Now, the Government, which has a certain keenness on the
subject, have this week been considering the opinion of naturalists and of the Preservers of Rural England on this subject of Parks and Sanctuaries. There is a strong feeling that the public should have the freedom of a certain number of naturally wild districts where they may camp, if they wish, and in some way or another taste the savour of country life. Was it not, directly and consciously, for the sake of qualifying the urban minds of our statesmen that Chequers—set there in its green pool of quietude—was given to the nation by its wisely philosophic owner ? What was done for Prime Minis- ters by Lord Lee, may be done for less conspicuous persons. But Prime Ministers do not—at least, so I may perhaps presume—root up daffodils and harry birds' nests, which are, or were, numerous in the garden of Chequers. What we want supremely in England at the moment is a public opinion that shall make it " bad form," make it unpopular to destroy or
damage beauty.
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