THE COMMEMORATION OF THE QUEEN. T HE country is already beginning
to discuss a variety of schemes for commemorating the fact that the Queen has reigned longer than any previous English Sovereign. Next year that fact is to be officially noted and remembered, and the public is naturally anxious that the memorials shall be both wise and worthy. The fact that infinitely the best Sovereign that ever sat on the throne should also have reigned longer than any other is so striking and so much a subject for congratulation, that it would be a thousand pities if the commemoration should not be appropriate and noteworthy. There has been nothing common or mean, vulgar or showy or foolish, about the Queen's sovereignty, and there must be nothing to suggest any of these things about the way in which we commemo- rate the longest reign. But if the methods of commemo- ration are not well thought out and well chosen, there is a certain danger of commonness and paltriness creeping in. If the nation is not circumspect it may find itself com- mitted either to a number of disjointed plans in which the national zeal will be frittered away in minor or unimpres- sive memorials, or else chilled by some cold, dull pro- posal of a, utilitarian kind, which, while excellent in purpose and highly commendable in the proposed result, will keenly interest nobody, or at any rate kindle no spark of real enthusiasm. What seems to us to be wanted is some scheme which will at one and the same time call forth local effort and local feeling, and yet be applicable to the whole country,—which shall make the people of each town and county feel that they are personally interested and personally concerned, and also make them realise that they are taking part in a move- ment shared by the whole nation, and, if possible, indeed by the whole Empire. The inhabitants of each district must feel that while they are doing something visible to themselves, they are also doing something which shall be part of a whole visible to the world at large. In our opinion these conditions are exceedingly well met by a proposal which is being put forth by a Committee presided over by Lord Hobhouse, and appointed by a number of societies interested in preserving the heritage of the people of England in the beauty of their land and in their historic associations. The Metropolitan Public Gardens Association, the Commons Preservation Society, the Kyrie Society, and the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty, have united to put before the public a plan the chief feature of which is summarised in the following proposal. Their idea is that a locality which is taking common action for the purpose of commemorating the longest reign "may fitly provide for itself a plot of ground, or place of historic interest, to be dedicated to the common use and enjoyment of its people. This may be called a Queen Victoria' Garden, Park, Playground, Memorial, Field, or whatever name indicates its destined use, and in such grounds trees may be planted with appropriate names." No one wants to be convinced of the need of open spaces in towns, but there is a great deal of sense, in our opinion, in the plea that public open spaces are also wanted in country districts. The Committee point out that in counties where there are no village greens or commons, and in a, great many parts of England this is unfortunately the case, the children of the poor have often nowhere but the roads to play in. They are " suspect " of the farmers and gamekeepers, and thus, though the landlords may often have no desire to shut them out of the fields, they, as a matter of fact, are not allowed to ramble in the woods or meadows. Of the need for such recreation places, and of the manner in which they would be appreciated by the poor, strong proof can be easily afforded by quoting what General Pitt-Rivers has done in the " Larmer Grounds." In the middle of what is perhaps the most purely rural district in all England, General Pitt-Rivers, with true insight and sympathy, has established a delightful re- creation-ground, flanked and supported by a museum, and what can only be called a miniature palace of art,— an old manor-house filled with beautiful pictures and rare old furniture. The Larmer Grounds seem to stand in a solitude, yet to that solitude are drawn hundreds of men, women, and children from all parts of the country. The timid and the unimaginative would declare it utterly ridiculous to open a recreation-ground on the top of a chalk down. General Pitt-Rivers was fortunately neither timid nor unimaginative. He opened his recreation-ground, met with complete success, and by his new experiment in recreation showed what is wanted and what may be done even in the most out-of-the-way places. No doubt it will be given to few men to rival the Larmer Grounds, but if even a thousandth part of General Pitt-Rivers's success attends the efforts of ordinary men, those efforts will not have been made in vain. We cannot better the reasons for choosing commemoration by open spaces set forth by the Committee, and we will therefore quote them as they stand in the memorandum. The Committee begin by pointing out that such places afford the largest social range of enjoyment. "Not the poor only, but all classes, young, old, rich, poor, ailing, well, good and bad, can enjoy a common ground. That is very fitting for a National Memorial." Next they note that it is a form of donation that can do no harm to any one, "for it cannot pauperise people or injure their self-dependence, as it is a thing they cannot possibly procure for themselves." Memorials in the shape of open grounds also afford a greater chance of permanence in point of time. " There are few Institutions which do not become unsuitable by changes of habit and circumstances, whereas it is difficult to look forward to a time when an open space or some feature of natural beauty will not be a valued possession. This element of permanence also is very fitting for a National Memorial. The great difficulty found in permanent Institutions is the amount of management they require, which, after the first interest of the Founders has passed away, is not apt to be forthcoming, except through paid agencies, which are liable to become rigid and mechanical. Open Spaces require less management, as they are hardly capable of diversion from their object, and the visible character of their condition, and the constant presence of those interested, are securities