§ MR. EDWIN JAMESsaid, he rose to direct the attention of the Government to the state of Hyde Park, and to ask the First Lord of the Treasury what plan the Government proposed for the ornamental cultivation of the space now vacant by the removal of shrubs and growing trees. This was a matter which concerned not merely residents in the neighbourhood, but the inhabitants of the metropolis at large, the parks having been ceded by the Crown for the pleasure and recreation of the public. In 1856, when Lord Llanover was the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests, great complaints were raised about the state of Hyde Park between the Marble Arch and Kensington Gardens, and in consequence a portion of it was planted with flowers and shrubs, very much to the satisfaction of the public. That the House of Commons also approved the arrangement was apparent from the fact that in 1857 £350 was voted for the planting of the parks, and a further sum of £1,000 to be spent on Hyde Park. The shrubs which wore planted having thriven very well, and a very agreeable walk having been formed, the same course was adopted with regard to the ground between the Marble Arch and Stanhope Street Gate. Lord John Manners, upon his accession to the office of First Commissioner, continued the arrangement, and even improved upon it in some respects. Last year the Government entrusted the care of the parks with the rest of the public works to a gentleman whose name would be never mentioned in this House without the deepest feeling of regret, the late Mr. Fitz Roy, who long attended to the private business of the House, and afterwards presided over their deliberations in Committee, displaying all the attributes of a thorough man of business, the strict impartiality of a judge, and the high-bred manly courtesy of an English gentleman. Mr. FitzRoy succeeded to the office in June, but was taken ill in September last, and was not cognizant, he believed, of the steps which had been taken to turn 511 Hyde Park into the absolute waste and place of desolation which it now appeared. One foggy evening in November a large body of navvies were sent into the park, and before morning effected the utter annihilation of the whole of the shrubs, and transformed the well-planted ground between the Marble Arch and Kensington Gardens into a dreary desert. By whom the order for that operation was given the public were not aware, but, in reply to a deputation who had waited on the First Lord of the Treasury, the noble Viscount stated that he had received an intimation from the Woods and Forests of the most extraordinary kind, and that it was the intention of the authorities of that department to transform that portion of Hyde Park which had been referred to into a nursery. He thought that anything more desolate and cheerless than a nursery in the winter time could scarcely be imagined, and he was sure that the residents of Chelsea and Brampton, where nurseries abounded, would concur in that opinion. The noble Lord further denied the statement that the place had been disturbed to meet the wishes of some influential individuals who lived in the neighbourhood, and he could pledge his credit that his right hon. Friend (Mr. FitzRoy,) from his manly tone of feeling, was the last person who would allow the public interest to be made subservient to private influence, come from what quarter it might. He was told that alterations in the park never took place without intimation to Her Majesty or to his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, the Ranger, and it was said no such intimation in this instance had been made. That, as far as he was aware, was the history of the transaction. He did not wish to attack any one, hut he trusted whoever succeeded the late Commissioner of Works would direct his efforts to repair the scene of desolation which had been caused.
§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTONSir, I am very glad that my hon. and learned Friend has brought this matter under the attention of the House, because I think it is very useful to dispel a misapprehension which appears to have been very generally entertained upon the subject to which the question relates. I must, in the first place, state how very much gratified I am—I am sure every hon. Member of this House must have been—by the testimony which my hon. and learned Friend bore to the memory of our lamented Friend Mr. FitzRoy—a 512 Gentleman who possessed the goodwill and respect of both sides of this House perhaps in a greater degree than has fallen to the lot of most persons who have filled public situations. For myself, I will only say that I have lost a very sincere and valued friend. But great injustice has been done to Mr. FitzRoy by the reports which have been circulated upon this subject. I have made it my business to inform myself upon that which has passed, and I must, in the first place, bog to correct a misapprehension which seems to have been communicated to my hon. and learned Friend as to the answer which I gave to the deputation which I had the honour of receiving. My hon. and learned Friend has been informed that I stated that this strip of ground was to be converted into a nursery. Well, in one sense of the word it was intended to be a nursery, inasmuch as that is a nursery which is filled with children. These walks, as we all know, are thronged with children, deriving health and amusement from the opportunities of exercise and air there afforded to them. But the simple fact is this: The arrangement made by Lord Llanover was one which greatly contributed to the beauty of the place, and to the recreation and health of the persons who frequented the park. It gave an agreeable promenade with flowers and shrubs to look at, and gravel paths well adapted to the purpose for which they were intended. It never entered into the contemplation of Mr. FitzRoy to alter that arrangement. It was, however, found that the ground, not having been prepared in the same elaborate manner in which the ground between Stanhope Gate and Hyde Park Coiner had been prepared, the shrubs that had been put there had not thrived. It was the intention of Mr. FitzRoy to remove those shrubs and to replace them by others; and instead of the flowers that had been put there and had not succeeded, arrangements had been made to provide an ample supply of flowers to be planted there as soon as the season should be fit for such an operation. I am not surprised that those who walked there and saw what looked like a fallow field, not having been informed otherwise, should have become apprehensive that such was intended to be the permanent condition of the ground. But it was no more intended to be the permanent condition of the ground than a fallow field is intended to be the permanent condition in which a farm is to be maintained by the holder. It was thought that the ground having been 513 cleared in that way during the winter would be better adapted to receive those beneficial influences which the atmosphere communicates to an exposed soil, and in the meantime preparations were made for improving the soil by manure, and by the addition of better mould; and as soon as the season shall arrive when operations can be advantageously performed there will be put into it, according to a plan which I have seen, and which was prepared under the direction of Mr. FitzRoy, rows of shrubs, some evergreen and some flowering, and rows of flowers between them, with walks on each side; and I venture to say that when this arrangement shall be completed the public will not only be satisfied with it as gratifying and agreeable to the eye, but will think that it is an improvement on that state of the ground which it is to replace.
§ SIR JOHN SHELLEYsaid, that the statement of the noble Lord had given him very much pleasure. He thought, however, that in regard to the defence put forth by one of the officers of the Board of Works, that the plants did not thrive as well as was expected, some blame attached to the superintendents of the Parks. All transplanted trees required a great deal of watering, and not one of these received any attention whatever, yet owing to the ground being so carefully prepared they throve wonderfully, and if let alone would have established themselves satisfactorily. But there was another point on which he wished to make an observation. In planting and transplanting the greatest care should be taken not to break the roots, but he thought it would be impossible to replace those shrubs again in the ground, for in taking them up, he observed they were torn up without any attempt being made to preserve their roots. Now, these plants had been brought from Kensington Gardens at an expense of £350; the plants were worth some two or three guineas a-piece, and he should like to know what had been done with them? What was done could not be undone; hut it would be a great satisfaction to the public to hear of the change that had been made, and he hoped it would be persevered in.