better to postpone the consideration of the Bill for another Session. There were so many in "As far as I could learn, there was no tendency to the subdivision of the small hold-terests concerned in the provisions of this ings. I heard of none under five acres held by the class of peasant farmers; and six, seven, or eight acres is the more common size." Mr. Laing, in his “Notes of a Traveller," said with men." "The first operation in reclaiming land from a state of nature is certainly to plant it "It is the time only, and that time not valued, of the small proprietor, which can fertilize, bit by bit, such land;" (alluding to the poor, sandy, sterile heath land of Holland). Speaking of the outery against small holders in Ireland, Mr. Laing said "They do not consider the somewhat important difference of people being the owners or not the owners of the land divided." Bill, that he confessed he thought the pre- jection. It would, for instance, give great powers to men who were wholly unacquainted with the various parts of the country with which they would have to interfere, and where these inclosures would take place. Besides, he had no great predilection for Commissioners; and, he believed, the country agreed with him in He also instanced, in support of the be- that. They had sufficient experience alnefit of small holdings, Belgium, Swit-ready of the expenses of Commissioners, zerland, Norway, and Tuscany, where and of the little good which they effected. forty-eight families in every hundred had They had instances of that in the Poor land as their own property. He was Law Commissioners and in the Tithe Comof opinion that the Bill was calcu- missioners. These latter originated in the lated to benefit chiefly the landed pro- year 1836, and from that time to the prietors, and, if so, it was unfair that the present, they had cost the country some people at large should have to pay for hundreds of thousands of pounds; and, Commissioners who were not intended to after all, had done little or nothing for it. do them any service whatever. He would This Bill would give great powers to the repeat, that the Bill was a landlords' Act; lords of the manor. It would enable those and he was farther of opinion, that what-individuals to take good care of them. ever land was not now directly given up selves; and he had some misgivings about by this measure to the lords of the manor the manner in which they would exerwould ultimately come into their posses-cise the power given to them. On going sion, because the small holders would be into Committee, he should endeavour to brought up by them, and all would thus do his duty in improving the measure, become theirs. Another objection which and he certainly should aid his noble he had to the Bill proceeding at present Friend (the Earl of Lincoln) as far as he was, that it contained no less than 161 possibly could. clauses; and he would put it to the House whether it was fair that a measure containing so many clauses, and such important provisions, should be brought forward at this late period of the Session? Under these circumstances, he had felt it to be his duty to record his dissent from the principle of the Bill, by moving its postponement until next Session. He thought he had given sufficient reasons for the Lord Worsley hoped the House would direct its attention to what he conceived to be the grounds on which this Bill rested. He had not had an opportunity of being present in the House when the Bill had been introduced by the noble Lord (the Earl of incoln); and he would, therefore, wish briefly to refer to what had already been done with respect to this subject. Hon. Gentlemen would, perhaps, recollect that he had himself introduced a Bill of this that it was his own suggestion, and, in description three years ago, and with the fact, contrary to the wishes of the Tithe permission of the House he would beg leave Commissioners, that he had mentioned briefly to explain the progress of the mea- them in the Bill. He should add, that he sure from that period up to the present had been under the impression at first that time. It was in the year 1837, that at the the Tithe Commission would last. His Bill suggestion of one of his constituents, he was not successful the first year, in consebrought in a Bill to facilitate the making quence of the late period in the Session of common fields enclosures; and having in which it had been introduced; and been fortunate enough to succeed in get- in the year after-1844-in consequence ting it passed into a law, he had for two of the time devoted to private matters, or three years afterwards constant appli- there would have been very little chance cations from parties connected with waste of getting on with it. The Government lands, pressing him to bring in a Bill for then conceived that the House would not extending the provisions of his former pay that attention to the question which measure. From the difficulties, however, its importance required, without having which he had to contend against in the the Report of a Committee upon it. A progress of the first Bill, he did not wish Committee had been accordingly named; to do so; until the year 1843, when there and the noble Lord opposite (the Chanwere so many applications made to him cellor of the Duchy of Lancaster) could on the subject, and so many of the hon. bear testimony with him to the exertions Gentlemen who had voted with him in which that Committee had used to dis1837, promised him their support and as- charge the task entrusted to them in the sistance, that he was induced to comply most efficient manner. They continued with the solicitations that had been made their sittings for a considerable time, and to him. He had been selected as the collected the evidence of a great number fittest Member to bring the subject for- of witnesses from different counties in ward in the House, in consequence of his England and Wales; and the result