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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 T-fcAU 
 
 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 4 Series of Explanatory Articles, 
 
 Reprinted from 
 
 ©ft* ®i«U5. 
 
 PRICE SIXPENCE. 
 
 LONDON J 
 
 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GEORGE EDWARD WRIGHT. AT 
 
 THE TIMES OPFICE, PRINTING-HOUSE SOUARE,
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 • • s • 
 
 • • • 

 
 05 
 3<P I 
 
 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 c/; 
 
 I.— THE NEW ORDER OF THINGS. 
 
 Tho nature of tho legislative alterations in 
 local government may bo known, but will hardly 
 be fully appreciated until tho county councils 
 have been elected, have got settled in the 
 saddle, and have been intrusted with the higher 
 powers foreshadowed by the Act. The readers ol 
 
 c _ ) The Times have had the opportunity of reading 
 
 | the Local Goven raent (England and Wales) Act, 
 
 1888, in full. Yet even those who have availed 
 
 ci. themselves of that opportunity, and still more 
 those who have not done 60, may be glad to have 
 Btated as concisely as may bo the nature of tho 
 change that is effected. It is important that 
 both tho county electors and intending candidates 
 should bo precisely informed on this point. The 
 changes contemplated by the Local Government 
 Bill were so far-reaching and so extensive that, 
 omitting the larger boroughs, every sanitary and 
 highway authority would have been remodelled, 
 and its duties and powers would have been re- 
 &rr.ani£.cd. Lut circumstances did not permit of 
 
 398ol5
 
 4 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 the Bill passing in its original form. The pro- 
 visions constituting district councils and assign-* 
 ing their duties and powers had to be omitted^ 
 and so a grant has been made to the chaos oi 
 minor authorities of a new lease, but, as may be 
 hoped, a short one. Mr. Goschen's well-known 
 assertion that in one parish he had received 
 eight rate-papers for an aggregate demand oi 
 12s. 4d. will be possible of repetition. The rate- 
 payer must look forward to the fixture for a con- 
 centration in one authority of the powers and 
 duties now devolving upon numerous and 
 variously-elected local bodies. It cannot be too 
 distinctly insisted upon that the only new 
 authorities created by the Local Government 
 Act are the county councils. To these county 
 councils are intrusted all the administrative 
 duties that have hitherto devolved on the justices 
 in quarter sessions, and they have also a 
 qualified power of supervision in certain 
 sanitary matters. In all county matters repre«; 
 Bentation and taxation are to go hand in hand. 
 Local taxation is, moreover, to be relieved. 
 While some grants from the Imperial exchequer 
 are discontinued, other sources of revenue are 
 handed over, and local taxation is to receive a 
 net benefit of some £3,000,000 annually. Thus, 
 while the Legislature has setup new local autho- 
 rities, it has started them fairly on their way by 
 giving them the means of substantially reducing 
 the rates which it is necessary should be leviea. 
 The new bodies, then, created by the Act are 
 the county councils, which are to be elected next 
 January, and which will enter upon their duties 
 in April. To these councils the Act relegates 
 (t all the administrative business of the justices 
 in quarter sessions." So the ratepayer who pays 
 ttie .Diner wilL to. v gome extents bo able to call
 
 THE NEW ORDER OF THINGS. E 
 
 tlio tunc. Tlio question, for instance, of pro- 
 viding a now lunatic asylum, at a cost perhaps of 
 £-- ,000, will have to be considered 
 
 and decided,notbya E gentlemen appointed 
 
 to conserve the peace, but by the elected repre- 
 sentatives of the ratepayers. This alone would 
 be a change of grave importance. But the main- 
 tenance,management,and visitation of the pauper 
 lunatic asylums will also devolvo upon tho 
 county councils. They will have to maintain and 
 to establish, when necessary, reformatory and 
 industrial schools. In all these matters a vast 
 amount of patronage will devolve on tlio county 
 councils. They will also be subject to the danger 
 arisii a to all public bodies, of having to obtain 
 considerable supplies, and, for that purpose, of 
 having to enter into large and numerous con- 
 tracts. This work has for I part been 
 ca i by tho courts of quarter sessions by 
 means of their committees. The committees have, 
 of course, done their business in private ; and 
 once a quarter, and also annually, they have 
 report quarter sessions what they have 
 done. dies will not be able to carry out 
 Du <3 in this unobtrusive, quiet 
 i • ' iU be members of tho county coun- 
 cil wh hat their constituents 
 will want to know what is : q. They will 
 ex : en they go up for re-election they 
 will have to justify ent of Mr. A 
 t( '. :;,; ! : 'Is for tlio county asylums which 
 
 "er at a lower price. If tlio 
 .n to tremblo 
 in (.lie balance in respect of th< d mistake 
 
 ?' ble, how much moro likely is 
 
 it thai the re-election of a county councillor may 
 bo influenced by a singlo instanco of ill-, 
 temper or indiscretion on iho part of ajunatie
 
