Mr. J. O'Dowd writes to the Times to say that
one main reason of the losses sustained on the Yorkshire coast from the action of the sea is the conduct of the proprietors of the foreshores. The sea eats away about thirty-three acres annually because they will sell the right to carry away the coble stones and shingle, the oaly material solid enough to resist the sea. Some 40,000 tons are carried away every year, while it has been proved that if suffered to remain the sea makes scarcely any impression. In one case, in which the Spurn Lighthouse was endangered, the Board of Trade, under the Harbour Transfer Act, compelled the Lords of the Manor to abstain from granting these licences, and the fore- shore is becoming a solid and compact barrier to the sea. That is not a bad issue on which to try the ultimate property-right. May a landlord annihilate a bit of England for profit ?
Previous page
