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pleasant idea that we should have to pay for fresh air, as we do for gas or water; but the conditions of our town life are making it imperative. After all, do we not, in a fashion, pay already for fresh air? Is not the occasional flight to the seaside or the Continent in some sort a tribute-money which we offer at the shrine of the goddess Hygeia? But this tributemoney is paid voluntarily and irregularly, whilst what is now demanded is a regular and fixed payment. On the other hand, we must remember that in buying open spaces we are benefiting those who are too poor to get an annual trip to seaside or foreign parts; whereas, in our annual excursions to those places, we are benefiting our own selves alone.

In old days, when we were not all so densely packed together on the ground, rich and poor alike were able in a short stroll to get out of hot dusty streets into cool green lanes and fields. Then the annual flight was, at any rate for the middle classes, a luxury, and not, as now it has become, one of the necessaries of life. We talk of the wear and tear of town life, and we notice how greatly it tends to increase as the years go by and the towns grow larger and larger. Is not this very much due to the fact that the air we breathe gets more and more vitiated, more nearly approximating to an exhausted receiver? And where is this to end? No one can tell. As regards London, a very careful calculation was recently made by Mr R. PriceWilliams; and in a paper read before the Statistical Society on the 16th June 1885, he showed that unless any altogether new and unforeseen contingency occurred, the population of London within the twentynine registration districts of the metropolitan area, which had risen

from (in round numbers) 2,800,000 souls in 1861 to 3,800,000 souls in 1881, must by 1918 have risen to 7,000,000 souls, or nearly double the present number. And this calculation leaves quite untouched the growth of the population of Greater London, as it has been called-the London outside the area of the metropolitan district!

With these facts before us, who will deny that some clear and distinct provision is absolutely necessary, in order that some portions of the space which is at present unoccupied, but which must in the near future be covered with buildings, shall be rescued and kept open for all time?

No one likes to contemplate additional burdens on the rates, which, especially since the establishment of the School Board, have been felt to press quite heavily enough; but the health of the community is as important an element for consideration as education itself. And it were far better to pay an extra rate of twopence or threepence in the pound to secure all the open spaces which will require to be bought as London extends farther and farther into the country, than to find in a few years' time that the rate of ninepence in the pound which we are now paying for education might almost as well have been thrown into the sea, owing to the exhausted physical condition of those whom. the School Board has educated. Important a factor as education is in equipping a man for the struggle of life, it is too often forgotten that a healthy physique is of even more consequence. To provide mental training for the children of our poorer population, and to leave them without the means of ever breathing fresh air, would undoubtedly be a penny-wise and poundfoolish policy.

We must, then, face an addition to the rates in London, unless, indeed, the Government can be induced to grant an extension of the metropolitan coal and wine dues, on purpose to provide a fund for securing open spaces. And we have the less hesitation in putting forward the suggestion that they should do so, because it has been generally admitted that, objectionable as a tax of this description may be on a priori grounds, and as it is now levied and applied, there can be little objection to the tax if levied for such a generally beneficial purpose as this of open spaces; especially if the area which was taxed and the area which benefited through the expenditure of the money raised were made coincident. It is important, however, that these conditions should be stringently insisted upon.

But granted these conditions, the coal and wine dues would, we consider, form an admirable mode of supplying the funds which we have shown to be necessary for obtaining parks and other open spaces for London. The fact that the tax already exists, and has not now to be freshly imposed, is a great reason for its maintenance. It is certainly less felt by the public at large than an addition to the rates of the metropolis would be. And this in itself constitutes an argument in its favour.

At the present moment there are three most important open spaces which London desires to see secured, but whose fate is trembling in the balance-a balance held by the Metropolitan Board of Works. These are Ravenscourt Park, at Hammersmith; Clissold Park, at Stoke Newington; and last, but not

least (on the contrary, it is by far the largest of the three, and the most vitally important for the general health and enjoyment of the metropolis), Parliament Hill, with its adjacent fields and slopes, and a lovely piece of woodland adjoining Hampstead Heath. is understood that the Board are awaiting the decision of Parliament on the dues question before determining on which side the balance shall dip-ay or no. Now, if the dues are renewed, we apprehend there will be no doubt that these parks, whose danger is imminent, will be secured by means of them. But however much we are in favour of a renewal of the dues for a fresh term of years in order that open spaces may be obtained, we cannot admit that the fate of important spaces like those we have named should be allowed to hang upon a question as to the mode in which the requisite money should be levied. don cannot afford to lose her fresh air.

