at the rights of the
manor are maintained. The Court Leet was formerly a very important
assembly, but in our time its offices are minute, and only apply to
small interests. It is held at long intervals of time--as long, in
some instances, as seven years--and is summoned by the steward of
the lord of the manor, and commonly held at an inn, refreshments
being supplied by the lord. Here come all the poor persons who
occupy cottages or garden grounds on quit-rent, and pay their rent,
which may amount in seven years to as much as fourteen shillings. A
member of the court will, perhaps, draw the attention of the court
to the fact that a certain ditch or watercourse has become choked
up, and requires clearing out or diverting; and if this ditch be
upon the manor, the court can order it to be attended to. On the
manor they have also jurisdiction over timber, paths, and similar
matters, and can order that a cottage which is dilapidated shall be
repaired or removed. In point of fact, however, the Court Leet is
merely a jovial assembly of the tenants upon the estate of the
landowner, who drink so many bottles of sherry at his expense, and
set to right a few minute grievances.

In many places--the vast majority, indeed--there is no longer any
Court Leet held, because the manorial rights have become faint and
indistinct with the passage of time; the manor has been sold, split
up into two or three estates, the entail cut off; or the manor as a
manor has totally disappeared under the changes of ownership, and
the various deeds and liabilities which have arisen. But this
merely general gathering of the farmers of the village--where Court
Leets are still held, all farmers are invited, irrespective of
their supposed allegiance to the lord of the manor or not--this
pleasant dinner and sherry party, which meets to go through
obsolete customs, and exercise minute and barely legal rights,
contains nevertheless many of the elements of a desirable local
authority. It is composed of gentlemen of all shades of opinion; no
politics are introduced. It meets in the village itself, and under
the direct sanction of the landowner. Its powers are confined to
strictly local matters, and its members are thoroughly acquainted
with those matters. The affairs of the village are discussed
without acrimony, and a certain amount of understanding arrived at.
It regulates disputes and grievances arising between the
inhabitants of cottage property, and can see