第42章
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  Landforpasturealsooccursinprivatehandsandinseveralty,butsuchcasesaremuchrarer。3*Sometimesthepasturegetsseparatedandputunder’defence’foronepartoftheyear,andmergesintocommunalownershipafterwards。4*Butinthevastmajorityofcasesthepastureisusedincommon,andnoneofthetenantshasarighttofenceitinortoappropriateitforhisownexclusivebenefit。Itoughttobenoted,thattherighttosendone’scattletothepastureonthewaste,themoors,orinthewoodsofamanorappearsregularlyandintimatelyconnectedwiththerighttodepastureone’scattleontheopenfieldsofthevillage。5*Bothformonlydifferentmodesofusingcommunalsoil。Asinthecaseofarableandmeadowtheundividedusecannotbemaintainedandgetsreplacedbyasystemofequalisedsharesorholdings,sointhecaseofpasturethefacultyofsendingoutanynumberofbeastsretiresbeforetheequalisationofsharesaccordingtocertainmodesof’stinting’thecommon。Wefindasanimportantmanorialarrangementthecustomto’apportion’therightsofcommontothetenements,thatistodecideinthemanorialCourt,mostlyaccordingtoverdictsofjuries,howmanyheadofcattle,andofwhatparticularkind,maybesenttothediverspasture-groundsofthevillagebytheseveralholdings。Fromtimetotimetheseregulationsarerevised。OneoftheGlastonburySurveyscontains,forinstance,thefollowingdescriptionfromthe45thyearofHenryIII。Eachhidemaysendtothecommoneighteenoxen,sixteencows,onebull,theoffspringofthecowsoftwoyears,twohundredsheepwithfourrams,aswellastheiroffspringofoneyear,fourhorsesandtheiroffspringofoneyear,twentyswineandtheiroffspringofoneyear。6*Accordingtoacommonruletheonlycattleallowedtousethevillagepasturewasthatwhichwasconstantlykeptinthevillage,levantecouchantenlemaner。Inordertoguardagainstthefraudulentpracticeofbringingoverstrangecattleandthusmakingmoneyattheexpenseofthetownship,itwasrequiredsometimesthatthecommonablecattleshouldhavewinteredinthemanor。7*

  Theselastrulesseematfirstsightdifficultofexplanation:onedoesnotseeinwhatwaythebringinginofstrangecattlecoulddamagethepeasantryofthevillage,asnobodycoulddrivemorethanacertainnumberofbeaststothecommon,andastheoverburdeningofitdependedentirelyontheexcessofthisnumber,andnotontheoriginofthebeasts。Andsoonehastolooktosomethingelsebesidestheapprehensionthatthecommonwouldgetoverburdened,inordertofindasuitableexplanationoftherule。Anexplanationisreadilysuppliedbythenotionthattheuseofthecommonwascloselyconnectedwiththeholding。Strangecattlehadnothingtodowiththeholding,andweretobekeptofffromthelandofthecommunity。itisasrepresentativesofacommunitywhoseterritoryhasbeeninvadedthattheindividualcommonershavecausetocomplain。Infact,thecommonpasture,aswellasthemeadows,werethoughtofmerelyasaportionoftheholding。Thearrangementsdidnotadmitofthesamecertaintyorratherofthesamekindofdeterminationasthedivisionofthearable,butthemainideawhichregulatedthelatterwasbynomeanscutshortinitsoperation,ifonemaysayso:itwasnotboundupwiththeexactmeasurementofarableacres。Theholdingwasthenecessaryagriculturaloutfitofapeasantfamily,andofthisoutfitthemeansoffeedingthecattlewerequiteasimportantapartasthemeansofraisingcrops。Itisonlyinaccuratelythatwehavebeenspeakingofavirgateof30acres,andofaploughlandof180or160。Thetrueexpressionwouldbetospeakofavirgateof30

  acresofarableandthecorrespondingrightstopastureandothercommonuses。Andtherecords,whentheywanttogivesomethinglikeafulldescription,donotomittomentionthe’pertinencia,’thenecessaryadjunctsofthearable。Thetermisratheravagueone,quiteinkeepingwiththerightswhich,thoughtangibleenough,cannotbecuttosocertainapatternasinthecaseofarable。8*Andforthisreasonthelaxerrighthadtoconformtothestricterone,andcametobeconsideredasappendanttoit。

