第60章

Wehaveseenhowtheforcibleusurpationofthis，generallyaccompaniedbytheturningofarableintopastureland，beginsattheendofthe15thandextendsintothe16thcentury。But，atthattime，theprocesswascarriedonbymeansofindividualactsofviolenceagainstwhichlegislation，forahundredandfiftyyears，foughtinvain。Theadvancemadebythe18thcenturyshowsitselfinthis，thatthelawitsep;becomesnowtheinstrumentofthetheftofthepeople’sland，althoughthelargefarmersmakeuseoftheirlittleindependentmethodsaswell。[15]TheparliamentaryformoftherobberyisthatofActsforenclosuresofCommons，inotherwords，decreesbywhichthelandlordsgrantthemselvesthepeople’slandasprivateproperty，decreesofexpropriationofthepeople。SirF。M。Edenrefuteshisowncraftyspecialpleading，inwhichhetriestorepresentcommunalpropertyastheprivatepropertyofthegreatlandlordswhohavetakentheplaceofthefeudallords，whenhe，himself，demandsa"generalActofParliamentfortheenclosureofCommons"

（admittingtherebythataparliamentarycoupd’étatisnecessaryforitstransformationintoprivateproperty），andmoreovercallsonthelegislaturefortheindemnificationfortheexpropriatedpoor。[16]

Whilsttheplaceoftheindependentyeomanwastakenbytenantsatwill，smallfarmersonyearlyleases，aservilerabbledependentonthepleasureofthelandlords，thesystematicrobberyoftheCommunallandshelpedespecially，nexttothetheftoftheStatedomains，toswellthoselargefarms，thatwerecalledinthe18thcenturycapitalfarms[17]ormerchantfarms，[18]andto"setfree"theagriculturalpopulationasproletariansformanufacturingindustry。

The18thcentury，however，didnotyetrecogniseasfullyasthe19th，theidentitybetweennationalwealthandthepovertyofthepeople。Hencethemostvigorouspolemic，intheeconomicliteratureofthattime，onthe"enclosureofcommons。"Fromthemassofmaterialsthatliebeforeme，Igiveafewextractsthatwillthrowastronglightonthecircumstancesofthetime。"InseveralparishesofHertfordshire，"writesoneindignantperson，"24farms，numberingontheaverage50—150acres，havebeenmeltedupintothreefarms。"[19]"InNorthamptonshireandLeicestershiretheenclosureofcommonlandshastakenplaceonaverylargescale，andmostofthenewlordships，resultingfromtheenclosure，havebeenturnedintopasturage，inconsequenceofwhichmanylordshipshavenotnow50acresploughedyearly，inwhich1，500wereploughedformerly。Theruinsofformerdwelling—houses，barns，stables，&c。，"arethesoletracesoftheformerinhabitants。"Anhundredhousesandfamilieshaveinsomeopen—fieldvillagesdwindledtoeightorten……

Thelandholdersinmostparishesthathavebeenenclosedonly15or20

years，areveryfewincomparisonofthenumberswhooccupiedthemintheiropen—fieldstate。Itisnouncommonthingfor4or5wealthygrazierstoengrossalargeenclosedlordshipwhichwasbeforeinthehandsof20or30farmers，andasmanysmallertenantsandproprietors。Alltheseareherebythrownoutoftheirlivingswiththeirfamiliesandmanyotherfamilieswhowerechieflyemployedandsupportedbythem。"[20]Itwasnotonlythelandthatlaywaste，butoftenlandcultivatedeitherincommonorheldunderadefiniterentpaidtothecommunity，thatwasannexedbytheneighbouringlandlordsunderpretextofenclosure。"Ihavehereinviewenclosuresofopenfieldsandlandsalreadyimproved。Itisacknowledgedbyeventhewritersindefenceofenclosuresthatthesediminishedvillagesincreasethemonopoliesoffarms，raisethepricesofprovisions，andproducedepopulation……andeventheenclosureofwastelands（asnowcarriedon）bearshardonthepoor，bydeprivingthemofapartoftheirsubsistence，andonlygoestowardsincreasingfarmsalreadytoolarge。"[21]"When，"saysDr。Price，"thislandgetsintothehandsofafewgreatfarmers，theconsequencemustbethatthelittlefarmers"（earlierdesignatedbyhim"amultitudeoflittleproprietorsandtenants，whomaintainthemselvesandfamiliesbytheproduceofthegroundtheyoccupybysheepkeptonacommon，bypoultry，hogs，&c。，andwhothereforehavelittleoccasiontopurchaseanyofthemeansofsubsistence"）"willbeconvertedintoabodyofmenwhoearntheirsubsistencebyworkingforothers，andwhowillbeunderanecessityofgoingtomarketforalltheywant……Therewill，perhaps，bemorelabour，becausetherewillbemorecompulsiontoit……

Townsandmanufactureswillincrease，becausemorewillbedriventotheminquestofplacesandemployment。Thisisthewayinwhichtheengrossingoffarmsnaturallyoperates。Andthisisthewayinwhich，formanyyears，ithasbeenactuallyoperatinginthiskingdom。"[22]Hesumsuptheeffectoftheenclosuresthus:"Uponthewhole，thecircumstancesofthelowerranksofmenarealteredinalmosteveryrespectfortheworse。Fromlittleoccupiersofland，theyarereducedtothestateofday—labourersandhirelings;and，atthesametime，theirsubsistenceinthatstatehasbecomemoredifficult。"[23]Infact，usurpationofthecommonlandsandtherevolutioninagricultureaccompanyingthis，toldsoacutelyontheagriculturallabourersthat，evenaccordingtoEden，between1765and1780，theirwagesbegantofallbelowtheminimum，andtobesupplementedbyofficialpoor—lawrelief。

