-
Articles/Ads
Article EPPING FOREST. ← Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Epping Forest.
to imperfect usages , indifferently observed and little understood . Thanks to the labours of the Corporation , this is altered . Rights are defined , and a code of management as precise as the old forest laws themselves has been established . One thing we may learn from those
old laws , the memory of which is disappearing . They were framed by men Avho prized the greenAvood , Avho regarded every tree as precious , Avho would not have a bird or a hare disturbed , who vieAved Avith suspicion improvements which affected the forest domains . It Avas this jealous spirit Avhich preserved it in the past , and its
continuance Avill be the best preservation in the future . Another thing , also , may be gathered from the same sources . The avowed justification of these exceptional domains in the past was that the King ' s labour ' doth maintain and defend every man ' s peace ; ' that * his diligence doth preserve and defend every man ' s private pleasures and delight ;'
and that it Avas for the advantage of the realm that he should have his fit place of recreation and pastime . All that is the sentiment of a past age , and modern Sovereigns need no such means of entertainment . But we shall be keeping up this spirit of zeal for the Avelfare of the realm by permitting the common people to take their pleasure Avhere Sovereigns once found theirs . "
So let us feel grateful for the seasonable interference and patriotic and liberal efforts of the Corporation of the City of London , often attacked , frequently maligned , and Avhich in this , and in countless other matters , has eA'inced hoAv alive it is to the Avants of the poor , and IIOAV watchful over the best interests alike of the Municipality and
those dependant upon it or attached to it . Two points are very noteworthy , —the common consent now of all classes alike to preserve and extend the opportunity of healthful rest and recreation for all classes , and especially those Avhose life is an outcome of daily toil and dreary routine . Time was , indeed , when all such
ideas Avere voted enthusiastic and odd . " Man-traps and spring guns kept within these walls , " are our earliest remembrances of parks and plantations , as a warning to our intrusive " plebs" or Avandering Cockneys ; when People ' s Parks were not , nor bath-houses , nor institutes , nor night schools , nor musical soirees , nor penny readings ,
nor social gatherings , with which , and not unsuccessfully , up and down the land , we have been seeking for the last three or four decades to improve and elevate our English race . Above all , the preservation of open spaces and kindly parks for the health and recreation of our tired thousands has been going on " pari
passu , " and many are the magnificent gifts of patriotic donors , many the valuable aud humanitarian offerings of benevolent felloAv-citizens . ' We hail all such facts in the stern reality of our hard daily lives as
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Epping Forest.
to imperfect usages , indifferently observed and little understood . Thanks to the labours of the Corporation , this is altered . Rights are defined , and a code of management as precise as the old forest laws themselves has been established . One thing we may learn from those
old laws , the memory of which is disappearing . They were framed by men Avho prized the greenAvood , Avho regarded every tree as precious , Avho would not have a bird or a hare disturbed , who vieAved Avith suspicion improvements which affected the forest domains . It Avas this jealous spirit Avhich preserved it in the past , and its
continuance Avill be the best preservation in the future . Another thing , also , may be gathered from the same sources . The avowed justification of these exceptional domains in the past was that the King ' s labour ' doth maintain and defend every man ' s peace ; ' that * his diligence doth preserve and defend every man ' s private pleasures and delight ;'
and that it Avas for the advantage of the realm that he should have his fit place of recreation and pastime . All that is the sentiment of a past age , and modern Sovereigns need no such means of entertainment . But we shall be keeping up this spirit of zeal for the Avelfare of the realm by permitting the common people to take their pleasure Avhere Sovereigns once found theirs . "
So let us feel grateful for the seasonable interference and patriotic and liberal efforts of the Corporation of the City of London , often attacked , frequently maligned , and Avhich in this , and in countless other matters , has eA'inced hoAv alive it is to the Avants of the poor , and IIOAV watchful over the best interests alike of the Municipality and
those dependant upon it or attached to it . Two points are very noteworthy , —the common consent now of all classes alike to preserve and extend the opportunity of healthful rest and recreation for all classes , and especially those Avhose life is an outcome of daily toil and dreary routine . Time was , indeed , when all such
ideas Avere voted enthusiastic and odd . " Man-traps and spring guns kept within these walls , " are our earliest remembrances of parks and plantations , as a warning to our intrusive " plebs" or Avandering Cockneys ; when People ' s Parks were not , nor bath-houses , nor institutes , nor night schools , nor musical soirees , nor penny readings ,
nor social gatherings , with which , and not unsuccessfully , up and down the land , we have been seeking for the last three or four decades to improve and elevate our English race . Above all , the preservation of open spaces and kindly parks for the health and recreation of our tired thousands has been going on " pari
passu , " and many are the magnificent gifts of patriotic donors , many the valuable aud humanitarian offerings of benevolent felloAv-citizens . ' We hail all such facts in the stern reality of our hard daily lives as