The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-11-03
THE LORD MAYORS FEAST
a Traditional Event Seen Forth
coming in London City.
Powers of a Magistrate in IL Limited
Area of the English Metropolis.
He Holds an Important Station
Only for :. Year-Ceremonies At
tending His Induction Into onice.

Londoners will have on November
next, an opportunity Of induiging to the
utmost their fondIess for ancient and
quaint ceremoniaIs and traditions. The oc-
casion will be the seating Of the new Lord
| Mayor. Frank Green, who will doubtless
sustain the honors OF office in the tradi-
tional and honorable manner by partici-
pating in a prodigious number OF official
luncheons and dinners He viii be attired
| in wonderful and gorgeous costume, and
viii perform strange rites with much
so!emnity.
Although he has no more authority than
anyone else outside of his square mile city,
the Lord Mayor of London in many ways
is the most important mayor in the world
His little city in the heart of the great
metropolis is the centre of British com
merce, and although it is practically &c
serted by night more than q million peo-
pie do business there in the daytime. 1t
is a complete county all by itself, and in
some respects is an ally rather than
humble subject OF the British Govern
ment. British troops may not march III
its streets without permission of the cor
poratioD, and the Queen herself may not
enter it without the permission Of the lord
mayor. who meets her at the city's gates
and hands 10 her golden key with which
TO unlock them. IL happens that there
are no gates, but that does not interfere
with the ceremony.
The lord mayor is at the head Of the po-
lice force that has nothing to do with the
police force Of the rest or the metropolis,
and unlike all the other police depart
meEts of England, is not even under the
authority of the home department He is
at the head OF a corporation that can do
whatever it pleases with its funds. Not
much depends on the man himseIf-it does
not matter greatly whether he is a big
man or q little one-but the weight OF dis
nifty vested III the Office he holds Tor
| year is something stuperdous.
Alderman Green, the man for whom all
/ these p6mpS and Va2itieS wait, was elect
! ed on September % Michaelmas Day, just
as ali OF his predecessors were elected
from before the time America was discOF-
| cred. And the manner of his election was
as delightful as that of his installation
Will be. He couldn't exactly say that the
honor came as surprise tG him, Tor ne
knew pretty much ali about it years be
! fore, and doubtless had been saving money
for it.
/ The chief difficulty about becoming
/ LGrd Mayor CT London is TO set the rate
( payers to elect you 10 life membership
/ in a highly ornamental board Of aldermen
There are only tw6nty-siX OF them and
: vacancies are scarce OltSG YOU are an d.
/ derman you don't have to bother further
! with the ratepayer but look for advance
ment 10 the CIlizen. The citizen is not at
ali the same sort of being as plain citi-
zen without the capital &C" He is no
/ less than a acknowledgement, member
OF one of the city guilds.
Each year two OF the aldermen are
| elected sheriffs by the liveryemn, The sher-
| IFS do not run around catching offenders
! against the law. Their chief duty is 10
| uphold the dignity of the city by wearing
| wonderful gowns. with chains of Office
| hanging from their necks, eating official
! dinners and other such cares Of office. The
| sheriff5 hold office for only year and
| they keep a sharp eye on the lord mayor,
| getting points the management Of so
much dignity; for the sherifs are the
mayors understudies and. sooner or later,
unless fate and tradition clash each of
| them in turn viii become lord mayor.
| The mayor is chosen from among those
| alderman who have not passed the
! chair" that is. been lord mayor, but who
! have served as sheriff. There are more
| than a dozen such aldermen at present
and each in turn, in all human proha-
| bility, will get the coveted office, III the
order of seniority. But the funny part Of
| it is that each is voted for and elected
/ with as much seriousness as If no one
| could guess what the result of the poll
/ might be.
week before the election a summons
! is sent TO all the masters and wardeEs Of
! all the city guilds, commanding them to
! assemble the iiverymen at the Guild hall
on Miehaelmas Day. The Give sword
bearer likewise summons the lord maTor
! aldermen, and sheriffs. The appointed
| day finds them gathered in the great hall
| OF the Guild hall, with all the city's in
| sigma, mace, sword, robes of scarlet and
! costly fur, and all the rest of it. The city
| recorder and the city remembrancer each
! carries iE the hand little bunch of flow
/ ers, because in the dark ages, before sew
! er pipes were invented, the Guild hall
| was not always sweet smelling and it was
the duty of these two officers to counter
act with their flowers any disagreeable
/ doors that might be about. The Guild
! hall is up to date now in the matter of
| drainage, but that does not do away with
| the flowers any more than the absence of
| city gates makes the Queens golden key
| unnecessary.
| When all is ready this wonderful outfit
| of scarlet and gold, powder and dignity,
marches out to the nearby Church of st.
| Lawrence Jewry which has been honored
! thus every year since Wren built the
| church after the great fire. Al the end
| of the service the sword bearer invites the
! rector to dine at the Mansion House after
the election Is over. That invitation is as
! much a part of the ceremony the cleo
| ton ITSELF and II 1t were not issued in
the precise language at the psychological
moment by the proper official it is con-
ceivable that the Government of London
! would be shaken to its foundation. The
brilliant procession marches back to the
Guild Hail. all persons who are not livery
men are ordered off the premises, and then
| the common crier delivers himself as fol-
| lows:
'0yez! oyez! Oyez!
| Eye good men of the livery of the sew
eral companies of this city, summoned here
this day for the election of fit and able
person to be lord mayor of this city for the
| year ensuing, draw near and give your
attendance
God save the Queen!'
The city reporter steps forward and in
! forms the liverymen that the lord mayor
and the aldermen who have passed the
chair will now retire, in order not to influ-
ence the liveryInen in their choice of a
! new lord mayor-just as if everyone were
not perfectly aware of who was to be
| elected
| After this precaution has been taken
! the common sergeant reads off the names
! of the aldermen who have been sheriffs.
but have not passed the chair, each liv-
eryman holding up his hand when the
| name of the man of his choice is called
The liverymen duly vote for the two can