Land, Houses and a Compromised System

In 1801,1836 and 1854, the General Enclosure Acts were passed. The General Enclosure Act of 1845 superseded the Parliamentary committee which exmained Enclosure Bills by Enclosure Commissioners,who instead of sitting at Westminister, moved tothe scene. The Enclosure Commissioner presented their findings to Parliament inthe form of GeneralBill forpassage into law. The Suqire expanded his holdings and expanded tothe land of ejected tenants, in addition to common land and waste,while the larger freeholders held on to their claims and increased their holdings. But this,washowever, not the case for smaller freeholders. An Enclosure Bill was not enough to drive a freeholder off the landbecause he had legal claims to his holding.

Aspects of the Enclosure which negatively affected the freeholder include : He had to pay his share of the expenses of enclosure,which was an expensive process,varying from about 200 Pounds to nearly 500 Pounds.If unable to pay,then he had to sell off the plot of land awarded to him. If he survived,he had to pay forthe hedges and fences which every owner was compelled to make round the new fields. If he couldnot do this, the land would be sold or mortgaged. A number of the freeholdersbecame tenant farmers,renting lands instead of farming their own. Most were compelledby economic difficulties to do this, a few thought it profitabletosell their small holding and rent a large acerage,where rationalized methods couldbe practised more economically.Others who sold out, abandoned the countryside and chanelled the proceeds of the sale into industrial ventures. The remaining left, optedfor none of the above alternativesand were compelled to work as laborers onthe lands they hadonce owned or as ''lands''in one of the new factories. The foregoing in addition tothe infringement ofthe rights of cottagers and squatters based on customs and the cutting short of the sources of livelihood of peopel who depended onthe open-field village resulted in resistance and violence. The ruling clas rode roughshod of the peasants. Laws at this period, favored the ruling class,while the living conditions ofthe farm laborers deteriorated rapidly. Several died out of starvation and the draconian laws of this period.Game laws favored the ruling class and poaching was an offense with very inhuman punishment, even though the unemployed, agricultural laborers, miners and ribbon weavers depended on poaching for survival. Between 1799 and 1800, influenced by the Enclosure Act and industrialization, destitution had become a challenge of dangerous dimension. Indeed, the Poor Law, the Law of Settlement, the Game Laws and the Enclosure Laws, all contributed greatly to the impoverishment of the people who constituted the majoriity. Public attentiobn was attracted to the predicament of the poor by humanity and public interest. InNigeria, today, land and proeprty owners have beenand are stiilbeen dispossessed of their land and housesby Those-in-Chagre,their agents, proxiesand fronts,with the desperate collaboration of a heavily compromised legaland law enforcement system.