Theirwages，hesays，"werenotmorethanenoughfortheabsolutenecessariesoflife。"

LetushearforamomentadefenderofenclosuresandanopponentofDr。Price。"Notisitaconsequencethattheremustbedepopulation，becausemenarenotseenwastingtheirlabourintheopenfield……If，byconvertingthelittlefarmersintoabodyofmenwhomustworkforothers，morelabourisproduced，itisanadvantagewhichthenation"（towhich，ofcourse，the"converted"onesdonotbelong）"shouldwishfor……theproducebeinggreaterwhentheirjointlaboursareemployedononefarm，therewillbeasurplusformanufactures，andbythismeansmanufactures，oneoftheminesofthenation，willincrease，inproportiontothequantityofcornproduced。"[24]

Thestoicalpeaceofmindwithwhichthepoliticaleconomistregardsthemostshamelessviolationofthe"sacredrightsofproperty"andthegrossestactsofviolencetopersons，assoonastheyarenecessarytolaythefoundationsofthecapitalisticmodeofproduction，isshownbySirF。M。Eden，philanthropistandtorytoboot。Thewholeseriesofthefts，outrages，andpopularmisery，thataccompaniedtheforcibleexpropriationofthepeople，fromthelastthirdofthe15thtotheendofthe18thcentury，leadhimmerelytothecomfortableconclusion:"Thedueproportionbetweenarablelandandpasturehadtobeestablished。Duringthewholeofthe14thandthegreaterpartofthe15thcentury，therewasoneacreofpastureto2，3，andeven4ofarableland。Aboutthemiddleofthe16thcenturytheproportionwaschangedof2acresofpastureto2，lateron，of2acresofpasturetooneofarable，untilatlastthejustproportionof3acresofpasturetooneofarablelandwasattained。"

Inthe19thcentury，theverymemoryoftheconnexionbetweentheagriculturallabourerandthecommunalpropertyhad，ofcourse，vanished。Tosaynothingofmorerecenttimes，havetheagriculturalpopulationreceivedafarthingofcompensationforthe3，511，770acresofcommonlandwhichbetween1801

and1831werestolenfromthemandbyparliamentarydevicespresentedtothelandlordsbythelandlords？

Thelastprocessofwholesaleexpropriationoftheagriculturalpopulationfromthesoilis，finally，theso—calledclearingofestates，i。e。，thesweepingmenoffthem。AlltheEnglishmethodshithertoconsideredculminatedin"clearing。"Aswesawinthepictureofmodernconditionsgiveninaformerchapter，wheretherearenomoreindependentpeasantstogetridof，the"clearing"ofcottagesbegins;sothattheagriculturallabourersdonotfindonthesoilcultivatedbythemeventhespotnecessaryfortheirownhousing。Butwhat"clearingofestates"reallyandproperlysignifies，welearnonlyinthepromisedlandofmodernromance，theHighlandsofScotland。Theretheprocessisdistinguishedbyitssystematiccharacter，bythemagnitudeofthescaleonwhichitiscarriedoutatoneblow（inIrelandlandlordshavegonetothelengthofsweepingawayseveralvillagesatonce;inScotlandareasaslargeasGermanprincipalitiesaredealtwith），finallybythepeculiarformofproperty，underwhichtheembezzledlandswereheld。

TheHighlandCeltswereorganisedinclans，eachofwhichwastheownerofthelandonwhichitwassettled。Therepresentativeoftheclan，itschiefor"greatman，"wasonlythetitularownerofthisproperty，justastheQueenofEnglandisthetitularownerofallthenationalsoil。

WhentheEnglishgovernmentsucceededinsuppressingtheintestinewarsofthese"greatmen，"andtheirconstantincursionsintotheLowlandplains，thechiefsoftheclansbynomeansgaveuptheirtime—honoredtradeasrobbers;theyonlychangeditsform。Ontheirownauthoritytheytransformedtheirnominalrightintoarightofprivateproperty，andasthisbroughtthemintocollisionwiththeirclansmen，resolvedtodrivethemoutbyopenforce。"AkingofEnglandmightaswellclaimtodrivehissubjectsintothesea，"saysProfessorNewman。[25]Thisrevolution，whichbeganinScotlandafterthelastrisingofthefollowersofthePretender，canbefollowedthroughitsfirstphasesinthewritingsofSirJamesSteuart[26]andJamesAnderson。[27]Inthe18thcenturythehunted—outGaelswereforbiddentoemigratefromthecountry，withaviewtodrivingthembyforcetoGlasgowandothermanufacturingtowns。[28]Asanexampleofthemethod[29]obtaininginthe19thcentury，the"clearing"madebytheDuchessofSutherlandwillsufficehere。Thisperson，wellinstructedineconomy，resolved，onenteringuponhergovernment，toeffectaradicalcure，andtoturnthewholecountry，whosepopulationhadalreadybeen，byearlierprocessesofthelikekind，reducedto15，000，intoasheep—walk。

From1814to1820these15，000inhabitants，about3，000families，weresystematicallyhuntedandrootedout。Alltheirvillagesweredestroyedandburnt，alltheirfieldsturnedintopasturage。Britishsoldiersenforcedthiseviction，andcametoblowswiththeinhabitants。Oneoldwomanwasburnttodeathintheflamesofthehut，whichsherefusedtoleave。Thusthisfineladyappropriated794，000acresoflandthathadfromtimeimmemorialbelongedtotheclan。Sheassignedtotheexpelledinhabitantsabout6，000acresonthesea—shore？2acresperfamily。Th