New-York tribune., 1910-09-19
A SUFFOLK HOLIDAY
The Empty C0untrySide-lner.
ican Notes.
Bury St. Edmunds. Angus, n.

theatre. There are village churches. f,-v-
clad rectories. spacious parks and stately
halls: but there are no peasants amorx
the farm Iab0Ters. who drag out hops-
less existence at the mercy II n.
s1uIres. As free settlers with land a.
their own are not TO be found in thz
English shires. as in Germany or France
md as tenants Of the better class trv To
live like gentlemen and 70 convert farm
houses into country seats and fields into
estates, rural England IS virtually
emptied Of population and it's character-
istic industries are steadily declining.
This keen German observer has "a
vealed the truth about the Ioveliese
countryside in Europe. The Iandscaus
setting. with it's breezy heaths. quaint
hamlets. verdant lanes. nnoated oranges
and ancestral halls. is perfect as scenery.
but the sturdy yeOmanry. with it's racv
virtues and energies. has disappeared.
Both political parties are striving to re-
vive the fortunes Of the agricultural
classes by schemes OF small holdings and
land purchase with state aid. and yet n
is questionable whether the country can
ever be filed with peasants without
tariff legislation which win bear heavily
upon the whole body Of urban consum-
ers.
There are signs Of exaSgeration when
DR. Guttman asserts that people have
really no access TO the country and can
only look at il from a distance. Who
ever wants 70 wander about IN Eng
land" he says. must remain on tina
road Meadows and fields are surround
ed by bitches and hedges and numerous
notices giving warning that trespasss-s
will be prosecuted: and that is why no
body in England wanders aboUt-neither
student nor tourneyman-only the tramp.
who lives by begging and stealing and
seeks in bad seasons the shelter Of ths
casual ward"
The presence Of the tramps cannot os
denied. Their numbers have been
largely reinforced by lax administration
of warehouses and by the vagary o. the
new socialism that the state owes every
man. woman and child a living. The
tramps are on the highroads. where thew
can mumble their demands for charity
without work Possibly they are not ad-
mitted at the lodge gates Of the great
estates. and farm dogs may be unIoosed
when they prowl about secluded cot
tages. The spacious parks. the leatv
lanes and the ranges OF meadows and
pastures. with their network OF field
paths, are open 70 all other sauntersrs.
Warning posts are seldom seen, tres
passers are never prosecuted and there
are the largest possible facilities for see
ing and enjoying the countryside at close
range.
Around Bury St. Edmunds. In the
heart Of East Anglia. there are piCtu-
rescue EIizabethan halls and magn1h-
cent parks. and. with the exception of
the woodland coverts--where broods es
young pheasants are raised. the estates
are open TO the public. The grand ave-
nues of IckwOrth. the Marquis OF Bris-
tolls wooded estate OF a thousand acres
around his classic portico. curing wings
and rOtunda. are drives and walks for
the villagers round about. Culford Hall.
Lord CadOgan's fine country seat. with
a broad expanse Of lawn. meadow and
woodland. is not hedged in by warning
boards and screened off from public OBJ
servation- The gates are open from
dawn TO sunset. and the broad walks ard
drives are used freely by outsiders
Hengrave. with its splendid Tudor gate
house and inner court. RushbrO0ke.
where Queen Elizabeth was twice enter
tanned with magnificent pomp; Saxham.
where James and Charles II were re-
ceived in state. and Barton Hall, with
It's memories of Goldsmith; the Duke
Of GraftOn's broad domain. a. Eust0n;
Lord IveaSh's estate. at EIveden; Hard
wick House. with its JaCObeaD archi-
lecture and art treasures. and Other
parks within a few miles OF an
eient Bury can be explored at leisure
by sentimental travellers and entered az
all hours by villagers. I would not
venture TO lay stress upon the suffolk
practice If I had not lived in various
5hires in the Midlands and IN the West
and South and learned how universal is
the custom of throwing open the great
estates to the public. English land
owners protect their shooting preserves.
but allow their tenants and neighbors
liberty 20 use their parks and pleasure
grounds without restraint.
Equally accessible are the outlying
farming lands and heaths. Instead "
on the hiShrCads, 20 be
;mothered in clouds of dust from pass
ng motor cars. the rider is free 10 enter
every private lane. and the saunterer.
IAN go far afeld among meadow levels.
belts of woodland. sunny pastures. 10
ands with grain and tranquil reaches q
liver. DR.. Guttman's paradOxical corr
fusion that the green spaces can De
ound in the towns but not in the coun-
~ becomes uninteIligibIe TO any one
who knows the Surrey and Hampshire
commons or the SUFFOLK farming dis
ricts.
In East Anglia one has only 20 fclio"
he bypaths in order 20 see the country
which GaiusbOrOugh. Constable and
rome painted. with its waysids pools.
Is Dutch mills. its broad sweeps OF green
q, adow. its reaches of woodland si0p-
ms toward the water side its red Iiieu
ottages and hay wains and its expansive
Their landscapes were fuh
# air because they breathed IL on their