was, connexion with the former Bill; and be-that, with the exception of the noble Lord cause it so happened that he was neither (Lord Granville Somerset) alone, the Comdirectly nor indirectly connected with any mittee were unanimous in favour of a geland which this Bill or any general Enclo-neral Act. Accordingly, in the present sure Act could affect. The original Bill Session, before he returned to England, of 1837 had, he was aware, many im- he got his hon. Friend the Member for perfections, which were, to a great extent, Cockermouth to give notice, in his name, to be attributed to his want of ability; but that it was his intention to introduce a the subsequent measure which had been Bill on the subject at an early date. introduced by him had been prepared Shortly afterwards, he received a commuwith great care, as affecting the rights and nication from the noble Lord opposite interests of a much larger class of persons. (Lord Lincoln), that the Government had When the Bill of 1842 had been first it in contemplation to take up the quesdrawn up, the Commissioners were left tion, and introduce a Bill at once in the blank; and he expressly provided in the House. It had been stated by some permeasure, that one of the Principal Secre-sons that he (Lord Worsley) was badly taries of State should be the party to ap-treated by the Government, in having the point the Commissioners, and that he was measure taken out of his hands. In this to be a party in carrying out the Bill. He feeling he did not at all participate. He then inserted the names of the Tithe Com-certainly thought that the Bill now bemissioners, against their express remonstrances, and merely because he believed them to be the fittest parties for carrying the measure into execution. It was only right that he should state this, because an impression had gone abroad that as the duties of the Tithe Commissioners would very soon cease, the insertion of their names in the Bill was a job on their part, in order to get their offices made perpetual. He wished, therefore, it should be known fore the House would require some important alterations to make it successful; but he was so sensible of the importance of having the measure brought forward on the responsibility of the Government, and of having as little time as possible lost in bringing it under the consideration of Parliament, that he could not but feel gratified at the course which had been taken. He should be exceedingly sorry if the opposition which was now offered to the Bill, were to be persevered in, and if the House were not to proceed with it in Committee. He would not detain the House with any lengthened observations on the subject at present. He could assure his hon. Friend who had moved this Amendment, that if he would take the trouble to look into the evidence that had been taken before the Committee, he would find abundant proofs in it of the advantages which it was calculated to afford to the poor in the vicinity of these commons. He would find that labourers who now found a difficulty in getting employment even for a short time, near these unenclosed lands, would be afforded an opportunity of earning a considerable amount of wages in enclosing and bringing them into a state of cultivation; and there was also abundant evidence of improvement being thus effected in the condition of these poor people, and of constant employment being afforded to them in places where now, from the unwillingness of the farmers to employ them, they were living in the most wretched condition. He trusted hon. Gentlemen would, at least, take the trouble of looking into the Report of the Committee before they came to any conclusion hostile to the measure. They would find the evidence of many men, who were most competent to judge of the question, all in favour of such a measure; and that, as he had before stated, the Committee, with the exception of the noble Lord the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster alone, had come to a unanimous decision in favour of such a Bill being passed. He would not detain the House longer; but he could not avoid taking that opportunity of expressing his gratitude to his noble Friend opposite (the Earl of Lincoln), for the very complimentary terms in which he had spoken of him in his (Lord Worsley's) absence, in connection with the subject now before the House, and his gratification that a measure which had given him a great deal of trouble, and for the success of which he felt a lively interest, was likely to become the law of the land. But at the same time he should repeat that he sincerely hoped the Amendments which he suggested in the measure, would meet with the favourable consideration of the Government, as without them he believed there would be felt a want of confidence on the part of those who would be anxious to avail themselves of the provisions of the Act, and who | would be deterred by an apprehension of great expense from coming before Parliament. He would propose no Amendment with regard to the Commissoners, though he had a very strong opinion that the course proposed in the Bill was not the best one that could be taken. It was said that a Commission presided over by the chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests would form a very proper board to be entrusted with the management of this law; but it should be recollected by the House that the Commissioners of Woods and Forests were the parties who had the management of all property of which the Crown was lord of the manor, both in Wales and in many parts of England; and that by the present Bill they would establish a board of commissioners over them. When they got into Committee on the Bill, he would, he thought, be able to show that the Bill proposed giving too much power to the valuers. It gave them power of adjudicating on claims; and he believed the evidence would bear him out in saying that this would open up many very great