LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
NATURAL PICTURES.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR:1 SIR,—Yonr very interesting article, in the Spectator of September 9th, on the desirability of inducing the Govern- ment to purchase land in the United Kingdom which may be of special beauty or historical interest, in order to preserve it for public use, induces me to write and draw the attention of your readers to a movement in America which shows how the same desirable object may be promoted, pending Govern- ment action. The..A.merican scheme is to appoint a body of responsible men of education and taste, to accept and hold in trust for the public any gifts of land or buildings which generous and public-spirited donors may be willing to give.
In May of 1890, a conference was held at Boston, at which it was proposed to appoint such a Board of trustees for the State of Massachusetts. Some members were to be named in the Act of Incorporation ; their successors to be elected by the full Board as vacancies occurred. The governing bodies of several learned institutions were to nominate some members in the first instance, and the governor and council were to name others. These trustees were to be empowered to acquire by gift from individuals or bodies of subscribers, parcels of real estate possessing natural beauty or historical interest, and to hold the same, together with funds for the maintenance thereof. The trustees were to be required to open to the public, under suitable regulatimp, all such parcels of their real estate as lay within the limits of towns or cities which might provide for the caretaking of the same. The Report goes on to say that the necessity for special legal acts and the trouble involved in organising special societies, or Boards of trustees, naturally discourages those who might otherwise do much for the cause. It also expresses the opinion that this, like other noble causes, must be fostered in its beginnings at least by the individuals who may be interested in it. I have no very definite late news of the scheme, but when last I heard, the movement was advancing steadily ; one person was ready to give a waterfall, another a wood, a third a bit of shore. If a Board for receiving and preserving such spots were constituted in England—especially if it were composed of such men as the trustees of the British Museum, men of learning and education in whom the public had con- fidence—it would enable those who wish to do so to hand down, for the joy and instruction of future generations, special areas of natural beauty, or buildings and places of historical interest.
I believe that in England, as evidently in America, there would be found persons of wealth and generosity who, whether singly or in groups, would be glad of the opportunity of making such gifts.—I am, Sir, &o.,
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