The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-26 00:00:00

to time been offered to the inspection of the public, and
following other important efforts in the right direc-
tion, we are " promised a further advance still in a
collection of many of the finest national portraits,
which is to extend over to,the spirit and taste of the
Earl of DERBY." We cordially concur in the decla-
ration of Lord H. LENNOX, that "now" if " ever" is
the time for bringing about a reform in the matter,
and altering the relations between the Government
and the country and Board of Directors. He
proposes to place all the national collections under
the " immediate authority of a Minister of
the Crown, who shall be directly respon-
sible to Parliament for all that is ill-
done, or left undone in those collections."
If such a scheme be carried out no doubt we
should speedily witness a great and comprehensive
change for the better taking place, and these im-
portant collections, which should be rendered so
conducive to the interests of the community,
would stand a fair chance of fulfilling their mis-
sion in a worthy and creditable manner. It is
quite inconsistent with the spirit of the age and
the rapid development of taste that such serious
obstacles should be interposed to the efforts made
by those who seek to improve and elevate their
own minds and those of others. If the manage-
ment of our national collections have not hitherto
been conformed to the changes taking place
around us, it is high time that they should be so,
and that without further waste of time and loss
of opportunity.

The public meeting which was held on Wednes-
day last, at the Mansion-house, to consider the best
means of preserving the commons and open spaces
round London, was very large and influential. The
public are much indebted to those gentlemen who
have bestirred themselves in this matter, and who
are endeavouring to organise some scheme of
securing to the population of London those advan-
tages which threaten at present to melt rapidly
away from their possession. What is everybody's
business is nobody's business, says the proverb,
and, consequently, those individuals who have
identified themselves with this movement
deserve a double share of credit. It is quite time
that something was done, for all parties agree in
the statement that piece after piece of land is being
quietly enclosed, so that before we have done
defining the extent of the popular rights
there will be no rights to dispute about.
The Crown lands, thanks to mismanagement, have
fared no better, for the Government, when they
gave up the Crown rights in the forests of
Epping and Hainault, took no steps to secure
the rights of the people, and consequently in
Hainault Forest alone 100,000 oak trees have
been uprooted. As Mr. LEFEVRE very justly ob-
served on Wednesday, " What the public has to
fear is less the entire enclosure of any common
than the gradual taking of it bit by bit, the encroach-
ments of railway companies, and the general dete-
rioration of the commons." Mr.. SCOTT (Chamber-
lain), in an amusing address, gave a very forcible
proof of the necessity of keeping some open spaces
about London. In 1801 he said it was calculated
that, were the population arranged at equal dis-
tances, every man would stand 21 yards from
his neighbours. In 1851 that distance was
reduced to 14 yards, in 1866 to nine
yards, and a similar computation fifty years hence,
allowing for the same rate of increase, would leave
only standing room for the population in a given
area ! Mr. SCOTT, " seared at the sound him-
self had made," thereupon urged that the
proposed radius for the protection of open
spaces was not enough, but that 50 miles should
be substituted for 15. The fact is that London is
growing so rapidly that unless some means are taken
to preserve our commons it will soon be a physical
impossibility for families living in the centre of Lon-
don to walk out of the sight of streets and squares.
Our parks, beautiful and healthful as they are, can-
not supply the wants of 3,000,000 of people, and
even they leave something to be desired, for children
at least, who have no otherplayground. It is a public
question and concerns the public health. Why cannot
the public money pay for what is wanted. It is a
matter, in fact, for the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, and if he wishes to gain popularity he can
hardly follow a wiser course. Millions are given for
our armaments, and great sums for the maintenance
of our civil establishments. Why is not the public
health as important as any other consideration ?
While Government is hesitating, doubting, and ob-
jecting, a valuable opportunity will be lost, for
which the people of this generation, and those that
follow it, will wish in vain. Let the matter be
boldly and persistently urged in the new Parlia-
ment, for the members may be sure that the com-
mon sense of the country will support them, and the
most inflexible financier must yield to the resolute
and reiterated demand of the people.