Walton Street Compton-Dunden To Sir J. Strangway, and Baronet "Memorandum. That these allotments are rated proportionably, after the rate of two hundred and eighty-two acres of the moor (by the perch of fifteen feet) to every hundred acres of the severals. "In the reign of King William, a similar attempt was made. An act was obtained for draining it, but by some means or other its operation was entirely frustrated. This projected and useful improvement lay dormant till the year 1775, when it was revived by Mr. Allen, then member of parliament for Bridgewater. Sanguine of success, and highly impressed with the idea of its importance, he purchased a large number of rights, and having obtained a signature of consents, went to parliament; but not having interest enough in the house to stem the torrent of opposition, all his delusive prospects of profit vanished, and he found himself left in a small but respectable minority. Though Mr. Allen met with so warm an opposition, yet there were not wanting many lords of manors interested, who expressed their decided approbation of the measure, in a general point of view, but objected to the mode by which it was conducted, and to the men who were the ostensible movers in the business. "After this defeat, nothing was done till the year 1788, when a meeting was held at Wells to take into consideration the propriety of draining the said moor, and dividing it into parochial allotments. At this meeting Sir Philip Hales presided; and after much abuse and opposition from the lower order of commoners, who openly threatened destruction to those who supported such a measure, the * Dugdale. meeting meeting was dissolved without coming to any final deter mination. "The leading idea was, however, afterwards pursued, with great assiduity, by Sir Philip, and his agent Mr. Symes of Stowey; and by their persevering industry, and good management, matters were brought into such a train, that application was made to parliament in the session of 1790, for leave to bring in a bill for draining and dividing the said moor into parochial allotments, among thirty parishes and hamlets therein stated; and also among such other parishes as may prove a right to feeding the same. In the spring of 1791, this bill passed into a law; and the commissioners, acting under the powers thereof, held their first meeting at Bridgewater in June 1791." IMPROVEMENT of King's Sedgemore.-P. 192. "I have been thus particular in stating the progress of this business, merely to shew the impropriety of calling publick meetings, with a view of gaining signatures of consent, or taking the sense of the proprietors in that way. At all publick meetings of this nature, which I ever attended, noise and clamour have silenced sound sense and argument. A party generally attends with a professed design to oppose, and truth and propriety have a host of foes to combat. "Whoever, therefore, has an object of this kind in view, let him acquire consent by private application; for I have frequently seen the good effects thereof manifested, by the irresistible influence of truth, when coolly and quietly administered; and it has frequently happened, that men, hostile to your scheme, have, by dispassionate argument, not only changed their sentiment, but become warm parti. zans in that cause which at first they meant to oppose. "This never could have been done at a publick meeting; for after men have once joined the opposition, their pride will not permit them to retreat. "How far the commissioners appointed under this act bave discharged their trust, time will shew; but the general opinion of their conduct seems to be flattering; and those who at first supposed that the act carried with it the seeds of its own dissolution, are brought to confess, that the present appearances are highly promising. "It cannot but be supposed, that in the investigation of four thousand and sixty-three claims, (of which only one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight are allowed) and in making compensation for a large portion of land, necessarily cut through in making the great drain, many causes of offence must be given; but, I trust, neither partiality, negligence, nor corruption, can be imputed to them; and if they have erred, it has been an error of the head, and not of the heart. "Previous to the present drainage, this moor emptied itself into the river Parrett, some miles above Bridgewater, and the fall from the moor was very trifling. Hence it followed, that the least flood covered it with water, and in that state it frequently remained many months. It was at first suggested, by many people whose abilities the county held in high estimation, that nothing more was necessary for the purpose of draining the moor, than the opening and widening these old outlets; but it occurred to the commissioners, that such a partial and ineffectual mode of procedure could not produce a radical cure. They therefore set themselves about to discover a convenient place of discharge lower down in the river, by which a greater and more rapid descent might be gained. "An old sluice, called Dunbald Clize, presented itself as the desired spot; and on levels being taken by Mr. White," an eminent surveyor, it appeared that an extraordinary fall of nearly ten feet could be acquired; and that the descent from the upper part of the moor to this outlet, (a distance of about twelve miles) was nineteen