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The Friends of Paris.

A new protective society, called Les Amis de Paris, founded by Mons. Ed. Benoît-Lévy, Member of the Institute, held its first general meeting April 2, 1912. M. Benoît-Lévy is President. One object of its campaign is the defense of the old Montmartre. Its membership is constantly increasing and indicates the growing utility of the society.

In our last report, we gave the names of several organizations interested in the protection of landmarks and civic beauty in France.

There is a permanent delegation of these societies interested in the beauty of Paris and its environs, and it maintains a ceaseless activity for the protection of the parks of Saint-Cloud, the Bois de Boulogne and Vincennes, the garden of the Tuileries, the Hôtel de Rohan, the garden of the Hôtel Biran, etc.

SCENIC AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN

BELGIUM.

Anglo-American Peace Memorial in Ghent.

At the meeting of the British Committee for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of peace between Great Britain and the United States, held in the Mansion House in London, December 18, 1912, M. Emile Braun, Burgomaster of Ghent, announced that the municipality of that City intended to assist in the celebration by restoring to its original state the room in which the Anglo-American treaty was signed, and by holding a banquet in the room in which the peace delegates had dined, which, as far as possible, would be a repetition of that held 100 years ago.

National Society for the Protection of Sites and Monuments.

In our former Reports we have referred to the admirable work of the Société Nationale pour la Protection des Sites et des Monuments en Belgique, founded in 1892. The Secretary of that society may be addressed at No. 102 rue Africaine, Brussels. During the past year it has maintained its characteristic activity in keeping alive public sentiment in favor of the protection of the

historical landmarks and the notable features of the landscape of that country. The Bulletin Trimestriel of the organization is a valuable organ for the dissemination of information on this subject.

In close cooperation with the national society are the League for the Protection of Country Sites of Liège, M. Emile Digneffe, President; the Society for the Protection of Sites and Monuments of the Province of Anvers; the Society for the Preservation of Nature and City - beauty in Anvers; the Touring Club, etc.

Objects of the solicitude of these and other civic agencies during the past year have been the protection of the landscape beauty of the Sy gorge; the saving of the picturesque nooks of Ardenne; the trees of Vecquèe; the restoration of the old-time appearance of the rue de la Haute-Sauvenière in Liège; the conservation of the ramparts of Binche; the saving from destruction of the curious, characteristic and beautiful dunes; the reconstruction of the Brussels forum; the establishment of the first Flemish forest reserve; the rescue of the forested valley of Borchène and the wooded slope of the lake of Gileppe from commercialization; the protection of the beautiful islands of Godinne in the Meuse; the rescue of the beautiful wild region of Calmpthout from a threatened modern avenue lined with pretentious buildings; the prevention of the building of a big flour mill on the shore of what is called "the adorable Lake of Love" (lac d'Amour), etc.

Official Commission on Sites.

One of the most interesting events in the past year in the field of scenic and historic preservation in Belgium has been the enlargement of the Commission Royale des Monuments by the addition of a section on Sites, and the changing of the name of the commission to the Commission Royale des Monuments et des Sites.

Under date of May 29, 1912, the Minister of Sciences and Arts, Mons. P. Poullet, addressed to King Albert a memorial in which he recalled the fact that for several years past, irreparable danger to numerous picturesque sites and some of the most remarkable natural beauties of Belgium had aroused a strong public senti

ment of alarm. It was desirable, he said, to reserve some locations particularly interesting, the soil and that which covered it, in their natural state or at least in the condition in which they were at present. The sea shore dunes, the marshes and heaths of the Campine, the fagnes of Haute Ardenne, the massive rocks of the valley of the Meuse and its affluents, had conserved intact original flora and fauna not to be found elsewhere in Belgium as well as some geological features and prehistoric vestiges of high scientific interest, which ought to be preserved. This solicitude for the safeguarding of beautiful sites and natural curiosities was not peculiar to Belgium. The greater number of nations had adopted protective measures, such as legislative and administrative orders, not to mention the large number of private organizations formed during the past years for the protection of nature, and he believed that the movement in Belgium would be promoted by the appointment of a royal commission on the subject.

