New-York tribune., 1912-03-17
Chairman of County Council
Unsalaried and Without
Official Precedence, Is
Municipal Head.

IL FL
ING GEORGES action in laying,
IL lust a week ago, the foundation
N stone of the new palace of the
,ordon County Council, on the south
-,ds NJ the banks Of the Thames, almost
s,,sctly facing the houses of the ma
.'onoi legislature at Westminster, has
,.r,ed 10 call attention to the fact that
no Lord Mayor of London can no longer
80 said to be the municipal or repre-
,or,ative head of the British metropolis.
,,s place in this respect having been
,ten by the chairman Of the London
county Council Edward White whose
name does not even figure in that vol
,r, of self-contributed eulogy entitled
au-bo's Who" The chairman has to
,ontent himself with the mere prefix OF
DMr." and receives no salary. Nor has
10 anv official precedence, by virtue OF
his Office: whereas the Lord Mayor Of
tho ancient City Of London is addressed
Is If he were a peer Of the realm, ranks
ss a baron on certain occasions and as
an earl al other times, and enjoys sal
arv of $4,000 a year, with allowances
of as much more and an official fur
pisbed residence opposite the Bank Of
England and known as the Mansion
House.
Yet the chairman Of the London
County Council is, with all that, superior
10 the Lord Mayor, who is merely at The
head Of one of the smallest of thc
twenty-ninc boroushs into which the
metropolis OF the British Empire is
divided. and this superiority will be en-
phaszed when the stately SlO,OOOUJ
nalace of the County Council surprising
IN magnifcence and grandeur the Hotel
de- Vile. in Paris. shall have been com
pleted. Strangers then looking FOR the
seat Of LOndons municipal government,
and for the real chief magistrate thereof,
will find both one and the other housed
in a majestic pile that will completely
dwarf both the Mansion House and the
Guildhall of the City. In one word, it is
the chairman Of the London County
Council and not the Lord Mayor Of Lon
don City who is the counterpart in
Great Britain's capital of the mayors of
greater New York, Chicago, Philadelphia,
Boston Baltimore etc.
LOCAL AUTONOMY.
Each Of the twenty-nine boroughs OF
London has its own autonomous govern
ment in purely local matters, consisting
Of Mayor. aldermen and Common Coun-
Gil There is a Mayor Of Westminster
and mayors Of Kensington, of Chelsea
and Of Lambeth. In fact, there are
tWenty-nine mayors in all, the offices
being usually held by public spirited and
affluent citizens, who give their services
free of cost. 1t is only the Mayor Of
the borough known as the City OF Lon
don. who is styled, by virtue Of ancient
charter, the Lord Mayor, who is salaried,
and who, having great funds at his dis
posal for pomp and entertainment, will
continue for some time TO come at any
rate, to take the lead in municipal hos
pitality to foreign sovereigns and to dis
tinguished fellow citizens.
The City Of London has larger share
of autonomy than the other boroughs
secured by charters, for the most part
medieval. which have not yet been re-
peaIed. for the City of London has al
ways been particularly vigorous in its
resistance to everything in the nature Of
reform, especially when calculated to in
terfere with it's jealousy guarded and
often rather selfish interests. But never
theless 1t is subject, like all the other
twenty eight boroughs, in all questions
Of metropolitan Importance and con-
cerning the County of London as whole
10 the County Council and to its chair
man, Mr.. Edward White, whom doubt
less very few Of my readers have ever
heard Of before.
These changes have been Of relatively
recent date, and are, therefore, compara-
lively unknown on this side Of the At
lantic. They are so recent, indeed, that
the London County Council has been
obliged TO content itself hitherto with
temporary quarters, partly in Spring
Gardens and partly on the Victoria En-
bankment, and has only now commenced
to build suitable palace for it's accom-
modation.
FORMER CHAOTIC MANAGEMENT.
Until the middle Of the last century the
entire local administration Of the metrop-
oils was still Of the medieval character,
and outside Of the City itself sensible
system OF government can hardly be said
70 have existed. Greater London was
ruled, after a fashion. by the vestries OF
each parish, with no powers Of town
management To meet the needs OF par
ucular localities, commissioners or trus~
tees, having powers of town manage
ment. were created from time to time by
local acts Of Parliament. The resulting
chaos was remarkable. In 1855 these
local acts numbered nearly three hun
ored, administered by as many boards,
ana by a number Of persons serving on
them computed as over ten thousand.
Ihese persons were either self-elected or
elected for life, or both, and therefore in
no degree responsible TO the ratepayers.
There were also two bodies having
Jurisdiction over the whole metropolis
except the City-namely, the officers ap-
pointed under the metropolitan building
act OF 1874 and the Metropolitan Com
Inissioners of Sewers. Neither Of these
pooies was responsible TO the ratepayers.
Ihen the metropolis management act Of
1000 was passed, establishing a vestry
elected by the ratepayers for each parish
IN the metropolis outside the City, and a
central body, styled the Metropolitan
Board Of Works. having Jurisdiction over