ITS HISTORY
21
the Court of Common Council and four verderers,
resident within the Forest, to be elected by the
commoners. A superintendent has since been
appointed, and a staff of keepers preserve order
in their respective beats. The section of the Act
which concerns us most, and which ought to be
written in letters of gold, is that which provides
that the Forest is to remain for ever "as an open
space for recreation and enjoyment." This is
probably the first time that the public right of the
use of open spaces has been recognised in law.
That it is fully appreciated is shown by the increas-
ing numbers who annually visit what is theirs by
inalienable right.
It remains only to say one word as to the
future of this beautiful woodland. The Act pro-
vides that " the Conservators shall at all times as
far as possible preserve the natural aspect of the
Forest." Such a reminder was perhaps hardly
needed. The body to whom this charge has
been committed are fully impressed with the im-
portance of providing, for those who live the
artificial life of our great city, the means of study-
ing nature where it is unrestrained by art. If
there were any fear of their forgetting this, it is
probable that they would hear of it from the
Essex Field Club—a society which comprises
some hundreds of members interested in natural
history and archaeology, and who bring to bear a
vigorous public opinion in favour of the preserva-
tion of all the wild life which finds a home in the
" waste." It is in its varied aspects that the
greatest refreshment is to be found for the eye
and the brain, weary of dead walls and the turmoil
of streets. The general opinion, so unmistakably
evinced, that the Forest shall remain a forest and
not be civilised into a park, is but the expression
of a true instinct. May the people of London,
for all time continue to draw full draughts at this
source, and to profit by the companionship and
teaching of Nature.