  Wehaveconsideredtillnowthedifferentaspectsassumedbycommonofpasture,whenitariseswithinthemanor,andasaconsequenceofthearrangementofitsholdings。Butthisisnottheonlywayinwhichcommonofpasturemayarise。Itmayoriginateinanexpressandspecialgrantbythelordeithertoatenantortoastranger。9*itmayalsoproceedfromcontinuoususefromtimebeyondlegalmemory。10*itmusthavebeendifficultinmanycasestopreventstrangersfromestablishingsuchaclaimbyreasonoflongoccupationinsomepartofawidelystretchingmoororwoodpasture。11*Itwasnotlessdifficultinsuchcasestodrawexactboundariesbetweenadjoiningcommunities,andwefindthatlargetractsofcountryareusedasacommonpasture-groundbytwovillages,andevenbymore。12*Neighboursdeemitoftenadvantageoustoestablishacertainreciprocityinthisrespect。13*Byspecialagreementorbytacitallowancelordsandtenantsintercommononeachother’slands:thispracticeextendsmostlytothewasteonly,butinsomecasesthearableandmeadowareincludedaftertheremovalofthecropandofthehay。Theprocedureofthewrit’quojure’

  waspartlydirectedtoregulatetheserightsandtopreventpeoplefromencroachingwantonlyupontheirneighbours。14*Whenlandheldinonefeeoronemanorwasbrokenupforsomereasonintosmallerunits,therightsofpasturewerecommonlykeptupaccordingtotheoldarrangements。15*

  Thesedifferentmodesoftreatingthepasturepresentratheranincongruousmedley,andmaybeclassifiedinseveralwaysanddeducedfromdiverssources。

  Thechiefdistinctionsofmodernlawarewellknown:’CommonAppendantistherightwhicheveryfreeholdtenantofthemanorpossesses,todepasturehiscommonablecattle,levantandcouchantonhisfreeholdtenementancientlyarable,onthewastesofthemanor,andoriginallyonallcommonpastureinthemanor。Commonappurtenantontheotherhandisagainstcommonright,becomingappurtenanttolandeitherbylonguserorbygrantexpressorimplied。Thusitcoversarighttocommonwithanimalsthatarenotcommonable,suchaspigs,donkeys,goats,andgeese;orarighttocommonclaimedforlandnotancientlyarable,suchaspasture,orlandreclaimedfromthewastewithinthetimeoflegalmemory,orforlandthatisnotfreehold,butcopyhold。’16*Commoningrossisapersonalrighttocommonpastureinoppositiontothepraedialrights。MrScruttonhasshownfromtheYearBooksthatthesetermsanddistinctionsemergegraduallyduringthefourteenthcentury,andappearsubstantiallysettledonlyinLittleton’streatise。Bractonandhisfollowers,FletaandBritton,donotknowthem。Theseareimportantfacts,buttheyhardlywarranttheinferenceswhichhavebeendrawnfromthem。Thesubjecthasbeenindisputeinconnexionwithdiscussionsastothefreevillagecommunity。

  JoshuaWilliams,inhisRightsofCommon,17*hadassumedcommonappendanttooriginateinancientcustomaryrightbestowedbythevillagecommunityandnotbythelord’sgrant;Scruttonarguesthatsucharightisnotrecognisedbythedocuments。Helaysstressonthefact,thatBractonspeaksonlyoftwomodesofacquiringcommon,namely,expressgrantbythelord,andlongusageunderstoodasconstantsufferanceonthepartofthelordamountingtoanexpressgrant。ButthisisonlyanotherwayofsayingthatBracton’sexpositionisbasedonfeudalnotions,thathislandlawisconstructedontheprinciple’nulleterresansseigneur,’andthateverytenement,aswellaseveryrighttocommon,isconsideredintheoryasgrantedbythelordofthemanor。ItmaybeadmittedthatBractondoesnotrecognisejustthatkindoftitlewhichlaterlawyersknewasappendancy,doesnotrecognisethatamancanclaimcommonbyshowingmerelythatheisafreeholderofthemanor。Unlesshereliesonlongcontinueduser,hemustrelyupongrantorfeoffment。Butthedistinctionbetweensaying’IclaimcommonbecauseIamafreeholderofthemanor’andsaying’IclaimcommonbecauseIormyancestorshavebeenenfeoffedofafreeholdtenementofthemanorandtherightofcommonpassedbythefeoffment,’thoughitmaybeofjuristicinterestandevenofsomepracticalimportanceasregulatingtheburdenofproofandgivingrisetocanonsfortheinterpretationofdeeds,isstillasuperficialdistinctionwhichdoesnotpenetratedeeplyintothesubstanceofthelaw。OnthewholewefindthatthefreeholderofBracton’stimeandofearliertimesdoesnormallyenjoytheserightswhichinaftertimeweredescribedas’appendant’tohisfreehold;anditiswellworthwhiletoaskwhetherbehindthegeneralassumptionsoffeudaltheorytheredonotliecertaindatawhich,ontheonehand,prepareandexplainlaterterminology,andareconnected,ontheother,withthehistoricalantecedentsofthefeudalsystem。

