passed; the object being to diminish the bulk of the special
acts, and to introduce uniformity into private bill legislation by
classifying the common form clauses, embodying them in general statutes,
and facilitating their incorporation into the special statutes by
reference. The statute by which this change was initiated was the Lands
Clauses Consolidation Act 1845; and the policy has been continued by a
series of later statutes which, together with the act of 1845, are now
grouped under the generic title of the Lands Clauses Acts.

The public purposes for which lands are taken are threefold. Certain
public departments, such as the war office and the admiralty, may
acquire lands for national purposes (see the Defence Acts 1842 to 1873;
and the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act 1860, s. 7). Local authorities
are enabled to exercise similar powers for an enormous variety of
municipal purposes, e.g. the housing of the working classes, the
improvement of towns, and elementary and secondary education. Lastly,
the promoters of public undertakings of a commercial character, such as
railways and harbours, carry on their operations under statutes in which
the provisions of the Lands Clauses Acts are incorporated.

Lands may be taken under the Lands Clauses Acts either by agreement or
compulsorily. The first step in the proceedings is a "notice to treat,"
or intimation by the promoters of their readiness to purchase the land,
coupled with a demand for particulars as to the estate and the interests
in it. The landowner on whom the notice is served may meet it by
agreeing to sell, and the terms may then be settled by consent of the
parties themselves, or by arbitration, if they decide to have recourse
to that mode of adjusting the difficulty. If the property claimed is a
house, or other building or manufactory, the owner has a statutory right
to require the promoters by a counternotice to take the whole, even
although a part would serve their purpose. This rule, however, is, in
modern acts, often modified by special clauses. On receipt of the
counter-notice the promoters must either assent to the requirement
contained in it, or abandon their notice to treat. On the other hand,
if the landowner fails within twenty-one days after receipt of the
notice to treat to give the particulars which it requires, the promoters
may proceed to exercise their compulsory powers and to obtain assessment
of the compensation to be paid. As a general