The Express.
London, England, 1851-11-21 00:00:00

COMMISSION ON THE FOREST OF
HAINAULT.

Yesterday, a royal commission met at 11 o'clock,
at the Kiog's Head, Chigwell, to commence an inquiry,
having reference to the disafforestiog of Hainault Forest.
The commistioncrs arc Mr. George Wingrove Cooke and
Mr. Nathan Wetherell. There was a large attendance of
narties interested. Mr. Gardner, solicitor, represented the
Treasury; Mr. !)ruse appeared for the manor of Chigwell ;
Mr. James Mills fur the manor of West Hatch ; and the seve-
ral parishes were each represented. Amongst the leading
landed proprietors were Mr. Hulse, representing his father,
Sir Charles Hulse' lord of the manor of Barking; Mr. It.
W. Halldare, lord of the manor of Theydon Bois; Mr. F.
Halldare; and Mr. J. S. Thompson. Mr. Morrison ap-
peered for 73 assignment holders, or parties possessing
alleged forest rights.

William Lavers was then called and examined. Ho said
he was keeper of Hainault Forest. Thera were 73 assign-
ments attached to the freehold property in the neigh-
bourhood. Every assignment gave a power of collecting
wood in the forest, to the extent of .500 short faggots, or 400
long ones, cut front pollards. The wood was cut on the sth
of November, and rem tined in the forest in stacks until the
owner removed it. The owner sustained the loss if any of
the wood were missing. The right to collect wood extended
to the widows of Barking and Dagenham ; also to the Earl
of Mornington, the warden of the forest, and to the vicar of
the parish. These were the only parties who had the right
of cutting wood ; except that the keepers had some wood
allowed them. Lady Mildmay had stated that some years
ago she had a right to collect wood, which was claimed by
her under the name of " living wood ;" but she had not
collected any since he had been in office. The estimated
' value of SOO short faggots, or 400 long ones, was 31. a year.
In some cases the wood was removed oil the ground by the
parties to whom it was assigned; in others by persons to
whom they had sold it.
Mr. Ilalldare—Do all the assignment holders sell their
wood?
--

Ntiness—No, not U.
Mr. lialldare—For what purpose do you consider it to bo
given to them ?
Witness—l don't know.

iie:ll:ll,ll:rTZLioiinteonsider, them entitled to sell it ?
Witncos—l have understood that they are not.
Mr. Wingrove Cooke—What are the other rights of the
forest? _ .

Witness—The turning out of cattle. They always
reckoned 40s. rent to one cow,and 41. to one horse, uteludiug
both land and cottages.
Mr. W. Cooke—lf there is land without a cottage, that
gives right to turn out cattle ?
W ant es—Yes. _

Mr. lialldare—Suppose a cottage to have no land attached
to it, does the right esist then?
Witness—Yes; it was done within my remembrance—
twenty or thirty years.
In reply to further questions, the witness said Hainault
Forest was divided into two parts, called East Hainault and
West Hainault. Ile was the keeper of West Hainault, and
his uncle, Thomas Lavers, of East Hainault. He wit con-
tinually in the Wrest.
Mr. W. Cooke—Do you know anything of the deer in
the forest? _ .

Witnen—Well, sir, there are very few. (Laughter.)
Mr. W. Cooke—Do you recollect how many there were
thirty years ago ?
Witur.s-1 should Pay there were then about 1,200.
Mr. W. Cooke—How many arc there now?
Witness—Five or six brace.