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Open spaces are to her a necessary of life, and they must be provided somehow. If they cannot be provided through the gifts of wealthy and benevolent individuals; if they cannot be provided by means of the coal and wine dues, then they must be provided by means of an addition to the rates. That is the cardinal fact to be recognised and insisted on. Pure air is proved to be as necessary to human health as pure water; and though it may be a somewhat more difficult task to supply pure air than it is to supply pure water in the requisite quantities, the attempt will have to be made in as thorough and systematic a manner as the different conditions will allow.

THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE.

ANNIVERSARIES, jubilees, and centenaries are not popular in England as on the Continent, or even in the United States; for we English seldom see any useful object to be gained by their celebration. When, therefore, an occasion presents itself which we recognise as calling imperatively for special celebration and commemoration, we have considerable difficulty in fixing on some fitting method of marking our interest. Such an occasion of perplexity is the Queen's Jubilee. All subjects of her Majesty feel that her remarkable reign -remarkable in the Queen's beloved personality, and in the greatness of the imperial events which it has witnessed demands that the jubilee year shall be both honourably celebrated and permanently commemorated. National sentiment on the subject is strong; but the question of how, in the most useful and practical manner, to give adequate and lasting expression to our loyal and patriotic feelings, has already been taxing our ingenuity for many months.

The Prince of Wales, with ever keen appreciation of the direction of national ideas, has suggested some permanent representation of the resources and progress of the empire, which has developed and flourished so wonderfully during the Queen's eventful reign. A strong committee has been formed to consider the Prince of Wales's suggestions, and to elaborate some practical scheme in accordance with his idea. The proposals of the Committee have been before the public since Christmas, and, as is natural in a matter of great national interest, have been subjected to the closest criticism. The

general tendency of this criticism appears to be, that, without some more clearly defined programme, it may prove difficult to maintain a sufficiently active and useful public interest in the Institute which it is proposed to establish. Exhibitions are things of the day only; technical classes and lectures appeal directly to very limited sections of her Majesty's subjects; and there seems to be a feeling that something more permanently, actively, and comprehensively useful is required to complete a programme which, in its general bearings, is accepted as fully worthy of the occasion and of the reputation of its signatories.

In the concluding paragraph of their report, the Committee lay down that "the purpose and the effect of the Institute will be to advance the industrial and commercial resources of every part of the empire." No basis could be more clearly defined or more suitable. It is mainly commerce which has led to the development of the empire, and it is the advancement of the industrial and material resources of the empire which has given to her Majesty's subjects the remarkable prosperity of the present reign. The long depression in trade has given rise to an ample discussion of all subjects connected with the possibility of its encouragement, and the time and experience of many capable men have been devoted to a full consideration of the matter. Debates in Parliament, newspaper articles, pamphlets, trades' reports, and the opinions of experts collected by the Foreign Office, have afforded ample opportunity for studying the question.

As a result, it is clear that

over-production for

inexpansive prove useful in regulating emigration, whilst it must also facilitate business between the Colonies and the mother country. In these days of keen commercial competition, it is impossible to follow too closely the progress of industrial enterprise abroad; for knowledge is power, and the recognition of the value of the "latest information" is one of the special features of the progress of the last fifty years. The Committee reporting on the scheme for an Imperial Institute, and the officials and experts whose opinions are recorded in the parliamentary papers already referred to, are fully agreed in acknowledging the importance of early, accurate, and complete commercial intelligence.

or failing markets has been the more immediate cause of distress, and all classes of merchants and manufacturers have been crying aloud for some special assistance towards the opening of new markets or the improving of old ones. The Government, and particularly the Foreign Office, have been called upon to give their aid. Discussion has shown that the annexation of new territories for the special benefit of distressed traders, or the direct interposition of British ambassadors and consuls in securing profitable contracts for their hungering countrymen, is out of the question; and it has been finally agreed that the collection and diffusion of information on trade subjects would be by far the most important service which could be rendered to the commercial community. The interesting papers issuing from the Foreign Office, and presented to the Houses of Parliament last June, plainly show what were the practical conclusions arrived at, after full inquiry and reflection; and although these papers deal only with foreign trade, the same general principles will equally apply to our large and rapidly increasing commer cial relations with the Colonies and India.

