Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-03-17
RELIC OF BYGONE DAYS.
Ancient Mummery and .BaJdheaded
Fiction in Connection with Elee-
tion of London's Lord Mayer.

tton of London's Lord Mayer.
Partly as the result of American ex-
ample, London is gradually letting a
good many of its old customs lapse in
to what ex-President Cleveland called
"~innocuous desuetude," but the me-
tropolis has not yet got u~p-to-date
enough to begin electing its lord may
ors in a businesslike fashion.
Here is a veracious resume of the re-
markable procedure gone through with
annually in the heart of business Lon
don, and whose chief result is to give
a dignified old gentleman the privilege
for one short year of wearing magnlfl-
cent robes and chains of Office, riding
about in a wonderful gilded coach, eat
ing p%rodigious %luncheons and dinners,
and otherwise doing his best to spend
twice the $50, 900 salary which he gets
for UNFOLDING the prestige of his little
domain of one square mile.
The lord mayor actually is voted for
by the so-called liverymen of the city,
LuO0t JULIE luCllpClo VI IL hNASA
city guilds. A few days before the day
of the "election"-the result of which
every one knows in advance-all the
liverymen are commanded to appear
at the guild hall to choose the new
mayor. The lord mayor in Of
flee, with his plumed hat, er-
mine robes and gold lace, is sum
moned also by the civil sword-bearer,
and SO are all the aldermen, in their
quaint robes. They gather in the
great council room of the guild hall,
where is laid out also the city's proud
insignia, the mace, the sword, furs and
so on. Before the balloting is begun,
however, the whole powdered, ermined
and bedizened outfit marched over to
the nearby church of St. Lawrence
Jewry for prayer. After which the IL
lustrous swordbearer has to ask the
rector of the church to lunch with the
city dignitaries at the guild hall-and
goodness knows what awful calamity
would happen if this invitation were
not rendered. Now, imagine the entire
assemblage back in the guild hall and
that important functionary, the COM
non crier, announcing that the election
is about to take place. This announce
ment having been made. the superbly
upholstered city reporter comes for
ward and informs the company that
the lord mayor and the aldermen who
have passed the chSir" will with
draw so as mot to influence the livery
men" in their decision-which every
one knows in advance-and these dig
nitaries do withdraw with all gravity,
Then the common sergeant reads of
the names of the aldermen who have
not yet been lord mayor, and the liv-
erymen select whichever two have
been longest in office. Then the re
suit" of the election has to be made
known to the serving lord mayor and
the other aldermen, waiting outside
and this done by a deputation consist
ing of the common crier, the common
sergeant, two sheriffs in their chains
of office and another official carrying
the great mace. Now it is the business
of the lord mayor and the other alder,
men to ponder over the names of the
the senior of them, just as every one
knew they would, w%hereupon the elect,
ed one, who probably has been saving
up for years so as to be able to afforC
the office, is hailed as the right hon,
orable the lord mayor elect" while the
other candidate is almost as happy ir
the assurance that he will be elected
next year.
After this there are simply nc end Of
other ceremonies to be gone through
with, most of them even more pom
pous and stilted than that hastily de-
scribed, but there is not space here tt
enumerate them. One, however, takes
the form of a visit to the house o.
lords on the part Of the new mayor tt
receive the sovereign's permission tt
his holdinng office-which lever ha:
been known to be refused. Then thu
elected n has to be invested" will
his official sword and diamond scepto,
and seals of office at the guild hal
again, and finally, browning joy, to b.
the observed of all observers at tn,
lord mayors show, on November 8.
1t is estimated that all this mum
merry costs London 100000 every tint
it is gone through with.
Sir James Richie, who follows, Sil
Marcus Samuel as keeper of the city!
dignity, is an elder brother of G. T
Rit&nie, M. P, the retiring chancellor
of the eXchequer, and is 6S years old
Beginning his city political career il
1891, in 1897 he held Office of sheriff
of the city, riding in the diamond jubi
lee procession of Queen Victoria. II
politics he is a conservative and be
longs to the Carlton, Garrick and Con
stitutional clubs.
AS Mr.. Ritchie's wife died in 1894
the eldest of his six daughters will &C
as lady mayoress during her father
term of office.-Cor. st. Louis Globe
Democrat.
Worlds Fair Hotel.