A correspondent of the Times—Mr. H. B. Williams, of Highgate—states
that the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have purchased Lord Mansfield's rights in the Highgate Woods, and are now in freehold possession of the great sylvan estate of 1,100 acres, stretching from Crouch End to the Spaniards. He appears to believe that with this purchase the last chance of the public has disappeared, and that the entire territory will speedily be sold for building ; but surely he is mistaken. Parliament has the most- direct control over the Ecclesiastical Com- missioners, and can not only prevent their sanctioning so grave an injury to the health of London, but can authorise the Metropolitan Board to pay any fair amount of com- pensation. Not to speak of the value of the Woods as a recreation-ground for the vast population of North- East London, it is becoming a question whether the pre- posterous growth of the capital does not involve a grave social danger. Even now, though the pace has been a little checked, London adds a new Brighton to itself every year, building from 25,000 to 30,000 houses, and in a short period a fourth of England will be concentrated in a district a few miles square, which produces nothing. Parliament cannot prohibit that " develop- ment," but it ought to seize every fair opportunity of giving it a check.
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