Already, to-day, nearly one-half of our total exports are to British possessions, and nearly one-third of the total imports come from her Majesty's dominions beyond the

sea.

All classes of the Queen's subjects and all parts of the empire have therefore full community of interest in the carrying out of any scheme likely to assist in the general augmentation of trade. The diffusion of reliable information concerning the resources and products of our colonies must certainly assist their development and

In his most interesting memorandum on this subject, dated July 17, 1886, Mr Bryce, the late Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, drew up the following list of the different kinds of information required :—

"Information regarding labour, including rates of wages, hours of work, condition of work-people, tradesunions, strikes and lock-outs, systems of co-operation and profit-sharing.

"Information regarding manufactures, notices of inventions, of the industry, of the transfer of capital development of new branches of from one branch of manufacture to another, of new appliances in agriculture.

"Information on the movements of trade, the increasing or declining demand for certain classes of goods, life of a people, as affecting demand changes in taste or in the habits of for imported articles.

"Information on legislation, changes in customs-regulations, tariffs, quarantine, and in the laws relating to commerce and industry.

"Information relating to finance, banking, currency, public loans and

taxation.

"Information relating to modes of communication and transport, railroads, lines of steamboats, rates of

freight, directions in which traffic is beginning to flow.

Information as to the administration of the law, decisions on important commercial questions, regulations relating to law charges, changes in commercial procedure.

"Information on undertakings and enterprises of moment, the construction of public works, the opening of mines, the granting of concessions for working minerals or forests, or for other similar purposes.

"Information relating to technical and industrial education, and as to the functions assumed by the State in connection therewith.

"Information relating to exhibitions, congresses, conferences, and

other occasions on which traders meet or goods may be displayed. "Statistics of all kinds relating to commerce, shipping, and industry. "Returns of the names of British merchants and firms engaged in business abroad, and of the nature of the business in which they are engaged." This is a most comprehensive list of requirements, and yet, Colonial and Indian representatives were not included among the experts consulted by Mr Bryce, and he considered only the special demands which had been made on his own department. It is evident that no single department of State is directly interested in all the numerous questions bearing on the general advancement of trade and the development of the resources of the mother country, India, and the Colonies. The Foreign Office is only indirectly interested, and within narrow limits, as the negotiator of commercial treaties with foreign nations, and as controlling diplomatic and consular agents in foreign centres of trade. It has no constant and intimate relations with the corporate or individual representatives of commerce, either in England or in the Colonies, and its staff, with notable exceptions, have little experience in commercial matters.

All this was felt and acknowledged by Mr Bryce and Lord Rosebery: they intimated, however, that it would be impossible for their department to obtain a sufficient grant of funds to defray expenses for the enormous amount of extra work required to supply the deficiencies noted; and, under these circumstances, their proposals for meeting the acknowledged legitimate demands of our traders were necessarily most limited in scope.

The strictly limited functions of the Colonial and India Offices would render it still more impossible for those departments to propose or

carry

out any comprehensive scheme, although within their own special province commercial affairs must rank high among the important matters with which they have to deal. The Board of Trade has the best general grasp of the whole subject; but its means for so considerable an undertaking are very limited. Under these circumstances, the natural conclusion is that the most efficient work could be done by some independent and unofficial institution, to which the co-operation of the various Government offices interested should be specially guaranteed by careful arrangement.

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The idea of founding such a suitable institution might under ordinary circumstances be sidered hopeless; but the Queen's Jubilee and the proposed Imperial Institute seem most opportunely to offer a chance of securing what is required. Might it not be possible to meet those demands of our traders, which secured the approval of Lord Rosebery and Mr Bryce, and, at the same time recognising the claims of the Colonies and India, to focus the numerous excellent proposals of the Committee of the Imperial Institute, by making a

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