“Moreover, he hath left you all his walks, His private arbours, and new planted orchards On this side Tiber; he hath left them you And to your heirs for ever; common pleasures, To walk abroad and recreate yourselves.”
Dr. Eade proceeded to say he wished there were Julius Cæsars at the present time desirous of making wills for the benefit of Norwich. He then quoted the opinions of Lord Shaftesbury and the _Lancet_ as to places of public recreation and their influence upon the physical and moral welfare of the population, and added, that he fully agreed with the writer in the _Daily Press_, signing himself “C. I. T.,” when he wrote—“The city expects the authorities to guard the health and lives of the humbler population at all costs.”
Other towns had done and were doing that which he wanted them to do in Norwich. Towns as large as Birmingham and as small as Falmouth, had provided public parks, and many had more than one. Birmingham had seven parks and recreation grounds, Sheffield four, and Bradford three, while the latter town had lately spent £150,000 in carrying out what he was now advocating. Norwich had a population of 90,000, and was rapidly increasing and spreading on almost all sides—open spaces being constantly taken up for building purposes. Though they had playgrounds attached to School Board schools, he was sorry to find they were not available to the juvenile population—that they were only open to the children attending the schools during school hours, or a few minutes before and after school.
Norwich stood the very lowest on the list of the towns of England with regard to this question of recreation grounds. They had waited and waited until the difficulty of providing such places had greatly increased, while if they waited longer these difficulties would become almost insuperable. When he first started in this matter he could have found, or had the offer of, several open places, but those were now built over. He, at that time, took a great deal of trouble in the matter, but soon found that notwithstanding the support given him by several prominent citizens, it was far too large a matter for a single individual to carry through; but now he had the honour of a seat in the Council he claimed their attention, and, if possible, their powerful sympathy and support. They might ask where was the demand for recreation grounds. He asked those who had children to bring up whether they would allow them to play in narrow streets and crowded courts breathing impure air? What was the reason of there being so many puny, delicate, and small children? He ventured to say this was almost entirely due to the unwholesome surroundings in which they were brought up. He mentioned that in Glasgow recently, one medical man lecturing in that city said that in one year he had treated 330 cases of children with deformed bones—bent legs, bent thighs, knock-knees, etc.—which deformities were entirely due to the want of proper development and to their unwholesome surroundings. Much superior in many respects as Norwich was to Glasgow, he ventured to say that the same condition of things existed here. But the demand for places of recreation was, he contended, proved by the fact that whenever a plot of ground was cut up for building purposes, children crowded there from all parts of the city to play, and this they continue to do until driven away by the advance of bricks and mortar. Then, too, Chapel Field, when it was open, was often taken advantage of by 500 and 600 children and others, who went there for play and enjoyment.