  Alittlereflectionwillshowthatthedivisionsoflaterlawdidnotspringintobeingmerelyasresultsoflegalreasoningandcasuistry。indeed,fromalawyer’spointofview,nothingcanbemoreimperfectthanaclassificationwhichstartsfromthreeorfourprinciplesofdivisionseeminglynotconnectedwitheachother。Commonappendantbelongstoaplaceancientlyarable,commonappurtenantmaybelongtolandofanykind;thefirstisdesignedforcertainbeasts,thesecondforcertainothers;oneisboundupwithfreehold,theothermaygowithcopyhold;inonecasetherightproceedsfromcommonlaw,intheotherfrom’specialty。’Onemayreasonablyaskwhyapersonsendingacowtotheopenfieldsortothewastefromafreeholdtenementcanclaimcommonappendant,andhisneighboursendingacowtothesamefieldsfromacopyholdhasonlycommonappurtenant。Oragain,whydoesaplotofarablereclaimedfromthewasteconfercommonappurtenant,andancientarablecommonappendant?Oragain,whyarethegoatsortheswineofatenementsenttopasturebyvirtueofcommonappurtenant,andthecowsandhorsesbyvirtueofcommonappendant?And,aboveall,whathavetheseveralrestrictionsanddefinitionstodowitheachother?Suchaseriesofcontrastedattributesdefiesanyattempttosimplifytherulesofthecaseaccordingtoanyclearlydefinedprinciple:

  itseemsastrangegrowthinwhichoriginalandlaterelements,importantandsecondaryfeatures,arecapriciouslybroughttogether。

  Inordertoexplainthesephenomenawehavetolooktoearlierandnottolaterlaw。Whatseemsarbitraryanddiscordantinmoderntimes,appearsclearandconsistentintheoriginalstructureofthemanor。

  Theolderdivisionsmaynotbesodefinitelydrawnandsodevelopedasthelater,buttheyhavetheadvantageofbeingbasedonfundamentaldifferencesoffact。Evenwhenthenamesandtermsdonotappearwellsettled,thesubject-matterarrangesitselfaccordingtosomenaturalcontrasts,anditisperhapsbytooexclusivestudyofnamesandtermsthatMr。Scruttonhasbeenpreventedfromdulyappreciatingthedifferenceinsubstance。Hesaysoftheendofthethirteenthcentury:’Inthereportsaboutthistimeitseemsgenerallytobe。assumedthatifthecommonercannotshowanespecialteorspecialgrantortitle,hemustshow“fraunctenementenlavilleaquescommuneestappendant。”Thuswehavethequestion:——“Comentclamezvouscommune?Comappendant,ouparespecialte,’whileHengham,J。says:

  ’prescriptiondeterreestassezbonespecialte“’p。50。Thisisreallytheessenceofalltherulesregardingcommonofpasture,and,whatismore,thecontrastfollowsdirectlyfromarrangementswhichdidnotcomeintouseinthefourteenthcentury,butwereinfullworkatthetimeofBractonandlongbeforeit。Whatiscalledinlaterlawcommonappendant,appearsasthenormaladjuncttotheholding,thatis,toashareinthesystemofvillagehusbandry。Ifabovateisgrantedtoaperson,somuchoftherightsofpastureasbelongstoeverybovateinthevillageispresumedtobegrantedwiththearable。’Somuchasbelongstoeverybovateinthevillage;’thismeans,thatthecommondependsinthiscaseonageneralarrangementofthepastureinthevillage。Suchanarrangementexistsineveryplace;itisregulatedbycustomandbythedecisionsofthemanorialcourtorhalimote,itextendsequallyoverthefreeandovertheunfreeland,overthewaste,themoorandwood,andoverthefallow。Itadmitsacertainnumberandcertainkindsofbeasts,andexcludesothers。Onlybecausesuchageneralarrangementissupposedtoexist,istherighttocommontreatedinsovagueamanner;thedocumentspresent,intruth,onlyareferencetorelationswhicharesubstantiatedinthehusbandrysystemofthemanor。Buttherightofcommonmayexceedtheselinesinmanyways:itmaybejoinedtoatenementwhichliesoutsidethemanorialsystem,oraplotfreshlyreclaimedfromthewaste,ortoaholdingbelongingtosomeothermanor。Itmayadmitagreaternumberandotherkindsofbeaststhanthosewhichwereheldcommonableintheusualcourseofmanorialhusbandry。

  Insuchcasestherighttopasturehadtoproceedfromsomespecialagreementorgrant,and,ofcourse,hadtobebasedonsomethingdifferentfromtheordinaryreferencetotheexistingsystemofcommonhusbandry。Iftherewasnodeedtogoby,sucharightcouldonlybeestablishedbylonguse。

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