that defects in management will speedily be brought to the notice of their managers." The recent extension of local government, they add, affords new and great facilities for the ownership and management of endow- ments of a local nature such as they have in view. All this strikes us as excellent sense, and as affording very strong arguments in favour of "Queen Victoria" Fields or Woods, or Cliffs or Shores, or River-Banks or Ruins, as the case may be. The memorandum of the Committee adds that the exact form which such a, memorial would take might vary largely in different places, but goes on to suggest specific instances in which the scheme could be applied In near proximity to a common or heath, no Memorial would be more fitting than to place such common or heath under local management, by means of a Provisional Order, made under the Commons Act, 1876; and the consent of the Lord to such an order would be his gift in celebration of the Queen's Jubilee. In places where there exists some hill-top commanding extensive views, some piece of woodland or of water, of beauty and of value to the neighbourhood as a place of resort, some water-fall, some sea-cliff, or other place of natural beauty, the dedication cf this to the public would be the best expression of the idea we wish to suggest. In other places, again, where no common lands remain, and there is no exceptional charm of scenery, the best Memorial would be the provision and dedication to the public of a Garden, Park, or Play-ground ; and in other cases, perhaps, the definite dedication to the public of a valued, but doubtful, right of way, or the formation of a new road or footpath affording an agreeable drive or walk in the surrounding country, or the planting of memorial trees on roads or footpaths. Again, in towns, there may be Square Gardens or Disused Burial Grounds, or other lands, which have been hitherto, by some accident, saved from the builder, but which are doomed either to absorption into the surrounding areas of bricks and mortar, or to waste and neglect ; to recover such spots, and place them under the management of the Town Authority, would be an invaluable Memorial of the Sovereign's long and beneficial rule. Finally, there may be some earth-work or ruin of great interest, or even some building of rare archi- tectural beauty or historic associations, which might be purchased and devoted to some public purpose, and which would form a possession of unique value for future generations. In one or other of these ways the amenities of the neighbourhood may be permanently enhanced, and a lasting memory of the Victorian reign preserved, in a form which will be a permanent source of pleasure and interest to the inhabitants."
In other words, it is suggested that the inhabitants of each local area, great and small, anxious to commemorate the Queen's reign should meet and consider whether there was not within their area some beautiful piece of scenery, some old ruin or waterfall, some stretch of meadow sloping to a river and dotted with great elms, some piece of woodland ground, or some sunny hill-top which could be dedicated to the public for the purpose of keeping in perpetual memory at once the best Sovereign who ever sat on the English throne and the most splendid and longest epoch in English history. Let no one think that the cost of such a proposal would necessarily be excessive. It need be nothing of the kind. There are hundreds—nay, thousands— of districts within the United Kingdom where the acquisition of such places as we have indicated would be quite within even a poor locality's reach. No doubt the rich places would do the thing in grander style than the poor, but even the poor districts might do it well. Indeed, the poorer places might sometimes have most to show for their money, for in them land is, of course, much cheaper than near the great centres. Again, let no one argue that in out-of-the-way places it would not be worth while to dedicate an open space. Our little island is rapidly filling up, and a place that is out of the way to-day may in a very few years be becoming a crowded area. Besides, as we have already shown by citing General Pitt-Rivers's experiment on the down where Wiltshire and Dorsetshire meet, there are very few places too out of the way not to welcome a recreation-ground. Before we leave the subject we must give an example of what we mean when we say that the poorer districts will not find it difficult to acquire places well worth dedicating as Queen's Memorials. Let us suppose a rural district in 'Wiltshire or Gloucestershire in which one of the local sights is a Druid Circle or an old earthwork standing in a field of some five acres of ordinary agricultural land. The land is worth, say, £6 a year. The Memorial Committee -consider the subject of dedicating it and approach the landlord. He tells them that he is a poor man and cannot part with it except at its full value,—i.e., £200. If, however, they can raise that sum in the parish he will give 0210 as a subscription. At first it seems impossible to raise £190 in the village, but the Committee set to work. They remember that a former parishioner is now doing well in Johannesburg and that another is in Chicago. The result is that after six months the money is raised. Then comes the question who is to hold the field. A few years ago this would have been a difficulty. Now, however, it can be handed over either to the parish or the district, or if they refuse it, may be lodged in the hands of the National Trust, a body incorporated for the purpose of hold- ing land for public purposes. When the National Trust had accepted the land they would hold it for ever as an open space available for recreation, and would further be obliged under their constitution to preserve the antiquities on the ground. In plain words, the acquiring and dedication of a piece of beautiful or interesting land is not nowadays at all a formidable undertaking, and can most properly be recommended as a fitting memorial for the Queen's reign. The scheme of the Joint Committee is, then, one to which we wish every success. Nothing could be a better or more fitting memorial of the Victorian epoch than to dot England with beautiful pieces of country which will be preserved for ever as pieces of country,—land which must always be in the nature of an oasis, however much the deserts of brick and stone may spread and increase.
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