The use of public hearings originates from the process of the enclosure of public lands in Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries. Public meetings were held in order to create a petition to parliament to enclose land, and later to hear objections to the act created by parliament. This use of commissions to hear public concerns over the enclosure of lands is one of the first examples of a public hearing, and today public hearings are still used when dealing with public lands as well as private properties.