KENSINGTON GARDENS. (Hansard, 2 May 1851)

§ LORD JOHN RUSSELL
moved that the House at its rising do adjourn till Monday next.

§ MR. HUME
said, he did not wish to take up the time of the House unless with matter which he deemed of importance to the public convenience; he wished to submit to the Government and to the House how far it was right to allow the interference which was about to take place with the accommodation now enjoyed by pedestrians in the neighbourhood of Kensington Gardens. He had been surprised to find, some days ago, that the noble Lord the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests had ordered access to be given to horsemen to that part of these gardens which was hitherto reserved for the recreation of females and children, free from the danger of being run over, and other accidents of that nature. Owing to the overcrowded state of the streets in that neighbourhood, as well as in the neighbourhood of Marylebone, great importance was attached by families to the privilege of secure and protected recreation within the walls of Kensington Gardens; and as it appeared to him there was no sufficient urgency for the interference, he appealed to the good sense of the noble Lord not to allow a privilege which had been so much valued, to be violated. It was scarcely possible for many hon. Gentlemen to enter into his feelings upon this subject, because for the last twenty-four years he had been every year attempting to obtain free access for the public to the parks and public walks and gardens; and any one who recollected what had been done in the way of improvement in this respect during the last ten or fifteen years would acknowledge that it reflected great credit upon the Government departments. But, then, he submitted that this interference was inconsistent with all that they had hitherto been doing for the comfort and convenience of the people. A memorial had been sent to him only a few hours since, agreed upon at 418 a public meeting of the inhabitants of Kensington and the surrounding districts, and addressed to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. The document, which had been signed by a vast number of the respectable householders of the neighbouring streets and squares, set forth the importance which they attached to the privilege of sending their families in security into Kensington Gardens, many alleging that they had hired houses which they would not have selected in the same localities but for this advantage, and the exclusion of horsemen from the grounds. He submitted, therefore, that without some very urgent reasons, the Government ought not to allow the entrance of horsemen within the precincts of those gardens. If there was any want of equestrian exercise grounds there might be some pretence for this interference; but there was none, because there was the Regent's Park and a large portion of Hyde Park also now for horse exercise. And, indeed, it would be better to let them have a circle in Hyde Park in preference to encroaching upon Kensington Gardens in this way. This matter was all the more important on account of the encroachment which had been made on the ground open to the public by the erection of the Glass Palace. There was nothing at which a foreigner looked with more admiration on coming to this country than the situation of Kensington Gardens, and the order and neatness with which they wore kept, and nothing should be done to impair this.

LORD SEYMOUR
said, the House would remember that last year, when the Exhibition was projected, some difficulty arose with respect to providing a place for a ride, and it was then agreed, as he thought with the consent of the House, that a ride should be made, if necessary, in Kensington Gardens. He at first planned a ride in another part of Hyde Park; but as the Commander-in-Chief informed him that any such ride would interfere very materially with the exorcise and reviewing of the troops, he was obliged to give up that project, and to substitute a ride in Kensington Gardens. He thought the suggestion of the hon. Member for Montrose, that persons might ride upon the macadamized road in the Regent's Park, was not likely to be very satisfactory to equestrians. The hon. Member had said that the ride in Kensington Gardens would interfere with the comfort and endanger the safety of females and children. He could assure 419 the hon. Gentleman, that whatever fear they might entertain of cavalry, the present retirement and seclusion of Kensington Gardens were not unattended with danger to females; and if the hon. Member for Montrose rode in those gardens himself, he would very much contribute to the security and safety of the females who resorted there, lie did not apprehend that any material inconvenience could result from the ride across Kensington Gardens, which would only be required for the next three or four months.