 6 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 asylum attendant ! It is therefore probable that at 
 a very early period of their existence we shall 
 have debates at the county council meetings as 
 to the maintenance and management of the 
 county lunatic asylums. In those cases where the 
 county councils, as elected, may consist entirely 
 pr almost entirely of members who are county 
 magistrates, and who have been accustomed to work 
 together in the courts of quarter sessions, the 
 business will probably be conducted on the same 
 lines as heretofore. But where new men, anxious 
 to distinguish themselves, come from all parts 
 of a county to the meetings of the county 
 council, it is certain that discussion must take 
 place, if only that the constituency may see what 
 active and energetic representatives it has 
 secured. If, then, we are to have debates, we may 
 rest assured that the county councillors will 
 take care that those debates are reported in the 
 newspapers throughout the county. Eloquence 
 in the council meetings will be thrown away and 
 wasted 5»less it be reported in every corner of 
 the constituency. And the reports of the council 
 meetings will bring home to the county electors 
 the fact that, through their representatives, 
 they have a voice in the management of im- 
 portant and interesting business. It is business, 
 too, which will be felt to be none the less in- 
 teresting to the county elector because hig 
 village is represented, not only on the county 
 council, but in the county lunatic asylum. There 
 are, unhappily, but few villages in England 
 which do not send their quota of patients to 
 the county asylum. Many of the rural districts 
 and villages are also represented in the reforma- 
 tory and industrial schools, of which the esta- 
 blishment and maintenance are placed, as we have 
 tfeee. in the hands of the county councils*
 
 THE STfff OBITER OTr THINGS. 7 
 
 Tho Local Government Act, howover, gives to 
 the county councils other work as to -which 
 debates and discussions must arise. Licensing 
 houses and other places for music and dancing 
 will bo a duty to tost the real power of each 
 county council, if, indeed, it should not give rise 
 to an election cry upon which an election 
 might turn. Tho courts of quarter sessions 
 aro never so crowded as when a vote is to 
 be taken for or against the grant or renewal 
 of a music and dancing licence. Such a question, 
 if it excites the appointed justice, who is inde- 
 pendent and careless of the vox populi, will 
 surely exercise the elected of the people, whoso 
 seat may depend upon the result of a vote of the 
 council. In a populous electoral district the 
 renewal, or the refusal of the county council to 
 renew, an important music and dancing licence 
 might easily gain or lose a county councillor's 
 seat. The execution of tho Acts relating to tho 
 contagious diseases of animals will be another 
 subject upon which tho elected of the people 
 will feel the pressure of public opinion more 
 directly than it has been felt by the county 
 justices. Tho closure of a market or the sus- 
 pension of a fair may sometimes be all-im- 
 portant in the general interest of the county, 
 while it may mean temporary stagn&iieB to ths 
 special trade or business of a small town or 
 village. Such questions as this will often come 
 before the county council, and will, no doubt, bo 
 decided as seems most likely to insure the 
 greatest good to the greatest number. Yet the 
 county councillor will not be able to forget the 
 special interests of his constituents, nor the fact 
 that they may sometimes conflict with tho 
 general interests of tho rest of the county. Tho 
 appointment, removal, and determination of
 
 8 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 the salaries of the county treasurer, county 
 surveyor, medical officer of health, and other 
 minor officials will from time to time exer- 
 cise the county councils, and will give rise to 
 energetic discussion, in which the penny wise and 
 the pound foolish as well as the true economists 
 will make their voices heard. And such matters 
 as these will,when reported, be rediscussed with no 
 less vigour by our respected friend Hodge and his 
 neighbours at the time-honoured but informal 
 meetings which are held throughout our rural 
 districts once or oftener every week at the villagf 
 inns. The candidate for the office of countj 
 coroner will never again have to canvass the 
 freeholders of the county, for the appointmenl 
 to that office is placed in the hands of the 
 county council. There is one piece of valuable 
 patronage with which the county council is not 
 intrusted. That, oddly enough, is the appoint- 
 ment of their own clerk. For the sake, no doubt, 
 of avoiding compensation the Act provides that 
 the existing clerks of the peace shall be clerks 
 to the county councils. This arrangement has 
 its disadvantages. The chief executive officer 
 will hold his appointment independently of his 
 council. He, moreover, will probably entertain 
 a strong conviction that the lines upon wbich the 
 county business has been transacted in the past 
 are the only lines upon which it can safely be 
 transacted in the future. Among their own 
 members the county councils will be able to 
 confer various distinctions. They will appoint 
 their chairman and vice-chairman. They will 
 be able to elect county aldermen, who may or 
 may not have submitted themselves to the 
 suffrages of the electors, and they will have to 
 appoint representatives of the council to serve 
 on & ioint committee composed of members of the
 
 THE NEW ORDER OE THINGS. 3 
 
 council and of quarter sessions justices for tho 
 purposes of police, and who will have the ap- 
 pointment of future clerks of tho peace and 
 otlier joint officers. 
 
