Some striking figures showing the growth of the National Trust during the 1960's are available in the latest 'Infor­mation' sheet issued from 42 Queen Anne's Gate1. During this decade, in round terms, land protected in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has risen from 275,000 to 420,000 acres; historic buildings and gardens open to the public, from 130 to 200; length of coastline protected, from 160 to 280 miles. The number of visitors has  risen  from under one million to over two and a half million, and the number of members from 90,000 to 177,000. Does this mean that the idea of conservation is gaining adherents, that exploitation is no longer the only law of the land? And that successful pressure can now be brought to bear on the exploiters? The figures are encouraging. After the second World  War  'Enterprise  Wren'   to  save   the   surroundings of St Paul's would have had no chance of success in com­ petition with Big Business. Had the climate of opinion been then what it became in the 196o's - the  feeling  that  our island was being threatened and must be protected from indiscriminate growth - there might have  been some chance of providing St Paul's with a dignified setting. This is what one is tempted to conclude from the success the  Trust  has had with its 'Enterprise Neptune'. Probably its most spec­tacular achievement during the last decade has been the acquisition of coastline, and the following figures speak for themselves. 'Enterprise  Neptune'  was  launched  by  the  Duke of Edinburgh in May 1965. It planned to raise a two­ million pound fund with which to buy outstanding  coast­ land. Over one and a half million has already been raised. More than 120 coastal properties have been acquired in nineteen counties, extending to 111 miles of coastline. Seven­ teen miles of coast with rocky headlands and sandy beaches have been acquired on the Gower Peninsular (Glamorgan). Seven separately acquired properties provide a continuous six-mile walk between Bridport and Charmouth (Dorset). More than 2000 acres of tidal creeks and saltmarsh are now safe at Brancaster (Norfolk). Many miles of cliff  path  are safe  on  the  underdeveloped  coast  of  Northern  Ireland. And the rescue list could run into several pages.

The  growth of the National  Trust  has inevitably  added to its responsibilities and its problems, and its reorganization became inevitable. Wisely it appointed an advisory Committee in 1967 to review its management. This Committee of four, under the Chairmanship of Sir Henry Benson, published its Report in January 1969 2• The recommendations of the Report were than studied in detail by the Council, Com­mittees, members and staff of the Trust, and the conclusions of the Council were published in the National Trust Report for  1968- 693• There is a  useful  Annexe  to  this  Report  (pp. 45ff.) listing briefly the Benson recommendations and the Council conclusions. It will be seen in most cases that the recommendations have been accepted, as they had  been  at the Annual General  Meeting  held  in  November  last  year. It is  not  our  intention  to  discuss  these  recommendations in detail, but we shall pick out two that seem to us of par­ticular significance. The first is the conclusion of the Benson Report that the Trust must enormously increase its member­ ship. The annual subscription of the Trust's members is a valuable source of income, and with continuously  rising costs, the total of 177,000 subscriptions  is still far too small to meet them. A drive is being mounted to bring the member­ ship up to 200,000 by the end of 1970 . There is every reason to hope that it be doubled by the end of this decade.

A second, more controversial recommendation in the Benson Report might well have been missed by an inatten­tive reader. This was para. 167, where it was proposed that there was 'little justification' for the retention of the Historic Buildings Committee, on the  grounds  that  it  was  difficult to define the division of responsibility between it and the Estates Committee. It should be explained that the Historic Buildings Committee's responsibility was to advise the Executive Committee on matters of architectural, archaeo­ logical or artistic importance, whereas the Estates Commit­ tee's duties were primarily administrative. There was the danger that, had this recommendation been accepted uncritically by the  Trust,  power  would  have  passed  into the hands of competent administrators, and there would have been no one left in authority to prevent errors of aesthetic judgement. It seems to us, as it seems to the Trust, essential that those with proper understanding of ancient buildings should continue to exercise effective control over the adminis­trators. This seems self-evident, but the Benson Report did not put the emphasis here. The Trust recognized  the danger. It accepted the recommendation of  the  Benson  Report, while on general grounds stressing the importance of aes­thetic considerations. It has agreed (regretfully, one presumes) to disband the Historic Buildings Committee and to combine it with the Estates Committee into a new Properties Commit­ tee, but the latter is to have a strong aesthetic bias, and a Sub-Committee which will study all architectural proposals for restoration or new buildings. In the  carefully  worded para. 23 of its Report of 1968-69 it announces that its governing principle, in appointing members to the  Proper­ ties Sub-Committee or to other  committees,  is  'to  ensure that these committees should have a balanced and informed knowledge of all sides  of  the  Trust's  work';  and  goes  on to emphasize that 'at all times it will continue  to  be  the policy of the Council to ensure that aesthetic considerations are given the fullest weight'. This should provide the neces­sary insurance against Philistinism.

1. Information from the National Trust, No. 36 [January 1970].

2. The Benson Report on the National Trust, London (dated December 1968]. The members consisted of L. J. Clark, R. P.  T.  Gibson and Sir  William Hayter besides the Chairman.

3. The National Trust Report, available from 42 Queen Anne's Gate, S.W.1.