Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1886-12-24
LONDON CITY.
Tinsel Splendor or the LORD
Mayors Position.
How the Government Of tie Great Me-
tropolis is Conducted.

How the Government Of tie Great Me-
tropolis is Conducted
A London letter to the New York
Commercial Adrerti8er says: A greater
difference between the mode Of election
and the functions Of lord mayor oil
London and mayor Of New York 1t
would be difficult to conceive. In your
mayoralty your tizens vote direct Tor
the candidates for the mayors office,
and, when elected, that functionary IS
the executive officer Of the whole
city. Here things arc totally different.
There is no popular election here,
and the lord Mayor when chosen merely
rules over tiny, infnitesimal por-
tion of the vast London of to-day, VIZ.
the so-called city proper, an area eX-
tending from the Tower of London TO
the Temple, and from Holboru to the
rivera mere island in constantly de-
clining population. There are some 90,
600 bona tide inhabitants of the ''city"
proper, and some 4,500, 600 outside
who are without any municipal institu-
tions. 1t seems difficult to realize so ex-
traordinary condition Of things, and
vet this is the state of London to-day.
Threatened men, it is said, live long; and
the same seems to be true of threatened
institutions. For this little Getty cor
poration which controls vast wealth and
which arrogatcs to itself a position it is
no longer entitled to occupy has been
threatened for some time by radical on
slaughts, and yet it still hives and had
its annual gala day last Tuesday.
Nor is the lord mayor selected by a
popular vote, for the city corporation is
perhaps the closest and least popular
body in the country. A lord mayor is
each year selected by rotation from
among the city aldermen who have
served the office of sheriff. The persons
who make the selection are the livery
men" of the various city guilds, who
meet for that purpose on December 20.
In past times these so-called livery men
were genuine traders carrying on busi.
ness within the city of London. To-day
many of them have no connection what
ever with the city; the livery companies
are now bodies Of wealthy men, intC
whose ranks possession of money anc
profession Of tory politics are the neoes-
sary conditions of entrance. Every al
derman is the livery man OF guild, ant
the court of dermcn have the right t
grant I5rTsvcrs 10 the livery companies I
increase their livery, j. G., to increas
the persons who can purchase the lega
right to vote in the election Of city off
GERS and parliamentary representatives.
Thus the whole government and suffrag
of the 'cty" is based on money, and
more corrupt arrangement probably doe
not exist in the world.
There are twenty-six aldermen in tn
"city," each representing one ward
Some of these wards arc absurdly small,
one of them containing less than 30l
constituents, SO that a lord mayor o.
London may have been originally
elected by less than $50 votes as an al
derman. When in office the lord mayor
is judge of the central criminal cour
(hough he may be as ignorant of law
as a Hottentot of the diffcrenta
calculus, a justice of the peace, and
chairman Of the court of aldermen, the
court of common council and the court
of common hall. He is also a member Of
the priyy council, chief butler at roya
coronation aad -in-chief ot
civic hospitality. When add that il
has sometimes happened that a lord
mayor could not speak the English
language without some painful
errors common to cockneydom,
the reader will have a sense
of the charming incongruity of things.
A lord mayor has chaplain provided
for him to look after his spiritual well
fare, but with strict injunctions to avoid
mention Of all ugly texts, such as that
describing the difficulty of rich men en-
tering into the kingdom of heaven. The
lord mayor is further allowed e10, 900
$50, 000) per annum for his ordinary
years expenses, the use Of $40, 600 worth
Of city plate and huge clumsy gilt
carriage, which is said to be constantly
needing large sums for repairs to prevent
it from falling in pieces. The lord may
or has robes and a civic chain, and the
aldermen and councillors have robes
also. The common council is composed
Of 206 persons. Il elects most Of the
officers of the city and has unlimited