The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1874-01-09
The City Of London.
THE LARGEST CITY THAT EVER EXISTED
ITS POPULATION, ITS EXTENT AND
ITS wEALTH-THE HEADQUAR-
TIERS OF THE EXCHANGES
OF THE WORLD,

Especial Correspondence Of Chicago Tribune
LONDON, Oct. "a, 1973.-Americans
I are charged with a. tendency to exags
geratiOn of expression in describing any
thing, or in giving vent to their feel
ingS and opinions. But there is nc
danger of committing this error in des-
cTibing London. One may use the
strongest adjectives and intensest verbs
with safety, and strictly within bounds
of naked truth. 1t is safe to affirm that
Y is the largest city in the world, or, foI
that matter, that ever was in the world
1t contains more inhabitants, and more
houses, and more miles of street, than
any other city of ancient or modern
times. And it is far
THE WEALTHIEsT CITY THAT EVER Ex-
listed.
London is to the modern what Rome
! was to the ancient world, in respect to
population and wealth. But Rome,
in her palmiest days, was poor city in
comparison to London. The 3,500,O00
of souls which compose the population
of London need never do another days
work for wages. They have capital
enough invested in bonds and stocks,
in domestic and foreign securities, and
money at interest, and income from
real estate and railroad earnings,
and other sources from which they de-
rive dividends, comfortably to subsist
the entire population, to purchase them
food, clothing, fuel, drinks, furniture,
| literature, make all repairs of their hab-
| itations, pay all their taxes and assess
| n1ents, and, in short, defray all their
household expenses and personal out
lays, to the aggregate total of what they
now expend in cost of living. All the
productive labor performed by the peo-
Die of London adds itself to their capi-
tai each year, because they do not con-
sumo the income of their invested capi-
tai. London is in the condition Of q
family whose income, in the shape Of
dividends on stocks and bonds, exceeds
the cost of their style of living, and who
may, therefore, go out of business and
live on that income without trenching
ON dollar of the capital of the family.
Of what other great city can this be
saidq
But the property of London is not
owned and held in common, or in equal
proportions. One man has hundred
times more than he needs, and hun
dred men have less than they need.
London has some thousands of citizens
worth tens of millions each, and also
has 100000 citizens i'm the poor-hOuse.
But the great mass of the people are
prosperous and i'm comfortable eircum-
stances-tens of thousands of them
worth tens of thousands each. l.....
The leisure class-thOse living on
fixed incomes and regular dividends on
investments-are very numerous, num-
bering tens of thousands. Their only
business is to amuse themselves" and
fight ennui. Their hvesare continual
pftrOfiZe the turf, keep fast horses, sup
bort bort establishments, rarnble about tie
island. roam over Europe, and make
excursions up the Nile and to the Holy
Land and the "father Ind" London is
the Headquarters of the landed aristoe-
racy of the Three Kingdoms, who are
in receipt of rents aggregating nearly
thousand millions per annum. The
absentee Irish landlords may here be
found during the season." fourishing
like green bay trees" Here is concen-
trated the banking wealth Of the En-
pire. Here is held the bulk Of the bonds
representing the National debt, and a
large portion of the National, State and
Municipal debts of the world. Here
are owned majority of railway stocks
and bonds of Great Britain and the
Colonies, including 2100,O0o,000 invest
cd i'm Indian railway stocks and bonds
of other countries, the United States
included. Here is the grand depot OF
the tea, coffee, sugar, spice, and drug
commerce of Great Britain. Here are
held the largest stocks Of Roolen, silk,
leather, and even cotton goods, IN the
Empire. Great as is the shipping Of
n 4 - ~ SIrr n that
Of London, for here is the focus of the
Shining trade between Great Britain
and The East and West Indies, China
and japan, and the Rfed diterranean, and
most of Africa. The greater part of
the wheat exports of California and
Russia, and the beef, wool, and gold OF
Australia, come up the Thames to Lon
don for a market. The chief part of
the commerce carried on With France,
Spain, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia,
Russia, and, indeed, all Europe is trans
acted 10 London. It is the headquar.-
tiers of the exchanges of the world, and
its quotations fix the value in great
measure, of all the raw and lnanufac-
tured products Of all nations, and go
far determine the current value OF
the stocks and bonds, of every kind, OF
ether lands. London is the worlds
clearing house, its largest warehouse,
its biggest bank. sS.z.sa.. .-r..
LOOKING AT LONDON GEOGRAPHICALLY,
Ii is difficult to convey an accurate con-
eertion of the space it covers; indeed,
II ss hard to describe in any respect, for
II IL hhe elephant among cities. On the
clearest day, from the highest point OF
observation, the whole city cannot be
seen. but beyond the range of vision are
long streets and thousands of houses.
TakirIe Chafing Cross as "a center, the
snrburbs cannot be reached in any di
rection in less than eight to ten miles,
and in some not in twice that distance.
The Thames runs twenty five miles
through the city. If London we're put
down In Cook county, it would reach
along the shore of the lake from Evans
ton to the Calumet, and spread far out
beyond the Desplaines River. On this
spaee is concentrated q population
equaling that of the States OF Illinois
and Wisconsin, or according to the cen
sus of 1873, that of the cities of New
York, Brooklyn. Boston, Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Cineinnati, st: Louis, New
Orleans, and Chicago, al com bined.
j, ,ondon,. it has not ceased to grow. On
fhe contrary, itnever addedso many peo-
ple to Its numbers as during tho last de-
cade. The Board of Public Works re-
nOrt that 149, $40 buildings were erected
btstweon 1851 and 1871. The addition
was hut little less than the whole pop
nlafiorl OF New York. PrOdigious as is
the population of London, it is not dis
nrOpOrti0nate to the base of its support.
In the first place, it is one of
THE OLDEST or EXISTING CITIES.
II was o place of importance under the