Mr. \V. Cooke—Well, how did they begin to fall off?
Witness—Seven or eight-and-twenty years ago we had a
very severe winter ; the snow lay on the ground 13 inches
deep ; one night it rained very much; the water afterwards
froae' and the deer used to drop down on the ice.
The witness went on to say that just before the Eastern
Counties Railway was commenced there were about four or
five hundred. The navigators came to the forest in gangs
of 30 or 40. The keepers made a complaint to the stewariai,
as the navigators would sometimes stick 15 or 16 deer on
their bucks. They (the keepers) with assistance, nearly
killed two men, and three were transported for life.
Mr. W. Cooke.—Are there any other causes to which you
attribute the gradual destruction of the deer?
Witness.—l have known pangs of 15 or 16 desperate men
N be out at onec,and when we have obtained assistance and
passed the bill to the stewards, the stewards would not allow
• halfpenny fur the assistance. About ten years ago there
were in the forest four or five hundred of cattle. From that
time to the present the number had decreased. Of late
there had not been 200. His walk was not quite half the
entire forest. Did not know what the decrease was owing
to. nom the Ist of' Juno to the 20th the cattle were driven
off; they were turned on again about the 21st of July.
Joseph Stone examined—Was a reeve of Barking. 40e.
a cow, and 41. a horse, had always been the custom in his
time, and in hi, father's before him. It was his duty to
mark the beastc in the forest. Every beast that he marked
belonged to a man who had a tenement rated at 40s. a year.
If a man had a cottage only and no land, or land ana no
cottage, still the beast was marked. Beasts were allowed
to be turned in for newly-built cottages. Kept an account
of the beasts turned in, and was paid 3d. a-head. By
reckoning the threepcuccs ho could tell the number of
beasts.
Mr. Halldare—May I ask him what he does with the
money ?
Witness—l put it in my pocket. (Laughter.)
Mr. Halldare—Suppose a man has no cow, what do yon
do then ?
Witness—Why, then we don't mark it. (Laughter.)
We book the others, but only mark those who have cattle.
Mr. Halldare—Who appointed you ?
Witness—The parish.
Mr. Halldare—You consider that you arc the parish
officer, and not the crown officer ?
Witness—l was sworn by the crown. I succeeded my
father. I was never appointed by anybody.
Mr. W. Cooke—You have no appointment at all, have
you ?
Witness—l was appointed by the parish. I marked
about 400 beasts last year. There are not so many as there
used to be.
Mr. W. Cooke—Why is that ?
Witness—People can't afford to buy cattle. (Laughter.)
Mr. W. Cooke—Did you go on acting, like your father,
without any authority at all ?
Witness—We never bad any authority ; but I have been
sworn in the Forty-day Court.
Mr. Hallderc—Sworn to do what ?
Witness—Not to interfere with the deer except to protect
them.
Joseph Howe examined—Was reeve of the parish of
Chigwell, having received his appointment from the parish
vestry. It was his duty to mark the cattle according be
the rental, 41. to a horse and 21. to a cow. The rental tun
ascertained from the rate books, which were conclude* am
the point. It did not matter whether the tenement wadi
or new. Had an account at home of the number of Haab
marked by himself during the last year. They had bens
accustomed to make their returns to the Earl of Menslie•
ton in the Forty Day Court. lied marked an %Tense of
four or five hundred cattle in the year. The driving day
was the 21st of June, and the turning on commenced on
the 22nd of July. Wu appointed reeve in 1846. He
had been sworn to be of good behaviour *win& bee
Majesty's wild beasts, and not to suffer any umenetedile
cattle to be turned out. In case cattle were )s* r lir
forest in the fence month they were pounded. At
however, they were at a loss to know what to do will Sem.
Formerly it was usual to take then to the Lord Illsodonee
pound at Wsnatead-park. ffewaffiluee any MI loss taken
to the manor pound. There INTO Mee pens& in
Chigwell. The cattle were taken to the one nearest.
The reeve got the pound fee, which was 4d. ,•
the former, who rented under the lord of the manor, paid
it. There was still a warden's pound in the parish, but the
land had been let for some years, and since that time could
not be used.
Bounding:examined—Was reeve of Woodford, having
been appointed by the parish in 1843. His duties as reeve
were to mark the cattle, to see that no cattle were impro-
perly turned upon the forest, and to protect the wild
beasts. Parties in Woodford were entitled to turn ea ass
horse or two cows for 41., or one cow for 40s. Naked
about 160 cattle in the year. The marking took place four
times a year. The cattle were not all fresh cattle, but
nearly all the same over again at each successive marking.
There were more turned out in May and July thus at any
ether period.
Some of the other witnesses were then recalled, and on

being spin questioned stated that the number of cattle
which they had given was the number marked during the
year ; but the same cattle, with little variation, were marked
each time.