 While tho powers and duties to which refe- 
 rence Las already been made should suffice to at- 
 tract good men and true to the council table, 
 there are other matters to be dealt with of equal 
 or even greater importance. The county councils, 
 while they may themselves appoint for their own 
 consultation and assistance a medical officer of 
 health, are to receive from all the districts in the 
 county copies of the reports made by the 
 district medical officers of health to the district 
 bodies. If it should then appear to the county 
 council from any such report that the Publia 
 Health Act has not been properly put in force 
 in tho district to ■which tho report relates, or 
 that any other matter aifectirjg the public health 
 of tho district requires to bo remedied, tho 
 council may cause a representation to be mado 
 to tho Local Government Eoard on tho matter. 
 Moreover, the council have power tc enforce the 
 provisions of tho Rivers Pollution Prevention 
 Act. The importance of these two enactments 
 can hardly be over-estimated. The local autho- 
 rity of a Bmall area is too often without tho 
 strength of mind and without tho necessary 
 public confidence to enablo it to carry into execu- 
 tion adequate though necessary measures of 
 sanitary reform. Local and sometimes unworthy 
 influences are frequently too strong for the would- 
 be reform ers, and the new Act therefore, in setting 
 up a superior authority in every county, will have 
 conferred an enormous boon upon many a suffering 
 and still insanitary district. Such powers as these 
 will, however, tax the independence and publio 
 spirit of the county councillors. ,and may in many
 
 10 rSK LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 instances bring them into conflict with the limited 
 public opinion of some of the districts that may 
 be affected. These powers are the more interest- 
 ing to consider in that they are almost the only 
 instances in the new Act or positive decentraliza- 
 tion, an operation for which Mr. Kitchie told the 
 House of Commons there was an urgent demand 
 throughout the country. Another important 
 power conferred for the first time upon a county 
 authority is that of opposing Bills in Parliament 
 and of prosecuting or defending legal proceed- 
 ings necessary for the promotion or protection 
 of the interests of the inhabitants of the county. 
 Such powers as these bring to mind innumerable 
 instances in which, for want of locus standi, 
 courts of quarter sessions hare been unable to 
 appear before Parliament, while the small local 
 authorities have not been able to combine effec- 
 tually. 
 
 The exercise by the county councils of their 
 financial powers will tax the capacity for busi- 
 ness of the county councillors, and will probably 
 do much to enable the county ratepayer to realize 
 the effect of the change wrought by the Act. 
 Many of the municipal corporations have been 
 able to relieve the ratepayer of the present 
 generation by extending the term over which 
 the capital expenditure has had to be repaid. In 
 this respect the emasculation which the Local 
 Government Bill suffered in its progress through 
 Committee is probably to be regretted. The 
 Bill proposed that the term over which the repay- 
 ment of loans was to be spread should not exceed 
 60 years. In Committee the period was reduced 
 to 30 years. It may be doubted whether this 
 reduction of term would have been proposed if 
 the nature and practical operation of municipal 
 and local finance had been really understood.
 
 •TUB TTEW ORDER 07 THINGS 11 
 
 Neither county councils nor municipal corpora- 
 tions have any means of raising, except by loan, 
 the funds necessary for capital or permanent 
 expenditure. For the construction of our rail- 
 ways, docks, and other commercial undertakings 
 the capital needed is raised by issuing shares. 
 It may well be doubted if the London and ISorth- 
 "SVestern Bailway would be now in existence if it 
 had been a condition precedent to raising its 
 capital that the whole sum should be repaid out 
 of revenue within the first 30 years of tne exist- 
 ence of the company. Yet this is an instance of 
 the principle insisted upon by those who arguo 
 that the debts incurred by local bodies for per- 
 manent works should be discharged within a 
 limited time. It may readily be conceded that 
 it would be imprudent and, indeed, dishonest 
 if the county council of one year were to be at 
 liberty to incur heavy liabilities for current and 
 evanescent purposes and to leave the discharge 
 of their current debts to their successors of the 
 following year. But the case is altered when 
 money is spent in the purchase of land and the 
 erection of buildings of ever-increasing value. 
 There is in such a case no real necessity that the 
 expenditure shall be discharged in 30 rather than 
 in 40 years, nor in 40 rather than in 50 years. 
 The fair and reasonable way of meeting such a 
 case is to do as tho Local Government Board is 
 daily called upon to do — viz., to fix the period for 
 repayment after consideration of the probable 
 period of duration of the benefit of tho particular 
 work. However, the Act as passed limits tho 
 period of repayment to 30 years in the case of a 
 new loan and in the case of reborrowing to tho 
 period of the original sanction. But as before 
 the Act the justices of some of our counties had 
 already sought to emulate the example sei by
 
