The Sun.
London, England, 1827-05-25 00:00:00

ENCLOSURE BILLS.

(FROM A CORICESTONDENT OF THIS TIIIES.)

Sir,—As an illustration to your remarks en the sacri-
fices to which the peasantry and small proprietors of land
are subjected by Enclosure Bills. I beg to lay before the
public the followinc, facts :—ln the year 1822, at the in-
stance of the Lord of the Manor, and one or two other
large landed proprietors, a Bill was obtained for enclosing
the waste lands in a parish not 30 miles from London. A
commission was appointed by the Lord of the Manor, and
another on the part of the parish. The land-steward of
the Lord of the Manor was appointed (by himself) Clerk
to the Commissioners, and a friend of his, Surveyor.
Under their auspices the parish was surveyed. Pursuant
to a clause in the Act, upwards of 1,100 acres of the
waste lands were sold to pay the expences of the enclo-
sure. The sale of 1,000 acres was by private contract to
the Lord of the Manor and another Noble Lord, whose
estates adjoin the land so sold. The price obtained was
5/. and 6/. per acre. The mature of the soil varied—
strong clay, brick earth, and sandy. The remaining 100
acres, consisting of frontages to the lands of other propri-
etors, was sold by public auction, at from 25/. to 50/.
per acre. The money derived from these sales, amount-
ing to between 6,000/. and '7,000/., has been expended
in the salaries of Commissioners, Clerks, and Surveyors,
and in making new roads, and stopping up old ones.—
The result has been, that the heath and waste lands which
formerly afforded fuel, employment, and independence, to
the peasantry and small proprietors of land, are now trans-
formed into preserves for game and plants.tions; while the
peasantry and small proprietors of land have become pau-
pers--the former from being deprived, as you justly ob-
served, of "those little subsidiary comforts and indulgen-
cies arising from the various uses of waste lands," and tke
latter from having been compelled (in most instances) to
sell their little properties, which were no longer valuable
without those rights of common which had been sold to
increase the property and conveniencies of their richer
neighbours. The award is not yet made, being left open
to cover some exchanges convenient to the larger propri-
etors ; and to admit of roads, which intersected their
states, being stopped up. Your obedient servant,
R.

MEETING AT MANCHESTER TO PETI-
TION FOR REPRESENTATIVES.

On Wednesday last, pursuant to a requisition
signed by 135 gentlemen of the very first respecta-
bility, a meeting was held in the Town-hall, Man-
chester, for the purpose of considering the propriety
of petitioning the House of Commons for the pri-
vilege of returning two members to Parliament,
under such regulations as should afford adequate
security against the occurrence of tumult, expence,
and delay at the time of election. The Borough-
reeve was called to the chair by the general voice of
the r..eting.
The first resolution was proposed by Mr. H.
BIRLEY, the President of the Chamber of Com-
merce, who spoke at some length on the propriety
of transferring the elective right from corrupt Bo-
roughs, to the large manufacturing towns rather
than to the counties or surrounding hundreds, on
the ground that an increase ought to be made to the
manufacturing interest in the House, rather than to
the agricultural, which already preponderated too
much.

The resolution was seconded by Mr. G. W.
WOOD, the Vice-President of the Chamber of Com-
merce, who forcibly represented the advantages
which would accrue to the inhabitants from having
its commercial interests attended to in Parliament :
and stated several very important particulars, to show
how inadequately the commercial and manufacturing
interests of the country were represented. He also
ably showed the impropriety of transferring the
rights of boroughs to the adjacent hundreds, as an
innovation on that proper proportion which, in the
arrangement of the representative system, was endea-
voured to be established between the landed and
commercial interests. It was impossible, he said, to
look around on all the unrepresented manufacturing
towns, and not be convinced that they ought to be
represented, and that Manchester ought to be the
first to have the privilege.
The resolution was carried unanimously.
_ _ _ _

Mr. W. GARNETT, a Director of the Chamber of
Commerce, in moving the second resolution, ob-
served, that 'a town which was the centre of a ma-
nufacturing district, the exports from which formed
two-thirds of the whole exports of the kingdom,
ought certainly to be represented.
The motion was seconded by Mr. T.
and carried unanimously.
Some interruption was here occasioned by Mr.
Chesshyre, a zealous member of the Pitt Club; but
as it arose from a misconception, the business of the
meeting was proceeded with.
Mr. R. H. GREGG and Mr. SHAWPEAR PHILIPS
proposed and seconded the third resolution, which,
after some remarks from Mr. RICHARD POTTER, on
th►► ignorance of commercial questions which was
often observable in the House, was carried unan►-
mously.
The only point on which there was the slightest
difference of opinion manifested', was with regard to
the persons who should be named as a committee to
carry the resolutions into effect. The list proposed
included the names of the Boroughreeve and con-
stables, and about a dozen gentlemen of high re-
spectability, but who, witl► two exceptions, were
supposed to be of Tory politics. An amendment
was therefore proposed, that Mr. R. Potter, Mr.
Shuttleworth, Mr. E. Baxter, Mr. Prentice, and two
or three more, who are considered to possess more
popular opinions, should he added to the Committee.
Th►s amendment was carried by a majority of ten
to one.

The meeting was one of the most respectable in
point of station ever held in Manchester, and was
numerous also, when it is considered that the work-
ing people purposely stayed away, and left the
whole business in the hands of the requisitionists, in
order that it might not be fail that the meeting
consisted of those who had no chance of becoming
electors.

The following is a ropy of the petition which was
adopted :

TO THE HONOURABLE THE COMMONS OF THE UNITED

KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN ANI) IRELAND, IN FAIL•

LIAMENT ASSEMBLED,*
" The humble Petition of the Borougbreeve, Con-
stable, and Rate-payers of Manchester, agreed to in
public meeting, at the Thrn-hall, this 23d day of
May, 18.27,

" Showeth,—That your petitioners are informed that
an intention has been expressed, if an opportunity should
occur, of proposing to the Legislature to confer on the
town of Manchester the privilege of returning Members to
your Honourable House, and that doubts have been ex-
pressed whether your petitioners were desirous of having
such a privilege.

" That your petitioners, being anxious not to lose, by
their silence, any opportunity of obtaining so desirable a
P •
rivilege beg to represent to your Honourable House, that
from the great increase of the population, manufactures,
and general commerce of the said town and neighbourhood,
questions affecting its prosperity are continually occurring,
and that very great advantage would, in the opinion of
your petitioners, be experienced from the opportunity of
direct communication with Members representing the town,
and intimately acquainted with its interests.
" Yonr petitioners, therefore, earnestly and respectfully
pray, that whenever circumstances shall render it practi-
cable, your Honourable House, in conjunction with the
other branches of the Legislature, will be pleased to extend
to thn: town of Mar.:!oster and such other townships of
the parish as form, in fact, part of the town, the Tight of
returning Members to represent them in Parliament,
" Your petitioners, however, anxious that in their case,
and by their successors, the elective privilege should be
purely, independently, and . constitutionally exercised, do
further pray, that if it shall please your Honourable House
to accede to this their urgent request, such regulations may
he prescribed with respect to the mode of election as shall
effectually, and at all times, prevent the tumult, delay, and
expense by which elections for populous places are too
often attended.
" And your petitioners will ever pray."

BUONAPARTE A FRIEND TO LITERA-
TURE.—A celebrated living poet (Thomas
Campbell, it is said) being requested, at a lite-
rary dinner, to name a friend to literature, toasted
Buonaparte." On being asked how he ranked
him among her supporters, he replied, " he had
shot a bookseller.,,-The Ant,