ANOTHER DANGER TO COMMONS.
[Ti THE EDITOR OP THE " srserarea_l Snt,—Canon Rawnsley's letter, which appeared in your last issue, Is a timely reminder of the truth that the preservation of commons can only be secured at the price of eternal vigilance. Practical agricul- turists scout the notion that a normal common is likely to be of the slightest use in increasing food supplies during the pres nt crisis ; and that the land could be profitably utilized for that purpose would be the only possible justification for disturbing it. Experience has abun- dantly proved that to transform a piece of sandy heath or boggy marsh into land upon which satisfactory crops may be grown requires years of patient labour, and expenditure out of all proportion to the result. There will, therefore, be general agreement with your view that, if experiments in the reclamation of waste land are to be tried, the land taken should be part of the seven millions of acres of derelict freehold land in private ownership and not the people's commons.
In apparent vindication of the truth of the old saw, "It never rains but it pours," since Canon Rawnsley's letter appeared another and far graver peril has arisen to threaten commons and open spaces. The Government have introduced into the House of Commons a Defence of the Realm (Acquisition of Land) Bill which, if passed in its present form, must involve serious inroads upon such lands. It proposes to give the State power to acquire "by agreement or compulsorily" any land In the possession of an occupying Department, or any interest in such land, and also, with the consent of the Railway and Canal Commission, any "adjoining or neighbouring land" required "for the proper enjoyment of the land or interest so acquired." As is well known, vast areas of commons and open spaces in all parts of the country have been taken possession of for military purposes under the Defence of the Realm Acts. The land thus taken has been used for training troops, and great camps for the accommodation of the soldiers have been formed upon many of the commons. Not a grumble has been uttered at the temporary disturbance of ancient customs and the loss of rights of recreation thus involved, and townsmen and villagers alike enthusiastically welcomed the honour done to their neighbourhood by Its choice as a training-ground for part of " Kitchener's Army." It was felt by the Commons Preservation Society that the proof thus afforded of the value in an emergency of commons in an open condition was a further justification of its policy in resisting for over fifty years efforts to enclose such lands. For if it had not been for these open spaces it would have been a very difficult and expensive matter to find sites for the training and manceuvring of troops on the scale which has been necessary daring the war. The new proposals of the Government will alter all this, for the Defence of the Realm Bill will enable the Wu Office to convert the temporary use of commons into permanent occupa- tion. The Bill contains an alternative proposal to which no objection will be raised by any one. It is that the Government should have pow* to extend their temporary occupation for throe years after the termina- tion of the war, or, with tho consent of the Railway and Canal Com- missioners, for seven years. What we do object to is that the publio should be permanently excluded from commons and open spaces to which there has hitherto existed a cherished right of access for air, exercise, and recreation. Some measure of protection is afforded by a proviso which limits the power to acquire commons, parks, and rocre.s- tion-grounds to purchase by agreement. This proviso, however, gives totally inadequate safeguards, because once tho manorial interests have been purchased by agreement—and thorn are few lords of the manor who will be inclined to resist the temptation of turning unprofitable wastes into cash—the commoners' rights will be compulsorily ex- tinguished under the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act. Tho land will then become private property, and it might be subsequently sold for building or other purposes under Sec. 8 of the Bill. In short, the latest Defence of the Realm Bill threatens to become an Enclosure Act on a vast scale, carried into effect without consideration for the righta of the commoners and the needs of the publio. An ordinary enclosure scheme always contains provisions for public recreation-grounds and for allotments, and Parliament has, for over half-a-century, insisted that common land shall not be converted into private ownership unless it can be clearly proved that the small-holders and public will not sutler thereby.
It cannot be the intention of the promoters of the Defence of tho Realm (Acquisition of Land) Bill to inflict a grievous wrong upon tho public. The Bill must be amended so as to exclude all public parks and recreation-grounds, and all metropolitan and suburban commons; commons, like tho Now Forest, Epping Forest, or Wimbledon Common, which have been regulated as open spaces must also be protected; and in the case of rural commons, where the manorial rights of the lord of the manor have been acquired by agreement, the rights of th3 com- moners should not be extinguished otherwise than by Provisional Order approved by Parliament under the Enclosure Acts. No doubt, too, there are many who will think that groat schemes of land acquisition should be postponed until tho future military needs of the nation are clearly ascertained after the cessation of hostilities.—I am, Sir, &c.,
LAWRENCE W. CliIIHR, Secretary.
Commons and Footpaths Preservation Society, 25 Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W.
[We endorse every word of Mr. Chubb's sound and reasonable protest. He says not a word too much when he asserts that the Commons Preservation Society may claim to be benefactors of the Army in no small degree, owing to their preservation of those open spaces through- out England which have proved our best camping-grounds and places for military training. No one will ever grudge our soldiers man louvre rights of the freest kind over our open spaces. They do no harm whatever. Permanent camps are quite another matter, and for this purpose private ground should be purchased. In eases of temporary occupation the War Office should hold the land as trustees for public rights in the matter of recreation and enjoyment. We do not believe for a moment that the War Office want to steal the commons, but the Bill must obviously be amended.—Eo. Spectator.]
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