Prejudice or Indifference?
What is the prejudice against National Parks in Great Britain? For clearly there must be a prejudice, or merely perhaps an apathetic stupidity, when we lag so .far behind other countries in what ought to be a very simple matter— the permanent preservation of what belongs to us. In the United States the great Yellowstone Park was projected as long ago as 1872. Since then other National Park systems with special laws have been established not only in large countries like Canada, South Africa, the Belgian Congo and the United States, but also in comparatively small and densely populated countries like Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Italy. The correspondents of The Countryman are arguing only for a National Park in Scotland. But, as Mr. R. M. Lockley says, " Agreed. But ought not Wales to come first? " And if we must have a National Park, preferably two, in Wales, how many ought we to have in England? There is no reasonable argument at all against the establishment of a dozen National Parks in England, for a National Park need not necessarily be huge, but only of special character, special beauty, and regarded with special affection by the people. It might be said that there is no argument except the apathy of successive Govern- ments, for it is now ten years since the National Park Committee was set up, and eight since its report was issued. Since then the need for National Parks has grown greater, the potential area of them, unhappily, less.
* * * *
Previous page