Bounding recalled—Marked cattle for both Hainanit
and Epping. Woodford was differently situstedfrom other
Had frequently found Hainault cattle in Epping
rorrietr.knew theta to be llainaulters by the mark upon
I them, and supposed them to hare strayed. Hai: seen
cattle in Epping Forest with the Chigwell mark, and also
cattle with the Barking mark. Had only one mark for the
whole of Woodford.
j Howe recalled—The parish of Chigwell had rights both
' in Hainault and in Epping. The marks of which he bad
spoken applied to the two forests. About 400 were turned
upon Harnault, and 100 upon Epping.
William Enever examined—Was militant reeve at Da•
graham, and had held the office for 21 years. The forest
rights were like those in the other parishes. Marked
about 100 beasts each time. From 400 to 500 acres of land
had the right attached to them. There were about as
many horses as cows. There were 50 head of cattle to one
deer. (Laughter.) Sometimes cattle were pounded in the
manor pound of Barking.
The Commissioners asked if there was anyone present
who claimed any other right upon the common besides
those which had been mentioned.
Mr. Williams (the Earl of Mornington's solicitor), said he
claimed lopeings of wood for his lordship.
Mr. Gardner, solicitor, representing the Treasury, said,
if Lord Murnington made his claim as warden, the Tree.
eery must settle with him. There must be a distinction

mails botwecn his claims as a freeholder, mud hie claims as
lord warden. _ .

Mr. W. Cooke said that if Lord Mornington had' any
claim to make which affected the rights of the commiasionen
it ought to be stated
Mr. Williams said he did not represent hint with reference
to any such claim there.
Mr. W. Cooke supposed that there were rights attaching
to the formt which the commusiouers had nut heard of that
day. He would like to know whether any one pre.ent
meld suggest any other rights than those which had been
mentioned. _

A Gentleman remarked that there was a right of way
across the king's forest from Woodford to Rumford, and he
hoped that if the enclosuic took place a good road would be
set out.

Mr. Gardner observed that the commissioners had power
to provide for roads.
Mr. W. Cooke said that matter bad not yet been intro-
duced. He thought the crown should now be called upon
to state its rights.
Mr. Hulse would like to know from Lord Mornington's
Agent distinctly whether his lordship claimed as a freeholder
or as lord warden ? _ _

Mr. W. Cooke said the matter was one rather for the

Treasury.
Mr. Gardner thought the question was one entitled to
consideration. What Lord Mornington claimed as a free-
holder, ho could not also claim from the crown in his cha-
racter of lord warden.

Mr. Malicia° said certain parties had a right to get fern
and turf, but what wu the value of that right he could not
state. It had certainly been exercised.
Mr. Williams said he only represented Lord Mornington
u lord warden, and except in that light he could not give
any answer.
Mr. Gardner then informed the commissioners that Mr.
James, who represented the crown, was unable to appear
that day in consequence of its being seal day in the Court
of Chancery. Mr. James's view wu, however, that tke
question of boundaries should first be settled, and when the
commissioners had made their award as to boundaries, he
would be prepared to open the case for the crown. He
thought it would be imprudent on the part of the crown to
proceed until the boundaries were defined. Ile (Mr. Gard-
ner) would suggest that an adjournment should take place,
to give all parties an opportunity of dealing with the ques-
tion, and that a meeting should then be fixed for tho pur-
pose of hearing objections.
Mr. W. Cooke did not think there would be much dis-
pute about boundaries. but the commissioners had nu desire
to force on the inquiry. It was very important that the
commissioners should know precisely what it was that the

crown claimed.
Mr. Gardner said when the boundaries of the forest and
those of the King's road were settled, the claims of the
crown might he very easily and shortly stated, but that was
a necessary preliminary.
Mr. klurrison—Nlay I ask in what way the assignment
holders are to be compensated for their rights in the
forest ?

