New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-11-28
LONDON GOVERNMENT.
SIGNAL FOR REACTION GIVEN BY
LORD SALISBURY IN CONSEQUENCE
OF THE NETWORK ELECTION

,o,,table that the triumph OF lam
t. Nev-York would be converted INV
.orroent against the unifcation Oh l1oi' Ii,
.ho orderly development of Proeree' y, 10
-, What the shrewdest observer WIZ
,ooted imagination to forecast was 'he M. %
o.a edontion by the Unlonist "oNei 80
reactionary municipal measures III -, S.r-
=, the failure Of the reform inoVeie' - r..,o,
Work. This is what has been done s-tsoa,,o.
Of It's meeting on Saturday deciueu 49,, ,r,rci-
=, tho next session a bill oaseo vi '"0 49,
:. l., ,,onract,cable TO govern Loiiooh
a,, =, centralized administrator ar, ,'I
~ :, oo,.orv 10 convert the We'i0
49,, sar,as ~ municipalities hoiu 49, No.
onnornced this decision last ms s,o,,ors at
.,ora1 Union Of CONSERVATIVE ,outical
'ioha' "a gave the signal for poi''''
,r oga,nst the London county -
,.Ioos this course by the faiuie Va
=, ,-.u-york. where new cha'.'i ,.soo.s
-. FOR the purpose OF re"eu''e ,r
~. municipality by enormously
~. ros and by bringing much 'as'ei pof
49,, under It's range. ana wheIe t -, -.
.ood government in the recent ele''io'i
soou os tho assistance, support and oo-opeia
.,or ~ the only class OF men d! ""0
'r.,.u,,ors could be satisfactorily conoucteu'
Tbara
.u,,,h that the collapse Of reform IN New IoiN
uu'" -, . reactionary movement In Lon
don. IL, .xo I,r,on,st
,or,r,ent with most of its ideas IN leslSia
49,, 10 undoubtedly responsible for this new
sor+ure A pioneer himself in the munlclpai
,,ovement IN England and Scotland. ne mas re-
o,,ad,v asserted that while the business IN
.orosts of a population Of half a million or at
os, q million may be managed oy a Town
council with it's standing committees the So
,or, will break down under Its own weight IL
:. hs ann,ied to so populous an area as metro
nolitan London. He has never taken hH' aO'''
,r,erest In the work OF the Londoh Oouii''
Councu nor in the Progressive programme IoI
.ho uniecation Of the metropolis; and recently
ha has lent his support to the movement loi
,,oornoreting by act Of Parliament kenslhstoh'
Westminster and other sections OF Greater Loii-
don as separate cities. AT Glasso" nc wa"
ouick to point the moral of the Greater new
York election as the triumph OF party ""o'e
object was "avowedy to get the greatest amount
of snoil" He returned to London 10 a''ehu
Cabinet Council for arranging the preliminary
details Of a legislative programme TOT the ap-
proaching session Of Parliament, ana hoiiuoh
hill in accordance with his Ideas has been or
dered Having forced the Government 10 ADOPT
his nrotect for workmens compensation for accl-
dents at the last session and TO forecast series
OF Irish measures for the next session. he mas
now succeeded in committing 1t TO the policy
n, creating a congeries Of cities In place OF
united and centrally governed London.
Lord Salisbury at once has taken MS cues
from Mr. Chamberlain. The voice is JACOB
voice but the hands are the hands OF Esau'
Lord Salisbury. at Albert Hail. begins by sneer-
,n1 at nesalomania--"the passion for big things
simply because they are big'-and straightway
condemns the London County Council as an
overworked municipal Parliament which cannot
govern the metropolis effectively wisely and
cheaply He contends that much more efficient
administrative machines could have been Sc
cured II legislators had been content to look
unon London "as what II is. not one great mu-
nic,pality but an aggregate OF municipalities.
Then he proceeds with the exposition OF Mr..
Chamberlain's own argument that limitation OF
the size Of municipality is one Of the essential
conditions of It's efficiency and excellence. and
that while the town councils OF smaller cities,
recruited from the best men in the communi-
ties. succeed admirably in conducting local
government the London County Council Is over
worked and fails The members of that Council,
ne declares, are becoming professional polti-
clans are overwhelmed with committee labors.
are wasting time in the discussion OF abstract
questions and negecting prosaic and simple
matters on which the welfare OF five millions
OF people depends. He points the moral OF the
failure OF reform in Greater New-York, and as
sumes that the best County Council In the world
cannot solve the problem of London municipal
government Smaller municipal councils elected
in narrower areas will alone be competent to
opd c1afi IN
be introduced at the next session Of Parliament.
GOOD TORY WORK DIsCREDITED
Lord Salisbury's speech was not lacking In
dehniteness, although 1t did not contain specific
details Of the proposed legislation. The practi-
cal moral which he drew from the failure OF
the reform campaign in New-York was that
populous metropolis was incapable or govern
ing Itself wisely and economically by central
ICED administration; and consequently London
ers must take warning and entrust to series
Of separate municipalities the work now per-
formed by the County Council He called upon
London Conservatives TO unite In the next mu-
nicipal canvass and to elect candidates who
would weaken and destroy the County Council
and thereby put an end TO the movement fol-
the unification OF London Mr. Platt may have
failed in New-York 10 arm the consolidated
metropolis with resources for reformed admins
tration and good government but he has beer
signaly successful abroad in promoting the
cause of municipal reaction. He has enabled Lore
Salisbury and Mr. Chamberlain to start a cam
paign for the undoing of the County Council anC
FOR the perpetuatioa Of all the abuses Of vestry
dom and local monopolles
There was one Minister the platform a
Albert He'll who must have been startled by tn
rapturous applause with which the Unonis
audience greeted the Prime Minister'S declara
ton OF war upon the County Council. This wa
Mr. Richie. who is president Of the Boar
OF Trade but who introduced In 1888, as presl
dent OF the Local Government Board the &C
under which the London Cnnntu Conncn ,ua