New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-12-03

THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL-ITS FUN
TIONS. IRREGULARITIES, MANNERS
AND PARTISANSIiIP.
, PARTISANSIiIP.

AND PARTISANSHIP.
London. November ~.
The London County Council has the ais
tlncton Of being the municipal parliament OF
city large enough TO he nation. II Is the he"
est institution of one Of the oldest OF the WORM
great towns /; has been in existence oare's
seven years and marks the transition stage oe-
tween the old city the anomalous relic OF ieuua''s"'
and medaevasm, and the new order Oh P'o
gressive municipal government which mas oee"
introduced in England during the last haii-cei'-
fury Perhaps there Is nothing in the Quee"
domnons more interesting and important as d"
experiment in the art Of government than 'h's
municipal parliament
In an administrative sense there are nan
dozen Londons. one within another, with over
tapping or intersecting boundaries. Ihere Il '''
innermost and technical city. with an area OF
single square milo and resident populauon VI
$1,000. 1t has a Lord Mayor two Sheriffs anu
Common Council, and with its own police ior'e
and administrative Offices it has at least the
senblance OF self-government, but in reah'! II
does not govern itself. Eighty mediaeVal traue
guilds or companies control the Court or common
Hail. which virtually dominates and elects me
Lord Mayor; and the nine thousand members ~
these exclusive corporations do not I'VE WIN"
the bounds Of the ancient city, but an! VIM
within radius OF twenty miles from Cha'i's
Cross The Councillors and Aldermen are HUM
nally elected In the wards Of the city pu' t'7
residential vote has little weight IN deterh""
Ing the selections The self-perpetua ting gurus
are the real rulers OF the city. They are very
rich. having an income Of s5,N0'cOO from thel
invested funds and landed estates. and they are
very powerful being intrenched in the strong
holds of medieval privilege and tradition ana
,.vx-nN
corporations, whose lucrative metropolitan bust
ness is not under public regulation as 1t is IN
other English cities
MANY LONDONS IN ONE
/ Outside the cities there many Londons.
There is a London with an area OF IL square
miles whose vital statistics Of births and deaths
are compiled in the Registrars office. Then there
is the London of the former Metropolitan Board
Of Works. which is practically identical with the
London of the present School Board; and In area
| and population it corresponds closely with the
REGISTRARS London Following in the main
the same boundaries is the London of the Coun-
" Council with an area slightly In excess % 10
square miles and population of about 4.9oooU'
This is technically Metropolitan London. the vast
circle Of population within which the ancient cry
is embedded at the centre. But 1t is not the
| Greater London The London of the metropolitan
| parliamentary boroughs Is only a little larger
than the London Of the County Council; but the
area Of judicial London. comprehended under me
jurisdiction Of the Central Criminal Court Is 4p
square miles against 1913. That IS one Greater
London. and there IS another that is still larger.
This j. the London Of the Metropolitan Police.
1t has an area of nearly 700 square miles, and a
p3pulation of between 100000 and 100000. For
practical purposes there are. however, only three
Londons: the city. with its Lord Mayor and
NvertcI guilds; the Metropolis. with its County
| Council or municipal parliament, and Greater
! London with its outlying suburbs within the adj
| mn.strdtiVe sphere Of other County Councils
but with its police and criminal jurisdiction cen
ttlnc ct Scotland Yard and the Home 0'ice
The problem Of unifcation in It's present stage
/ does not deal with Greater LONDON but with
/ Metropolitan London 1t vas defined forty years
/ ago. when the Board Of Works was organized
When reduced to its simplest terms the question
to be solved is this: Can an effective central adj
! mnstration be provided for a population OF
100000? When this problem has beer worked
| out Greater London. with It's population OF
! 6.5OO.OOO may be experimental with; but at
| present there Is no disposition the part Of
municipal refOrmers 10 embarrass themselves by
charging pramaturely their field Of operations.
/ They have made little real progress since 1879.
! when the County Council took the place Of the
Board Of Works. in the direction OF reproducing
! in the metropolis the conditions o. municipal
! government existing In other English cities The
| amalgamation Of the inner city with the outlying
metropolis has not been Effected. The supremacy
Of single central council elected by popular SUI
frage has not beer established. Tie vestries and
district councils exercise much Of the authority
with which town councils In other cities are fully
armed. The Imperial Government continues to
discharge some Of the most important municipa!
functions Monopollcs sui in possession
OF the StronghOlds Of power. The Progressist pro-
gramme which was popular in London a few
years ago. has MOI been carried out. and While
public opinion may not have turned decisyely
/ against it, there is an increasing feeling Of
scepiicism and uncertainty respecting the prac-
ticability Of governing i city Of 100000 by means
Of a central municipal council
THE COUNCIL CHAMBER.
The council chamber Of this municipal parlia-
. rnent is in Spring Gardens within stones throw
Of Charng Cross the traditional centre Of Lon
don The same buildings We're occupied by the
Netropolitan Board Of Works but were not we'll
adapted for the purposes Of the Council. The
main assembly hall was enlarged at an expense
of $50 900 a few years ago for the accommodation
Of the municipal Legislators. II is well vent
lated spacious nall. about thirty feet IN height,
dimly lighted by windows around the ceiling.
Following the curve Of the semi-clrcular wall are
four tiers Of seats fol- the members, who numbe,
1871 Behind these seats + a narrow public gall
lery capable Of accommodating about one hun
dred and fifty spectators. on the opposite side
is a straight wall fifty feet from end to end witk
entrances % the division iobbies and committee
rooms and with narrow gallery above for the
use of the press On platform guarded by
3 -. lacfx halo ,
are two long tables for the clerks. 1t is not
handsome interior. The decorations are meagre
and the furnishings extremely plain. 1t is good
worl<ng-room for body Of practical municipal
Legislators who have no traditions to maintain
| Ri la Of a enen1nr md