4
treated with contempt; at the same time it is just to
add the City people allege that their action is restricted
hy the Epping Forest Act.
The Commissioners last year proceeded with the
reception of schemes for the regulation of the Forest.
These consisted mainly of suggestions by Lords of
Manors and grantees, mostly merely objecting to the law
decision, and wanting the Commissioners to alter it in
their scheme, which evil advice they have unfortunately
listened to. There were only five or six independent and
valuable suggestions ; and before the Commissioners the
City and Metropolitan Board strove earnestly for the
control to be vested in them.
It went against the Metropolitan Board that they had
many years since (when the control was offered them by
Sir R. Peel on behalf of the Government of the day)
rejected it, although strongly urged by the writer not
to neglect such a noble opportunity; now the old saw
revives:
Those who will not when they may,
When they will they shall have nay.
The course of the Metropolitan Board has unfortu-
nately been to acquire questionable rights by bargaining
without contesting them ; both their scheme and that
of the City contained dangerous provisions, the main
one of the latter being the proposal to confiscate 600
acres as a deer park. All the independent schemes
object to this, and also insist on more or less elected
representatives to act with the governing body. Neither
the City or the Metropolitan Board (indirectly elected)
can be said to represent properly the vast constituencies
interested.
The City scheme proposed to swallow up £7,000 a
year in rent charges on the illegal building's and
curtilages, and then asked for more out of the Grain
Duty. The writer's scheme proposed to take about
one-fourth of the same amount from the same people, and
clear their titles; and while resolutely throwing open
all ground necessary for the public, not being too nice
about what was left as a curtilage ; but it must never be
lost sight of that a very large amount of the 760 acres,
about which the Commissioners propose to override and