The Sun.
London, England, 1867-02-02 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

THIS DAY.—Morning, 12h. 30m.—Afternoon, 12h. 57m.
ro-Moßßow.-Morning, lh. 14m.—Afternoon, Ih. 46m.

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LONDON, SATURDAY, FEB. 2, 1867.

At the usual meeting of the Metropolitan Board
of Works yesterday a matter of considerable im-
portance to Londoners came under notice. The
General Purposes Committee presented their report,
submitting the result of their negotiations with Sir
THOMAS WILSON respecting Hampstead-heath.
The object of the committee was, of course, to ascer-
tain upon what terms Sir THOMAS would consent
to surrender his manorial rights for the benefit of
the public. The settlement of the question is the
more pressing, inasmuch as Sir THOMAS is not con-
tent in the exercise of his authority with merely
temporary interference with popular enjoyment,
but is bent upon doing lasting mischief, enclosing
some parts of the heath, digging up others
for sand, and threatening the lovers of blue skies and
green grass withthe ruthless invasion of bricks and
mortar. It is very much easier to destroy than to
create, and if we let Hampstead-heath, with all
its rural picturesqueness, vanish out of our grasp,
all the boards and vestries in the metropolis will
not be able to restore it. We may have parks, in-
deed, people's parks and aristocratic gardens, but
although admirable and agreeable in their way, they
can never rival the charms of an actual bit
of nature. Londoners are fully sensible of this,
and while the wealthy and professional
classes hurry off during their leisure season
to seaside or country some hundred miles off from
metropolitan dust and traffic, those who are more
restricted in time and means feel the same craving
for air and nature, and snatch a brief holiday at
Hampstead or Epping Forest. Let them make the
most of both, " with the sky above their head, and
the grass beneath their feet," for, thanks to the en-
lightened improvements of modern times, they will
not have either much longer. Hampstead-heath is
in imminent peril, and another generation or two
will hear of its past pleasures with the same
kind of surprise as we now listen to tales of the
Fleet ditch or the little village of Charing. Whether
the name of Heath will still be retained in mocking
remembrance of what once was, after the fashion
of St. Giles and St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, may be
a matter of speculation ; but, at any rate, it is more
than probable that prim terraces will replace the
hills and dales, and rows of stuccoed villas will
efface the tradition of ponds and donkeys. It is
not an agreeable prospect in the eyes of most of
us, though we may not in actual computation rate
the money value of the Heath quite so highly as
Sir THOMAS WILSON does. The lord of the manor
may well be reluctant to resign his rights when he
seriously believes the value of the land to be from
£5,000 to £lO,OOO an acre.
The result of the interview between the chairman
of the committee and Sir T. WILSON was that the
chairman distinctly put it to Sir THOMAS that, pro-
vided an arrangement could be come to between
the board and himself for the purchase of the heath,
they would be willing to join him in an application
to Parliament for the purpose of obtaining the
necessary powers to enable him to grant building
leases of such portions of the adjoining lands as the
board might not require for the purposes of the
public, and that in all probability Parliament, hav-
ing regard to the fact that such an arrangement
would secure the heath to the public in perpetuity,
would accede to the request. Sir THOMAS, however,
was not inclined to agree to this proposition,
although to ordinary mortals it appears a very
favourable arrangement. He argued that he saw

no reason why he should sell his property at Hamp-
stead to benefit certain parties who had for years
opposed him in obtaining his rights. The " certain
parties" to be benefited are, in fact, a large propor-
tion of the three million inhabitants of smoky Lon-
don. The price which Sir THOMAS put upon the
land was so exorbitant that we should almost ima-
gine he meant it to settle the question, and to show
that he did not entertain the idea of coming to any
terms at all. He could hardly be serious when be
estimated it according to the price which had been
paid him by the South Eastern Railway Company

for some land which they required at Charlton for
their line. As we have said, Sir TIIO3IAS estimated
his property on the Health atfrom £5,000 to £lO,OOO
an acre, whereupon, of course, the negotiations
came to an end, and the chairman, after expressing
his astonishment and regret, abandoned the attempt
in despair. It is one thing to negotiate for the
transfer of ordinary waste land, and another to
make an offer for the river of Pactoluz and the
sands of Ophir. The prospect of London holiday-
seekers is but a poor one. They may as well
wish to disport themselves on the veritable " Tom
Tiddler's ground," so dear to children, as to ex-
pect to run races or make picnics in the Vale
of Health. Like most disputed affairs in England
the matter has got into Chancery, and there is no-
thing to be done by the Committee but to " watch
the proceedings before the Master of the Rolls."
The prospects of Epping Forest are not much
better, excepting that a committee has been formed,
who are of opinion that the public have very strong

rights over their favourite forest, and intend to take
active steps to assert the same. The dense popula-
tion of the east of London value this place of resort
very highly, and it is cruel indeed that they should

be deprived of it. We have heard a great deal lately
about the lack of sanitary arrangements in that

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part of London, and we are most of us familiar

with the dreary and depressing nature of their

dwellings. The recent visitation by cholera has

shown us pretty clearly what their physical power
of resistance is worth, and fresh air is one of the

great remedial agents prescribed by all to raise the

tone of the overworked and underfed. Epping is

an easy distance from the East of London, and it
offers advantages and pleasures which no park or

even common near at hand can give. What, then,
is its present position, according to good authority?

Mr. SHAW LEFEVRE, M.P., speaking on behalf of
the Commons Preservation Society, told the

meeting which assembled at Mile-end " that

half the forest had been enclosed, and the

other half would soon be enclosed if the
people did not take active steps to prevent it."

The Marquis of TOWNSIIEND, who presided over the

meeting, very sensibly said that a great movement

was being made on behalf of early closing, but it

. VI
was of no use to give working-men the facilities of
going out unless they had places to go to. If
Hampstead-heath and Epping Forest are to be

taken from them, the summer evenings of the arti-

zany of the North and East of London will lose half
their charms, and certainly more than half their
benefits, because the attractions of the too

alluring public-house will be so much en-
hanced. The arguments adduced by the several
speakers at the Mile-end meeting were not
new, but they were certainly very cogent, and we
are glad to find that the speakers for the most part
believe in the existence of tangible rights on behalf
of the public.

Parliament will have plenty to do this session, but