June 29.
Pantiament is seldom seen to so much advantage as when discussing a non-political measure. Carping criticism and party tactics give place to friendly discussion and mild demer. The Unionist lion lies down with the Radical lamb (these metaphors are, of course, interchangeable at taste) and the usual result is a really useful addition to the Statute Book. Such a spirit of harmony was observable a few weeks ago when the House of Common: out an afternoon in discussing Mr. C. P. Trovelyan's Bill for securing to the public "the right of free access to uncultivated mountain and moor-_ land." There was, it is true, an organized opposition: and as everybody had a yood deal to say on the subject, the Government was eventually compelled to resort to the closure in order to carry the second reading. But there was no want of sympathy on either side of the House with Mr. Trevelyan's fact that they apply to England as posals, which, excepting for the
well as to Scotland, are the same. as those contained in the Bill that Mr. James Bryce, the present Ambassador in Washington, brought through its second reading under a Conservative Government twenty years ago. No people have a keener appreciation of Nature in all her forms than the British, and far as uncultivated tracts of England and Wales are concerned, the well-behaved holiday-maker has not much reason to complain of illiberality on the part of the landowning class. The danger of such Billas Mr. Trevelyan's appears to be that it may tend to introduce a feeling of antagonism where hitherto there has been mutual concession. Privileges once readily accorded on an understanding of good conduct willow be demanded as everybody's right. For: the only embargo on freedom of access is the pie MEr"thas, to protect themselves inst entry in search of game:
against the rowdy section of tourists, landowners might be found taking advantage of every possible loophole—as that by which parks and gardens attached to 2 residence are still regarded as private—in order to wall in the country.
this- it was a fois contention of Mr. Trevelyan's that the number of sturdy walkers who wish to go everywhere and climb everything is an infinitesimal minority of holiday-makers: and the great landowners of the House fi of Commons, notably Mr. Henry Chaplin, did not condemn the principle of the Bill. Opposition based itself, not on the extension of the measure to England, but on its effect on the deer forests of Scotland, where the owners were able to show that they had other motives for wishing to exclude tourists than mere selfishness. No one needs to be informed that deer are timorous and sensitive creatures, readily put to flight by the appearance of a human being within range of a mile or a mile and a half, and that the deer forests would speedily be ruined by the constant intrusion of ians. It sounds bad to say, as Mr. Trevelyan could say, that some three and and a half millions of acres are preserved for deer in Scotland today against but two million acres in 1882. What, however, seems to be satisfactorily established is that the deer forests as such support a larger population than they could find employment for either as farms or sheep ranches. For the soil is too poor for any repumerative kind of agriculture. If the object of Mr. Trevelyan's Bill were the abolition of game preserves, this argument would lose its weight. But Mr. Trevelyan does not share the vie of extreme Radicals on this topic indeed one of his strongest points was that "if it once got into the minds of our town population that their recreation and holiday were seriously curtailed by rich sportsmen, it was going to be an evil day for the game laws." An excellent modification was proposed by Mr. Henry Chaplin that there should be a close time during which the Bill should not be in operation, while the tourist would still be free to ramble where he pleased in spring and summer. Lord Willonghby de Ereshy, another great landowner, pleaded also for son: e regulations to prevent abuse of legimate freedom of access. Here indeed we touch upon real weakness of the Bill. Its possibilities of evil are by no means confined to the destraction of game. Already many of the most beautiful wild flowers are becoming extinct under the ill-directed zeal of inexperienced collectors: and if all lands alike are to be thrown open to the latter, it is not unreasonable to ask for strict prohibition against the senseless rooting-up of wild plants for transportation to home gardens where more often than not they perish.
Tt was a curious coincidence that less than a week after these ques= tions had been debated by the bom mons, the House of Lords was listening to Lord Avebury as he moved the second reading of his Bill prohibiting the importation of the plumage, skin or body of any dead wild bird other than birds used for food, eider ducks or ostriches. The text of this Bill has been reproduced in these columns and need not be detailed, though we cannot forbear from quoting once again the figures given by Lord Avebury to prove his tale of carnage. At the plume auctions held in London during the last six months vf 1907 there were catalogued 19,742 skins of the birds of paradise, 1,411 packages of the nesting plumes of the white heron (representing the feathers of nearly 115,000 birds), besides immense numbers of the fouthers and skins of almost every known species of ornamental plumaged bird. At the June sale, held at the Commercial Sale Rooms, 1,386 crowned pigeons' heads were sold, while among miscellaneous bird-skins one firm of auctioneers alone catalogued over 20,000 Kingfishers. More than this there has recently sprang up a trade in lyre-birds' tails and alba-tress quills. When it is remembered that the snowy heron from which the so-called egrets are obtained, assumes this particular plumage at breeding time, it follows that the destruction of every parent bird involves the certain starvation of a number of young birds. The protence occasionally pat forward by dealers that they manufacture these feathers is simply untrue, because such manufacture is impossible. There could hardly be any dissent from such a Bill, although it is unfortunately true as Lord Tweed-mouth pointed out, that the measure was powerless to prevent the slaughter of birds in their own habitat. At least, however, it may be hoped that Lord Avobury's proposals will help to form a current of pebtia opinion and an example for Yontinental legislation. Already collectors and naturalists in increas sing numbers are abandoning the gan in favour of field glass and camera, finding that the introduction of telescopic lenses enables them to obtain photographic records of wild creatures that are unapprouchable at near range. It remains to imbue the laws of tax Bioop 18 rae Lire. Clarke's World-famed Blood Mixture is warranted to cleanse the blood from all impurities from whatever cause arising. For Scrofula, Scurvy, Eczema, Bad Legs, Skin and Blood Diseases, Pimples, and Sores of all kinds, ite effects are marvellous, Thousands of wonderful cures have been effected by it. Sold everywhere at 2s. 9d. Beware of worthless imitations and substitutes,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.