 H" THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 the municipal corporations and to convert their 
 loans into stock, so many of the county councils 
 ■will doubtless, upon their accession to office, turn 
 their attention to the question of existing loans, 
 and see whether, by creating county stock, they 
 may not be able both to reduce the rate of 
 interest and to extend the term over which tho 
 loans are being repaid. The justices of Essex 
 not very long since obtained special legislative 
 powers in this direction, and last Session tho 
 Surrey justices introduced a Bill, which they 
 only withdrew in view of the changes contem- 
 plated by the Local Government Act, then passing 
 through Parliament. But whether the county 
 councils set their houses in order in this respect 
 or not, the transferred licences and probate duty 
 grant should enable a substantial reduction to 
 be made in local taxation generally. Indeed, it 
 will be obvious that the £3,CC0,CC0 handed over 
 out of the Imperial Exchequer must, in one way 
 or another, help the local ratepayer. 
 
 Hitherto reference has only been made to tho. 
 changes actually effected by the Act itself or 
 likely to flow from its operation. "When tho 
 contemplated further powers are transferred 
 from the Local Government Board and the Board 
 of Trade to the county councils,then these bodies 
 will become of still more importance and will be 
 far more powerful than they are as imme- 
 diately created by the Act. They are, in 
 fact, huge machines capable not only of 
 doing their own work, but of furnishing the 
 motive power for the vast and complicated 
 mechanism that must exist throughout all the 
 country districts of England and Wales. By the 
 Bill it was proposed at once to transfer certain 
 important powers to'the county councils. But 
 in Committee these cowers were struck out. and
 
 THE NEW ORDEK OF THING! S. 13 
 
 it was loft to tho Local Government Board to 
 transfer theso and other powers by provisional 
 order. Indeed, tho county councils may have 
 transferred to them all such powers, duties, and 
 liabilities of the Privy Council, of tho Board of 
 Trade, Local Government Eoard, Education De- 
 partment, Secretary of State, or Government 
 Department as are" conferred by statute and 
 appear to relate to matters arising within the 
 county and to be of an administrative character." 
 Thus tho county councils may, without further 
 L lative iictiou, become really county parlia- 
 ts. They may have power re authorize the 
 construction of public works, and, forthat purpose,' 
 to empower tho compulsory acquirement of land. 
 They may be invested with tho control and super* 
 vision of tho sanitary authorities, tho boards of 
 guardians, and the School Boards in their 
 counties. Thus, by the order of the Local Go- 
 vernment Board, tho Act may really operate as a 
 decentralizing measure, and the county councils 
 may acquire a position of commanding influence 
 and authority which cannot fail to attract the 
 best men in tho oounties as candidates for the 
 honour of membership. Even, however, if no 
 Drder should ever be mado by the Local Govern* 
 ment Board in this direction, and if the minor 
 local authorities should continue to revel in 
 their chaotic confusion of area and conflict of 
 jurisdiction, tho change in tho systom of county 
 government effected by the now Act will suffice 
 to mako tho passage of the Act through Parlia* 
 ment a notablo era in the history of local govern* 
 ment. Tho afcual powors conferred upon the 
 county councils will, moreover, be quite sufficient 
 to givo them prestige enough to induce the 
 candidature of men who will fool that their real 
 Eight to represent their neighbours depends not
 
 14 THE 10CAX GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 only on the popular cry of the moment, but on 
 the permanent and enduring success of the 
 operations of tho council at whose table they 
 sit.
 
 THE GOVERNMENT OF LONDON. 15 
 
 II.— THE GOVERNMENT OF LONDON. 
 
 It is seldom that a legislative change of equal 
 magnitude and importance to the extinction oi 
 the Metropolitan Board of Works and the 
 transfer of its powers and property toa successor 
 has been accomplished in as few words as those 
 which effected this operation in the Local Govern- 
 ment Act, 1888. " After the appointed day the. 
 Metropolitan Board of Works shall cease to 
 exist " is the simplo method adopted by the. 
 draftsman of tho Act for performing tho 
 happy despatch. Nor was Mr. Ritchie himself 
 very ceremonious o* tho subject of the Metro- 
 politan Board of W rks when he introduced tho 
 Bill to the House of Commons. Thero was 
 almost a sensation in tho House when, in reply 
 to a question as to what would become of tho 
 Metropolitan Board of Works, Mr. Ritchie simply 
 said, " It will cease to exist." Rumours had 
 for some days been industriously circulated that 
 tho Local Governmont Bill would not touch tha 
 metropolis ; but by tho expedient of treating 
 London in much tho same way as the rest of 
 England, the Government at ono stroke got rid of 
 the Metropolitan Board of Works, and substi- 
 tuted for it a directlj'-elected body. Mr. Ritchio 
 had evidently not felt himself in the dilemma 
 suggested somewhat tersely by a Quarterly 
 Reviewer, who .put tho problem of the local:
 