On May 29, 1912, the King responded to M. Poullet's appeal by making the following decree :

ALBERT, KING OF BELGIUM.

To all present and to come, greeting.

See the royal decree of January 7, 1835, instituting the Royal Commission on Monuments.

See the royal decree of May 31, 1860, relative to corresponding members of that commission.

Considering that it is important, in an esthetic interest, to place the natural beauties of the country, its sites and its picturesque landscapes, under protection from degradation;

Considering that it is equally important, in a scientific interest, to assure the conservation, in some localities particularly interesting, of the primitive aspect of the soil, its geological features, its indigenous plants and animals especially rare or characteristic, as well as prehistoric vestiges:

Upon the proposition of our Ministers of Sciences and Arts and of Justice

We have decreed and do decree:

Article 1. The first article of the royal decree of January 7, 1835, is modified and completed as follows:

A commission is instituted for the purpose of giving its advice upon the request of the competent Minister,

1st, on the repairs which are required by the monuments of the country remarkable for their antiquity, the memories which they evoke, or their importance in relation to art;

2d, on plans relative to the construction and restoration of the edifices mentioned in article 2 of the decree of August 12, 1824, and other public edifices;

3d, on projects for works which may threaten the existence or carry danger to the integrity of the most interesting sites of the country;

4th, on plans and projects concerning works for public ways which, in cities or elsewhere, touch directly or indirectly on questions of aesthetics.

Article 2. To the Royal Commission on Monuments is added a section on Sites. This section shall be composed of nine members at least and fifteen at the most. The Royal Commission on Monuments shall take the name of the Royal Commission on Monuments and Sites.

Article 3. The section on Sites is called upon to give its advice on questions submitted to the Royal Commission in virtue of the third section of the first article, and, the case occurring, in virtue of section four of the same article.

Article 4. When a question assumes a complicated character, the Commission on Monuments and Sites is empowered, upon call by its President, to deliberate thereon in full meeting.

Article 5. Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the first article of the decree of May 31, 1860, are modified as follows:

Sec. 1. In each province, corresponding members of the Royal Commission on Monuments and Sites shall be appointed, charged to co-operate in their labors.

Sec. 2. The corresponding members attached especially to the section on Sites shall be appointed by us upon nomination by our Minister of Sciences and Arts; the other corresponding members upon nomination by our Ministers of Sciences and Arts and of Justice.

A corresponding member of the Royal Commission on Monuments may be designated with powers extending to divers subjects falling within the jurisdiction of the Royal Commission.

Sec. 3. The corresponding members shall meet each month, or at least once every three months, either in general assembly or in separate sections, at the chief place of the province, under the presidency of the Governor.

Article 6. Our Minister of Sciences and Arts is charged with the execution of the present decree.

Given at Brussels, May 29, 1912.

By the King

The Minister of Sciences and Arts
P. POULLET

The Minister of Justice

H. CARTON DE WIART.

ALBERT.

SCENIC AND HISTORIC PROTECTION IN THE

NETHERLANDS.

The Society for the Preservation of Nature-Monuments. During the past year we have learned with pleasure of the work done by the society for the Preservation of Nature-Monuments in the Netherlands (De Vereeniging tot Behoud van Natuur-monumenten in Nederland). The Society was founded on April 22, 1905. On that date, upon the initiative of the Netherland Natural History Society, the representatives of a great many natural science and other associations met in one of the rooms of the Royal Zoological Society at Amsterdam to exchange views as to the possibility of forming a society which should undertake the preservation of remarkable features of the landscape for the sake of their natural beauty and scientific interest. At the conclusion of this gathering it was decided to form such an organization, to which all present, to the number of 35, agreed. Preliminary committees were appointed and a permanent organization was effected at a general gathering held December 23, 1905. By a decree of March 31, 1906, No. 47, the royal approval was given to the Society, and it now has the honor of announcing that it is under the protection of Her Majesty the Queen, Her Majesty the Queen Mother, and His Royal Highness the Prince of the Netherlands.

The principal officers of the society are as follows:
President Dr. J. Th. Oudemans, Putten (Veluwe).
Vice-President Prof. Dr. Ritzema Bos, Wageningen.

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