as there that
young Wallace and his brother spent some of their own leisure hours
listening to and conversing with the village rustics. The conversation
was not ordinarily of an educational character, but occasionally
experienced farmers would discuss agricultural and land problems which
were beginning to interest Wallace.

In reading his books and essays written more than seventy years later,
we are struck with the exceptional opportunities which he had of
comparing social conditions, and commercial and individual prosperity
during that long period, and of witnessing the introduction of many
inventions. He used to enjoy recalling many of the discussions between
intelligent mechanics which he heard of in his early days regarding the
introduction of the steam-engine. One and another declared that the grip
of the engine on the rails would not be sufficient to draw heavy trucks
or carriages; that the wheels, in fact, would whiz round instead of
going on, and that it would be necessary to sprinkle sand in front of
the wheels, or make the tyres rough like files. About this time, too,
there arose a keen debate upon the relative merits of the new railroads
and the old canals. Many thought that the former could never compete
with the latter in carrying heavy goods; but facts soon proved
otherwise, for in one district alone the traffic of the canal, within
two years of the coming of the railway, decreased by 1,000,000 tons.

It was during these years, and when he and his brother were making a
survey for the enclosure of some common lands near Llandrindod Wells,
that Wallace finally became aware of the injustice towards the labouring
classes of the General Enclosure Act.

In this particular locality the land to be enclosed consisted of a large
extent of moor, and mountain which, with other common rights, had for
many years enabled the occupants of the scattered cottages around to
keep a horse, cow, or a few sheep, and thus make a fairly comfortable
living. Under the Act, the whole of this open land was divided among the
adjacent landowners of the parish or manor, in proportion to the size or
value of their estates. Thus, to those who actually possessed much, much
was given; whilst to those who only nominally owned a little land, even
that was taken away in return for a small compensation which was by no
means as valuable to them as the right to graze their cattle. In spite
of the statement set forth in the General Enclosure Act