 16 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 government of London as involving the difficulty 
 either of " absolutely annihilating the City on 
 the one hand, or of subjecting the whole of the 
 metropolis to the rule of Gog and Magog. ,J 
 Under the Local Government Act the City is by 
 no means annihilated, while the government ol 
 Gog and Magog is in no way extended. Indeed, 
 the territory of Gog and Magog is almost left 
 alone. The Livery of the City of London are 
 deprived of the privilege of electing a Sheriff foi 
 Middlesex, and Her Majesty is to appoint the 
 Sheriff for the County of London. The Common 
 Council have taken away from them the power oi 
 electing their Common Serjeant, while future 
 Recorders are not to exercise judicial duties 
 until duly appointed thereto by Her Majesty. 
 The powers and duties of the Court of Quarter 
 Sessions and Justices of the City are divided 
 between the Court of Common Council and the 
 County Council. But practically, with the excep-< 
 tionsmentioned,thoAct will not effect any serious 
 change in the local management of the City of 
 London, and the Commissioners of Sewers will 
 still remain the sanitary authority within the 
 City boundaries. 
 
 Although comprised in a few words, the enact* 
 ments of the Local Government Act with regard 
 to the government of the metropolis are of vast 
 and far-reaching importance. The operation of 
 the change effected will best be appreciated by 
 an examination of the powers and duties of the 
 present governing bodies, and by a slight 
 reference to the inheritance, from a financial point 
 of view, to which the County Council of London 
 will Bucceed. The position and the powers of 
 the vestries and district boards of the metropolis! 
 undergo no change, except that these bodies will 
 no longer elect the. members of the Metro nolitaa
 
 TOE GOVERNMENT OE LONDON 17 
 
 Board of Works. They will still remain charged 
 with tho maintenance and construction of local 
 suv/ors ; thoy will still have to pave, light, 
 scavenge, and water streets ; they will still have 
 to see to tho abatement of nuisances and the 
 removal of dust. It is reserved for the future td 
 transfer these powers and duties to district 
 councils, tho members of which shall bo elected 
 by a body of electors corresponding to the 
 burgesses of a municipal borough. Ncno oi 
 theso duties of detail have hitherto been dis- 
 chargod by the Metropolitan Board of Works ; 
 the operations of that body have been confined to 
 works of greater magnitude, if not of more im- 
 portance. The Metropolitan Board have had the 
 management of all public works in which tha 
 ratepayers of tho metropolis had a common 
 interest. They were charged when first established 
 with the maintenance of the main sewers, with 
 the execution of works for intercepting and 
 diverting sewage from the Thames. They were 
 empowered to make, widen, and improvo streets^ 
 and to effect goneral objects for the public benefitJ 
 Thoy had control over the construction of local 
 Bowers by tho vestries and district boards, and 
 they had power to regulate the projection of 
 buildings beyond tho general Lino of frontage, 
 tho height of buildings, and the width of streets^ 
 Tho Acts of Parliament under which they havq 
 carried out the various duties devolving uponthemj 
 aro nearly 100 in number, and confer extensive 
 and general powers. The Metropolitan Board isj 
 tho local authority for the metropolis under 
 thoActs relating to explosives, artisans' dwellings 
 tho contagious diseases of animals, tramways^ 
 slaughter-houses, and petroleum, and they have 
 also financial powers far beyond those which] 
 will attach to the county councils in General 
 
 »
 
 18 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 under the Local Government Act. They are, foi 
 instance, authorized to lend to the London 
 School Board and local bodies throughout tha 
 metropolis such sums as they may require for 
 capital expenditure. In this way the Metro- 
 politan Board have now outstanding loans due to 
 them for upwards of £8,000,000, which the 
 different local authorities are paying off by 
 regular contributions, with interest. The Metro- 
 politan Board have from time to time been 
 authorized to free and to combine in freeing 
 Borne of the toll-bridges over the Thames. They 
 have under their control parks, gardens, and 
 open spaces to an extent of upwards of 2,600 
 acres, and the improvements that they have 
 under various Acts, from time to time, carried 
 out, such as the construction of the Thames 
 Embankments, the formation of Queen Victoria- 
 street and Northumberland-avenue, besides 
 many other very important new thoroughfares 
 in the metropolis, will give seme idea of the 
 magnitude of the operations which in the future 
 may devolve upon the County Council of London. 
 In addition, however, to the work which has been, 
 performed by the Metropolitan Board of Works, 
 the new County Council has, under the Local 
 Government Act, transferred to it business of 
 considerable importance. It has the provision, 
 maintenance, management, and visitation of 
 asylums for pauper lunatics. It will have to 
 maintain and establish reformatory and industrial 
 schools. It will have the licensing of houses and 
 
 J daces for music and dancing, and the grant of 
 icences of such racecourses as are within the 
 metropolis and within ten miles of Charing- 
 cross. Besides all this, the County Council will 
 exercise extensive financial powers, and will have 
 to make and levy county rates, _ .It will &aye_ the
 
