A VITAL RIVER.
The Ouse is a river of great national importance on many accounts. It matters much more to farmers than to fisher- men. Extensive areas, reclaimed at the cost of millions by Charles I., by Cromwell and, especially, by the Earls and Dukes of Bedford, depend On its upkeep, for they are below sea level, and they are some of the richest lands in Europe. While Boards and Commissions of ponderous complication care for the lower reaches (though most unfortunately they do not concern themselves with the outflow in the sea), the Upper Ouse is left to the management of chance and caprice. Why the nation, or the counties most vitally concerned, why the public accept such a situation, passes all comprehen- sion. No river is better managed than the Thames (though London neglects it), and few are managed worse than the Ouse. It is a curious point in economic history that the river rights would have been transferred to the Government as long ago as 1879—when an admirable Bill passed the Lords and was nearly through the Commons—but for the purely factious opposition of the " Cave," whose quartette included Mr. Arthur Balfour. Will not Lord Balfour atone by taking constructive interest in the reclamation of the river ? Or Mr. Churchill atone for Lord Randolph's part.
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