The work of turning the sand into gold, for that is what the development
of the Flemish coast comes to, has been carried out partly by the
State and partly by private persons. In early times this belt of
land upon the margin of the sea was held by the Counts of Flanders,
who treated the ridge of sandhills above high-water mark as a natural
rampart against the waves, and granted large tracts of the flat
ground which lay behind to various religious houses. At the French
Revolution these lands were sold as Church property at a very low
figure, and were afterwards allowed, in many cases, to fall out of
cultivation by the purchasers. So great a portion of the district
was sold that at the present time only a small portion of the dune
land is the property of the State--the narrow strip between Mariakerke
and Middelkerke on the west of Ostend, and that which lies between
Ostend and Blankenberghe on the east. The larger portions, which
are possessed by private owners, are partly the property of the
descendants of those who bought them at the Revolution, and partly
of building societies, incorporated for the purpose of developing
what Mr. Hall Caine once termed the 'Visiting Industry'--that is
to say, the trade in tourists and seaside visitors.
Pages:
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132