Country Life and Sport Tat: NEW _VILLAGE.
Those of us who live in country villages and take any interest in their life begin to hope, almost to believe, that they are coming into their own. A new campaign on their behalf is just opening. They were delightful units in old Saxon days whets a hedge was grown round them to assert their indi- viduality.; and the best we have been able to do for them since is to attempt to restore old customs. One is forced to confess that the Parish Councils are sad failures. They do no harm, but they do very little good. They do not understand their powers or enjoy their opportunities. They are an anaemic reproduction of - the Moot or Leet, and show no activity whatever in giving vitality to the social life of the village. But other bodies are stepping in, and the villages are very rapidly returning to a merry and self-respecting existence. This change in the village owes much to the Women's Institutes (a gift from Canada), which have much more initiative and public spirit than the men's clubs. But the revival of the village will perhaps date from the formation of the Rural Community Councils. Fourteen counties now possess councils, with special paid organizers. A good example of their activities is to be found in Oxfordshire.
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