 THE GOVERNMENT OF LOTOOIT. 19 
 
 chargo of bridges, hitherto vested in the county 
 authority. It will elect tfte coroner, and will] 
 besides have full powers of appointing and dis- 
 missing a largo army of officials. The County 
 Council of London will also have power to enforce 
 the provisions of the Rivers Pollution Prevention. 
 Act, 1876. They may appoint a medical officer 
 of health, beforo whom the medical efficers of tho 
 districts in London will have to lay their annual 
 reports. Thus, for the first time, a central 
 authority in London will have some general, 
 supervision of tho health statistics. This 
 is a power which has not yet existed, except sot 
 far as the Metropolitan Asylums Board — who, as 
 is well known, have chargo of tho infectious 
 hospitals of tho metropolis — havo found it 
 necessary to consider the public health of London 
 in regard to tho probablo accommodation wanted 
 for persons suffering from infectious disease. 
 Besides all these powers, the Local Government 
 Board may in tho future, by provisional order, 
 transfer to the County Council of London any 
 of tho powers, duties, and liabilities of an ad- 
 ministrative character which at present are vested 
 in various Government departments, and may 
 relate to matters arising within the county. 
 
 Tho inheritance of liability to which the London 
 County Council will succeed is of considerablo 
 magnitude. It appears from the statement of 
 accounts of the Metropolitan Board for tho year, 
 ending December 31, 18S7, that at that date there 
 was an outstanding indebtedness of £28,000,000. 
 On tho other hand, the Metropolitan Asylums 
 Board, the London School Board, and district 
 boards owed tho Metropolitan Board of Works 
 £8,400,000 ; and surplus land, money lent, 
 money duo upon precepts, cash in hand, and other 
 assets brought up tho credit side, of tho capital
 
 20 
 
 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 account to £11,400,000. A brief abstract of the 
 receipts and payments by the Board during the 
 last year for which the accounts have been 
 published will give scrue idea of the annual 
 receipts and payments that will come within the 
 ken of the London County Council : — 
 
 Receipts. 
 Balances £201.6*58 
 
 Raised by rates . . . . 960,653 
 
 Coal and wine duties . . 32C.974 
 
 Contribution to Fire 
 Brigade.. . .. 36,227 
 
 Interest on loans and 
 balances .. .. 305,902 
 
 Rents and deposits .. 92,152 
 
 Fees 9,401 
 
 Bales of land, old mate- 
 rials, and return of 
 deposits 143.598 
 
 Payments. 
 Interest of debt .. 
 
 £921,265 
 122,866 
 
 loans raised 
 Loans repaid 
 Treasury Bills sold 
 Sundry receipts ., 
 
 500.315 
 
 310,119 
 
 1,143,787 
 
 1L657 
 
 £4,037,434 
 
 Loans repaid .. 
 
 Loans advanced by the 
 Board 6S2.678 
 
 Maintenance of sewers 
 end expenses of pump- 
 ing stations 
 
 Thames Embankment 
 maintenance .. 
 
 Hydrants 
 
 Parks and open spaces 
 
 Bridges 
 
 Establishment expenses 
 
 Capital expenditure on 
 improvements .. 
 
 Main drainage end 
 main sewers 
 
 Fire Brigade stations 
 and plant 
 
 Contributions towards 
 local improvements .. 
 
 Investment in Treasury 
 Bills 
 
 Sundry expenses ., 
 
 Balance carried forward 
 
 137,323 
 
 13,945 
 
 11,002 
 
 112, £97 
 
 S.C87 
 
 45,758 
 
 572,920 
 
 222,251 
 
 14,330 
 
 43.300 
 
 696,824 
 
 55,000 
 
 358,983 
 
 £4.037.434 
 
 These figures are only given to afford some 
 general notion of the nature of the financial opera- 
 tions of the Metropolitan Board. The accounts 
 of the County Council will certainly be different 
 in some respects, and possibly in many. The 
 item of receipts from coal and wine duties will not 
 appear on the credit side of the account, and, on 
 the other hand, the County Council of London
 
 THE GOVTHNirENT OF LONDOIT. 21 
 
 will rcfoivo tlio transferred licences, amounting, 
 as it was estimated by the Local Government 
 Board, to £4-27,000, and in proportion to tho 
 existing grants they will receive out of the pro- 
 bate duly grant 00. If tho division of the 
 probate duty grant had taken placo on the basis 
 originally contemplated, the metropolis would 
 have been entitled .000 ; but as it is they 
 will only receivo the sum mentioned. Out of 
 these moneys the County Council will have to 
 make good the Parliamentary grants towards tho 
 remuneration of Poor Lav/ medical officers, etc., 
 and will have to give the guardians of tho Poor 
 unions which are wholly within tho metro- 
 polis an amount equal to 4d. per head per day 
 for every indoor pauper maintained in their 
 unions, the Act containing provisions as to the 
 mode in which the number of indoor paupers is 
 to bo ascertained. This amount, however, it is 
 expressly provided, is to bo an addition to any 
 
 Eayment made out of tho Metropolitan Poor 
 aw Fund. 
 