feet, or about one foot and a half in a mile. The only objection which could be brought to the measure, arose from a consideration of the great expences which must be incurred by cutting through two miles and a half of elevated land. "No alternative, however, presented itself. It appeared that this plan must be adopted, or the work would be incomplete. Justified therefore by the concurrent opinion of Mr. White, and of Mr. Jessop, (whose advice was taken) they proceeded boldly; and having erected at a great expence, and under numerous difficulties, (arising from the morassy nature of the ground on which it was built) a strong substantial sluice, they proceeded to make a channel or cut fifteen feet deep, ten feet wide at the bottom, and fifty-five feet wide at the top. "It is impossible to describe the ridicule which this under taking excited. Some thought the commissioners mad; others, and by far the majority, ascribed the boldness of the plan to the liberality of the proprietors, in allowing the commissioners three guineas per day for attendance and management, and drew this sage conclusion, that the work would never be finished, but would be protracted till the expences would equal the value of the moor. "Uninfluenced by letters, or by menaces, the commis sioners persevered; and they have the satisfaction of seeing the principal difficulties overcome; and of hearing those very men, who were most violent against the measure, acknowledge Qq 3 knowledge their error, and candidly confess that the work is well executed, and promises to be effectual. "It may be necessary, by way of instruction to others engaged in schemes of the like nature, to state, that had the drain been made less wide at the top (and the opponents insisted that it should have been only twenty-six feet wide) it would have collapsed, or fallen together; as it was, there were numerous and alarming slides, the repairing of which cost a considerable sum, and there can be no doubt, but something of this kind will happen for years to come; for the substratum, at the depth of sixteen feet, is so soft and morassy, that it gives way to the superincumbent clay, and rises up in the middle of the drain. "This cut from the Dunbald sluice to the moor (a distance of about two miles and a half) cost four-pence per cubic yard, or in the whole about three thousand two hundred pounds; and the parochial drains, which were twelve feet wide at the top, four feet wide at the bottom, and six feet deep, cost on an average two shillings and sevenpence per rope (twenty progressive feet.) Expensive as this undertaking inevitably must be, yet the benefit resulting from it will most amply repay; for without saying any thing of the injury done to the health of the inhabitants in the circumadjacent country, and which this drain, by rendering the air more salubrious, will totally remove; we may fairly state, that the probable improved value cannot be estimated at less than four hundred and fifty thousand pounds. "The total amount of the expenditure is now ascertained; and it may give some satisfaction, if I inform my readers the sum total thereof. The following statement of the account Dr. and Cr. will approach pretty near the truth; but let it be understood, that this calculation is made under the idea of parochial subdivisions, without which little benefit will result either to the publick or individuals. The principles which I have, in my report on the North-East district, fixed as data, incontrovertible, viz. That all commons, however rich and fertile the soil, are unproductive of profit, in consequence of overstocking, must be here adhered to; and this argument is equally applicable to old inclosures. Let a farmer put ten head of cattle into a given piece of ground where only five should be depastured, and the cattle will be of less worth after the grass is consumed, than they were before: Of what value then is the land? "KING'S *If we add to this the capital necessary to stock this moor, the publick utility and importance of the undertaking will be more strongly manifested. J. B." Dr. "KING'S-SEDGMOOR. "To act of parliament, and all other inci dental expences Interest of money borrowed Commissioners Clerk £. 8. d. 1.628 15 0 3,239 4 11 4,314 7 8 1,215 19 0 908 12 6 To which add for subdividing in each parish To original value of the moor, say 108. per acre, at twenty-five years purchase Cr. Profit By 12,000 acres, at 35s. per acre, and 25 years purchase By improvement of 4000 acres of adjacent land, at 10s. per acre 525,000 0 0 50,000 0 0 £.575,000 00 "The above is the real expenditure taken from the commissioners books, and about seven hundred acres have been sold to discharge the same. T "N. B. Had the commissioners been empowered to sell land at the commencement of the business, the expenditure would have been reduced five thousand pounds by the dif ference in the interest accompt. "This is not the only improvement, for by the addition of such a quantity of rich and productive grass land, the upland inclosures, and common fields, may be greatly advanced in value. In short, it is difficult to point out all the benefits likely to accrue from this grand but arduous undertaking; beside, though the original value of the moor per acre is stated to be ten shillings, this is done merely with a view to give the arguments against the inclosure the greatest weight; and perhaps it would have been more |