§ MR. BRYCEasked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether the sale of the Manors of Esher and Milbourne by the Commissioners of the Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues of the Crown to Lieutenant General Sir Henry Ponsonby, K.C.B., as a trustee for Her Majesty, mentioned in the Sixteenth Report of those Commissioners, has yet been carried out; whether, if the sale has been carried out, any stipulations have been made binding the purchaser not to take advantage of the manorial rights for the purpose of inclosing any part of Esher Common or of Oxshott Heath, tracts of great natural beauty which have long been open to the public; and, whether he can inform the House by whose authority it is that persons are now being turned off parts of Esher Common that have long been enjoyed by the public, on the allegation that such places are private property and no longer parts of a Common?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. CHILDERS)In reply to my hon. Friend's first and second Questions, I have to state that the sale of the manors of Esher and Milbourne has been carried out, and that the conveyance contains no stipulations such as my hon. Friend's Question indicates. Officially, I have no means of answering my hon. Friend's third Question; but I have communicated unofficially with Sir Henry Ponsonby, and I learn from him that since Her Majesty has acquired the property at Claremont, &c, there has been no attempt to deprive the public of any rights over Esher Common.
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. CHILDERS)It is a matter over which I have no control; but I believe that there is no such intention.