 Tho charge of tho main sewers of London is, 
 as may well bo imagined, a sourco of constant 
 anxiety. Tho total length of tho sowers which 
 will fall under tho charge of the London County 
 Council is about 250 miles, and the cleansing 
 involves tho employment of 124 men, at an annual 
 cost of about £15,500. An experiment that was 
 tried for some time of endeavouring to deodorize 
 the sewage in tho sewers by mixingpermanganato 
 of soda with the eewnge was found exceedingly 
 expensive, and is reported by the Board of Works 
 to have been discontinued. Whenever com- 
 plaints are now received of ctFcnsive odours 
 arising from any of the ventilating shafts to tho 
 Board's sewers, suljhurous acid is applied. 
 During 12 months this only cost £C00. and the
 
 22 THE LOCAI, GOVERNMENT ACT 
 
 result is stated to have been " not unsatis- 
 factory." But at the outfalls a large quantity of 
 permanganate of soda has been used, and during 
 95 days the deodorizing operations there cost no 
 less than £42,000. The management of the 
 Metropolitan Fire Brigade is also a duty that 
 will fall upon the London County Council, and 
 in this, as well as in many other matters, the 
 ratepayers will doubtless feel the benefit of a 
 directly representative body coming to the work, 
 and being under no obligation to run in thesame 
 grooves as their predecessors. The present strength 
 of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade is stated at G74, 
 and the annual expenditure for one year was 
 £112,000. Of this £77,000 was contributed by 
 the ratepayers, £26,000 by insurance companies, 
 and the balance by contributions from the 
 Treasury and by expenses recovered. In addition 
 to this expenditure, the County Council will 
 have to provide hydrants for the extinction of 
 fires. Altogether the expenditure of the Council 
 towards the extinction of fires in the metropolis 
 will amount to about £100.000. The quality 
 of the gas will have to be looked after by the 
 Council, and that the Metropolitan Board have 
 always taken an interest in the water supply of 
 the metropolis is well known. The Parliamen- 
 tary work in connexion with the metropolis is 
 considerable. Railway and tramway Bills are 
 usually presented in considerable numbers to 
 Parliament, and not only is the consent of the 
 Board sometimes necessary as the local authority 
 of the metropolis, but they have been in the habit 
 of watching these Bills through Parliament and 
 of obtaining restrictive provisions intended in the 
 interest of the ratepayers. Then the administra- 
 tion of the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Acts is 
 almost a business of itself. During one year
 
 THE GOVERNMENT OF LONDON. 23 
 
 the Metropolitan Board had to slaughter 262 
 beasts, to the value of £4,700 ; and a number of 
 swine were also slaughtered on account of 
 typhoid or swino fever. The caro of cowsheds 
 and dairies will devolve upon the London County 
 Council, as well as tho inspection of the premises 
 of about 750 cowkeepers, with something like 
 10,000 cows ; the inspection of slaughter-houses, 
 numbering in the metropolis 7-12, and the super- 
 vision of such offensive businesses as those 
 of knackers, tripe-boilers, bone-boilers, soap- 
 boilers, &c. Tho manufacture, conveyance, 
 storage, and salo of explosives will also be one 
 of tho matters to exercise the London Council. 
 During one year 1,300 tons of explosives were 
 dealt with by the inspectors of tho Metropolitan 
 Board, and no fewer than 3,357 premises are 
 registered for keeping explosives, and are con- 
 stantly examined by the inspectors of the Board. 
 The keepers of petroleum, too, have to register 
 their premises with tho Board, and have to under- 
 go inspection, and during one year 1,056 licences 
 of this kind were granted. Then, under the 
 Infant Life Protection Act, it is not lawful for 
 any person to receive for hire to nurse it apart 
 from its parents more than one infant, except in 
 a house registored by the local authority, which 
 would be the County Council, and that authority 
 has power to fix the number of infants which may 
 be received, and, indeed, may refuse to register 
 the house unless the house be suitable or unless 
 satisfied of tho good character of tho person 
 applying for registration. Under this Act there 
 are at present only 19 registered houses in tho 
 metropolis, and 103 infants are kept at them. It 
 will thus be seen that not only large questions 
 of principle will have to be dealt with bv the 
 London County Council* but jthat there will be a,
 