difficulties, which would require to be dealt with by men of considerable experience, and not by mere land agents. It might be supposed by some that these commons or unenclosed lands were of small extent. Such was not the fact in many instances; and the Committee had one case in particular mentioned before them, in which there were no less than 19,000 acres of unenclosed land. The valuers would thus be given very considerable authority. There were also in many cases portions of these lands occupied by squatters, who would be bringing claims before these valuers, and thus more power would be given to that description of persons, than he thought ought to be entrusted to them. He hoped, therefore, that the noble Lord would consider well before he allowed such a measure to pass unaltered. If his Bill, and that now before the House, were compared together clause by clause, there would be very little difference found as far as the mere marginal notes were concerned; but when the clauses were read through, very material differences, it would be found, had been introduced in the working of the measure. He had to express a hope that the Bill would be allowed to proceed in Committee. He was afraid that a Bill with 161 clauses would not pass through Committee as quickly as the Government seemned to expect; but he, at the same objected to it while in the hands of the time, hoped that more hon. Members noble Lord, bis objection was still stronger would be found to take a greater interest when it was taken up by the Government. in having it proceeded with, than was the He objected to persons who would be case on former occasions; and that at removed with every change of Ministry, all events there would be no danger of being entrusted with the property of the the House being counted out during its community at large. He had no objecprogress. tion that the individual who was to be Mr. Hume was sorry 10 feel it to be placed at the head of the Crown lands his duty to oppose this Bill; but he was should have a seat in the Cabinet, and be bound to give his support 10 the Amend- subject to those changes; but it did apment on ihe same grounds on which he pear to him, that a public officer so cir. had resisted the measures of the noble cumstanced and filling such a post, ought Lord (Lord Worsley) in former years. not to be placed over two other commisThe noble Lord might recollect that he sioners in a board which would have the had invariably opposed his Motions on power of interfering with the property of this subject; and in adopting a similar the public. The noble Lord had stated, course on the present occasion, he felt very properly, that the evidence given bound to express his surprise at the man- before the Committee was favourable to ner in which so inportant an enactment such a measure as the present; but he was allowed to proceed, as if it were some should be glad to hear what trouble liad mere every-day occurrence, and not de- been taken by the Committee to get the serving of any particular attention from evidence of the poor man and the labourer the House. He considered that, gene- on the matter? What evidence had they rally speaking, all lands that were worth from the poor who used these commons ? enclosing had already been enclosed, and in the absence of any such evidence, he any which were not, ought 10 be inter- had therefore a right to say that it was fered with only by special application to a one-sided Report in favour of the landed the House and on its own merits. He proprietors, large and small as they might objected to the Bill because it was a be; and on that ground he opposed any landed proprietors’ Bill, be they large or measure founded upon it, as taking away small; and because it would take away the rights of the community at large. from poor men-from those who consti- Even the landed proprietors themselves tuted the great mass of the community- ought, he thought, to be cautious in passthe advantages which they now possessed ing such a measure. They ought to rein the enjoyment of air and exercise on collect that the effect of it would be to these commons. He was sorry to hear alter the character of the labouring popufrom a legal Friend near him, that com- lation, and to reduce them to the condimonages were all private property. In his tion of the poor inhabitants of the dirty opinion, and as he interpreted the law, streets and lanes of the towns. With the they comprised lands never granted to exception of some 50 or 100 square yards any individuals; but belonging to the of a bit of green in the midst of a village, Crown for the benefit of the public. He, they proposed to grasp at the whole of the therefore, regarded this Bill as one for commonages of the land. The House taking away the little public property ought, he thought, lo consider seriously which still remained available for the before they swept away at once the little health and enjoyment of the community, independent property that remained in the in order to divide it amongst the landed country. The right hon. Baronet (Sir proprietors. It wa's true that some per- Robert Peel), who was not then in his sons who possessed small spots of land place, admitted on a former occasion that would obtain a proportionate share of the it was a question whether the poor ought common to be enclosed; but still the not to be more indentified with the land; great advantage would clearly be derived and he would wish to put it to that right by the large proprietors; while the poor, hon. Gentleman, whether getting rid altowho now had the privilege of going gether of the connexion of the poor with through the lands, were to be entirely ihe soil, was not an evil which would affect excluded, as the whole would be enclosed. society at large? He had no interest He, therefore, considered the question as against this Bill. On the contrary, bis politically of importance; and if he had | individual interests would go ir favour of |