The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-08
HOW LONDON is RULED.
THE LORD MAYOR AND HIS AN
GENT CITY.
The Parish ROards-The COunty
CounciIs-R cmarkablc Privileges
Possessed by the Guilds.

Loamiugton.-An Engilshman dearly
loves to kick. He thinks the privilege was
granted him by Magma Charta, and that it
is the heritage Of the high born and the
consolation Of the lowly. lie is always
growing If it isn't one thing, it is anoth-
er The rich write letters TO the newspa-
pers, hire halls. call public meetings ana
pass resolutions. The poor assemble in
Hyde park and make speeches. Then they
feel better and are willing to dismiss the
matter from their minds. on any day. al
any hour between sunrise and sunset, you
can see these impromptu assemblages
scattered over Hyde park discussing in
tones~of wrath and with violent gestures
the outrages and expressions which the
commonwealth is compelled to suffer. They
embrace religion and industry as well as
politics and social questions. The equality
Of man and the wrongs Of the working
classes are, however, the topics that the
outdoor orators love best. They denounce
the House of Commons for having betray
cd the interests Of the people 10 the aris-
tocracy. They abolish the House of Lords
every morning, they abuse the nobility
and tho clergy as idle leeches and YAM
p.rcs sucking the ifebloOd of the king
dom. They mathematics the Prince OF
Wales as the highest example of all that
is evil and even abuse the kind-hearted
old widow whose thoughts. even while
She sits on the throne are always with the
poor and wretched Then they Vail stand
waiting patiently In the thorougWares for
hours to get glimpse of royalty and sa-
Lutte the queen and the heir apparent and
all the other princes with the greatest
respect as they pass by. But If they are
allowed 20 kick 10 is sufficient. If they can
unload their grievances upon sympa heUc
audiences they feel better Then they
settle down 10 loyal conservatism and are
ready 70 defend against all corners the
queen and The country they have so
nuentIy cursed
1t is one of the wisest as il is one Of the
safest features of the policy of the British
government TO permit the utmost liberty
at these open air discussions. and If Hyde
park served no other purpose, it's main
tenance is fully justified The meetings
that are held upou the lawn there are the
safety valves of public opinion. If the
gas from the fermeut!ng souls was not al
lowed 10 escape. and the steam of their
boiling indignation was not blown Off
there would be continual explosions
among the disconnected elements of Eng
lish society. Some of the agitators find
their way into parliament. some into the
DtliAGDLldTN. as IIltlf intentions are 8OOu
or bad but underneath the effervescence
is a sturdy, Unborn love of country and a
conservatism that often resists the very
reforms that are demanded and insists
upon letting well enough alone
That this is one of the reasons why
London has been the greatest laggard
among cities in the evolution of munich
pal government, and although il is one Of
the Oldest and largest assemblies of men,
circumstances of a most peculiar nature
and the Unborn conservatism to which
have referred have resisted the introduce
ton Of methods of modern approval into
administrative affairs The term city gov
eminent cannot be applied to London.
The worlds metropolis is a queer con-
glomerate which was not created, but
Just growed;' and it is a singular fact
that, although the largest mass of peo-
pie The world has ever known is gather
cd here they have been held together for
centuries by the law of social gravity and
common interest rather than a formal or
ganization.
n recent years London has been the
scene Of many and far-reaching municipal
reforms which are so numerous and so I'M
portant that it would be impossible to 40
more than give them passing reference
within the limits of newspaper letter,
but ] shall try from time to time 70 de-
scribe some of the most interesting which
4
cago.
In the first place the worlds metropolis
IS unique i'm being the only city known
to civilization that has existed for CEN
turtles without a uniform or an organized
governments The city of London proper
is only about one mile square ana mas a
population Of less than $1,000. while the
London we are accustomed 10 think about
covers am area of 500 square miles. with
a population Of G.00O.00O or more and en-
braces parts Of five other counties-Niid-
dlesex, Kent. Surrey Hertfordshire and
Essex This vast area and this multitude
of souls massed closely together have no
municipal existence. as we underst ana
that term. and as 1t is applied to other civ
nized cities. Notwithstanding this anom-
ally the people have moved on and ex-
banded at "a marvellous rate. unconscious
of their own condition. without stopping
to think how they are governed or wbeth-
or they are governed al an. IL Is n safe
assertion that rs per cent. Of the people
who are living within the u,etropoli.ap
district could not explain their municinal
system correctly If they were required TO
do SO. IL Is the most extraordinary phe-
nomenon that is presented i'm The history
Of civilized governments
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