Mr. Oardner—That is a step in advance.
The inquiry was then adjourned until Monday next.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, Nov. 29.

A good deal of interest attached to the proceed-
ings of the Dublin Statistical Society, at their first
meeting for the session last evening, the Archbishop
of Dublin presiding ou the occasion, and the Lord
Lieutenant honouring the meeting with his pre-
sence. There was besides a large attendance of
other persons of rank and intellectual distinction.
Sir Robert Kane, President of the Queen's College,
Cork, and vice-president of the society, delivered an
opening address, in which he touched on many sub-
' jests of social and political interest.
A local journal says that the Hon. Shapland
Carew will offer himself to the electors of the county
of Wexford at the next election.

In the case of Birch against Sir William Somer-
ville, notice of trial was served for the 24th inst., at
the sittings of the Consolidated Nisi l'rius Court
before Judge Perrin ; but those acting for the defen-
dant objecting that it was not a case to be tried
within term, and intimating their intention of ap-
plying to have it heard at the usual after sittings
before the Chief Justice, the plair.tiff assented to the
case being heard after term. The defendant has ob-
tained an order for the striking of a special jury,
taking short notice of trial.
The Daily Express states that the deliberations of
the Mansion-house Packet Station committee have
at length been brought to a close, and that their re-
port, containing the decision arrived at, will be pub-
lished in a very few days.
A letter has been addressed by the Earl of Arun-
del to the lion. member for Dundalk, from which the
following are passages:

I oatamebkau, Tuesday, Nov. 11.
My dear M'Cullagh,-1. have seen in the litiliyousni an
extract from a letter addressed by you to your constituents;
I Infer from it that you are threatened with an opposition
at the next election. This I very much regret ; but still
more do 1 regret it if the grounds alluded to in your letter are
those upon which this opposition to stand. ••• I am also
fully sensible of the disadvantages under which I address
you, being ignorant of any circumstances except those con-
tained in au extract from your letter, and having no oppor-
tunity of making inquiry. But lam forced, from the tone
of your letter, to assume, or to guess at the motives which,
correctly or otherwise, you impute to the originators (who-
ever they may be) of the opposition to your future election.
Tken, I say, that you are not the man who ought, injustice,
and right to be sacrificed to expediency upon the present
occasion. When we commenced the battle of the past ses-
sion, and until its unsuccessful termination, I had con-
tinual opportunities of seeing your consistent and undevi-
ating anxiety to throw every obstacle in the way of the
government measure ; you were undoubtedly one of the
first protestants who came out strongly and sincerely in
opposition to it, and 1 know that you took every op-
portunity of making yourself acquainted with the legal
I points and controversies involved, and you did not
hesitate on every possible occasion to expose the
mis-
chievous tendencies of the bill. Therefore, you have
claims, I should conceive, upon the gratitude of your
catholic constituents, certainly upon catholics generally.
As to the vote upon Ceylon, 1 can only say that, circum-
stanced as you were, I should unquestionably have voted
as you did. You had been in a position which compelled
you to give a careful and attentive consideration to all
the details of the case, and upon that consideration you
had formed an opinion upon which you were necessarily bound
to act. • • • It is for your recent assistance that I feel we
owe you gratitude, and for the sacrifices you made on our
behalf—sacrifices probably of private friendship as of
ministerial favour. If your constituents should take a dif-
ferent view, I shall be very sorry, but I trust you will be-
lieve that I am sincere in thus taking the only means in my
power of expressing to you the sense I am sure others will
feel at the advantage to be derived from your support, and
their regret that you should incur trouble and disappoint-
ment notwithstanding your exertions in their behalf. I
do not suppose my opinion caa be of any service to you, but
you may make what use of it you please.

AND CLERICAL.

CAMBRIDGE, NOV. 20.—BELL SCROLARSIIIP.—The
vacancy in the above (University) scholarship, has been
filled up by the nomination (after an examination, in which
there were set oral candidates), by the nomination, on the
award of the examiners, of Mr. Johnson Hall Hedge, of
Trinity College.