ACCESS TO MOUNTAINS. (Hansard, 12 February 1930)

§ Mr. GRAHAM WHITE

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to secure to the public the right of access to mountains and moorlands. This Bill has already had a long Parliamentary experience. A similar Bill, but referring to Scotland only, was introduced in the last century by Lord Bryce, and it obtained a Second Reading as long ago as 1888. A like Bill, but referring to England and Wales as well, was introduced in this House by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Education in 1908, and on that occasion it obtained a Second Reading by a majority of 112. The Bill has been reintroduced on several occasions since then, and it obtained a Second Reading in 1924. If the Bill was urgent 30 or 40 years ago, the necessity for it is still more obvious to-day, for the movement of the population from the country to the towns which was in progress then has continued down to the present time; and it is indeed more necessary than ever that the great open spaces in close proximity to great centres of population should be free and open to the public. The case for the Bill rests upon the need of securing the greatest amount of health and happiness for the community as a whole. I think it is recognised by everybody that if our town populations are to have healthy 420 lives in towns, they must have the freest possible access to country air and country exercise, at least on those occasions when they have the opportunity of taking holidays.

The Bill is a simple Bill. It is not an attack upon the rights of landowners or upon the owners of sporting rights. The main Clause lays it down that no owner or occupier of uncultivated land shall have the right to exclude from such land persons who shall be walking upon it or who shall be upon it for the purpose of recreation or for the purpose of artistic or scientific study. The second Clause suggests that it should be a sufficient defence against an action for alleged trespass that the person so proceeded against should be able to prove that he was not upon that land for an illegitimate purpose or that he had not caused any damage to such land.

It is not necessary to dwell at any length upon the remaining Clause of the Bill, which suggests adequate safeguards against possible abuse. For the great multitude of the people behind the Bill, and who wish to see it on the Statute Book, are the very people who would deprecate any trespassing or willful damage to vegetation or animal life, and who are already in arms against that trespass against the senses which is perpetrated on a large scale by the defilement of the countryside by commercial advertisements and the distribution of bottles and other debris by careless motorists.

This great body of people, who are looking to the House of Commons in this matter, are a very important element in the campaign for the preservation of rural England. There have been few movements in recent years more remarkable than the increase in the number of societies for climbing, rambling, and camping, and that growth is shown not only in the increase of the societies, but in the increase of their membership. There are six societies in the North of England which have it in mind to amalgamate, and it is estimated that their membership will total something like a million. Many hon. Members have had the opportunity of addressing meetings convened in support of this Bill, which have been called far from the towns in the heart of the country, and they cannot fail to have Been impressed by the enthusiasm and earnestness of this move- 421 ment. I would like to call in aid a speech of the right hon. Gentleman the Prime Minister which he made on the Second Heading of this Bill in 1908, when he put the question to the House: Was Parliament to recognise the national right to enjoy national scenery? Was the House in favour of declaring that the mass of the people of this country, whether they live in the towns or in the country, had a right to enjoy wild, uncultivated and unspoiled nature? The people who are behind this Bill do not think that they are asking for any great concession. They are simply unable to understand why they should not have the same right of access to mountains and moorlands in this country that the people have in Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and, as far as I know, other countries outside the range of my experience, have to the national beauties of their countries.