 24 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 considerable amount of detail work devolve xipon 
 it, although an enormous mass of details must 
 daily come before the vestries and district boards. 
 It may be well, before passing to consider the 
 composition of the Metropolitan Board of Works 
 and its mode of election as compared with that of 
 the London County Council, to refer briefly to 
 the vestries and district boards. The general 
 nature of the duties devolving upon them has 
 already been mentioned. When the first 
 Act was passed, in 1855, dealing with the 
 constitution of the Metropolitan Board of 
 Works and the general local government of 
 the metropolis, it was provided that 23 of the 
 larger parishes of the metropolis should each 
 have their own separate system of local admini- 
 stration under vestries, and the smaller parishes 
 and places were grouped into districts and were 
 to be managed by district boards. The number 
 of vestrymen was fixed at 18 for every parish in 
 which the householders should not exceed 1,000, 
 and six additional vestrymen up to 2,000, and 12 
 additional vestrymen for every further 1,000; but 
 they were not to exceed 120 in all. It was pro- 
 vided that the incumbent and churchwardens 
 should be members of the vestry. The district 
 boards, to look after the local affairs of districts 
 combined to large parishes, however, were to be 
 elected by the vestries of the parishes in com- 
 bination. Thus, while the vestries were subject 
 to direct election, the district boards were 
 elected through the vestries of the constituent 
 parishes ; thus ratepayers who were desirous of 
 serving on a district board had often to run the 
 gauntlet of being elected to a select vestry in, the 
 first instance. 
 
 The rates levied by the vestries and district 
 [boards seem to vary considerably. The Metro*
 
 TITE GOVERNMENT OF LONDON. 
 
 25 
 
 politnn Board of Works havo from time to time, 
 In their annual reports, published a table show- 
 ing Uk> rate raised for metropolitan and local 
 purposes in each parish in the metropolis. ISfo 
 such table is lo Liu fouud in the Metropolitan 
 Board's Beport for 1887, but the tablo pub- 
 lished in tho report for 1886 probably givea 
 [or all practical purposes a correct idea of tho 
 great discrepancies that exist. Tho following 
 table gives tho averago annual rato iu tho pound 
 for tho fivo years from 1882 to 1886, and it will 
 bo seon that tho rate varies from a maximum of 
 6s. 7d. to a minimum of 3s. 9d. Tho figures 
 quoted include the Poor rate, the general rato, 
 tho School Board and lighting rates, tho sewera 
 rato, and tho Metropolitan Consolidated rate :-' 
 
 b. d. 
 
 Bt. Marylebone .. ..4 9 
 
 St. Pancraa 4 9 
 
 Lambeth 5 5 
 
 St. George, Hanover- 
 
 gquare 3 10 
 
 Islington 4 4 
 
 Bhoreditch .. •• .. 4 11 
 
 ['adcLriKton 4 
 
 Betbnal-grecn .. ..6 
 
 Newington 5 
 
 Damberwoll 5 
 
 Bt James'B, Westminster 3 
 
 Clerkenwcll . . . . . . 5 
 
 Chelsea .. •• • • 6 
 
 Kensington 4 
 
 Bt Luke, Middlesex .. 6 
 Bt George, Southwaik .. 5 
 Bcrmondaey.. .. ..5 8 
 
 Bt. George-in-tho-Eaot .. 5 10 
 St Martin-in-tho-Fields.. 3 8 
 Jlilo-ond Old-town ..5 6 
 
 Clapham 
 
 Tooting GraTeney . . ..6 
 
 Streatham 5 
 
 St Mary, Battersea (ex- 
 cluding Penge) . . . . 5 
 Wandsworth .. ..5 
 
 Putney (including Koe- 
 
 hampton) 5 
 
 Hackney 5 
 
 St Mary, Btoke New- 
 ington 5 
 
 St Gilos-in-Uie-Fields "» 
 St George, Bloomsbury j 
 
 St Andrew, Holbom- 
 
 abovo-'ars. . 
 8t. George-the- Martyr 
 
 St. 8opulcbre, Middlesex 5 
 
 SaOfron-hill. ic .. ..5 
 
 Liberty ofGlasshouse-yard 4 
 
 St. Anne, Soho .. .. 4 
 
 St. Paul, CovenUgardon.. 4 
 
 Precinct of the Savoy .« 4 
 
 b. d. 
 5 7 
 
 5 
 2 
 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 } 
 
 5 3
 
 26 
 
 ACT. 
 
 Woolwich 5 
 
 Rotherhithe 5 
 
 UazupEtead 
 
 Hammersmith .. 
 
 I' u lh am 
 
 Bt. Mary, Whitechapel . . 
 Christchurch, SiStalfields 
 Bt. Botolph without Aid- 
 gate 
 
 Holy Trinity, Minories .. 
 Precinct of St Katharine 
 Hamlet of Mile-end New- 
 town 
 
 liberty of Norton Folgat6 
 Old Artillery-f round 
 District of the Tower 
 
 Bt Margaret.. .. \ 
 Bt John the Evangelist / 
 
 Bt. Paul, Deptford, in- 
 cluding Hatcham 
 Bt. Nicholas, Deptford .. 
 
 9 
 8 
 8 
 11 
 8 
 6 
 
 r 
 i 
 
 3 
 10 
 
 
 4 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 3 11 
 
 Greenwich 6 
 
 St. Mary-le-Strand 
 
 St. Clement Dsnes .. 
 
 Liberty of the Rolls 
 
 St. Anne, Limehouge 
 
 St John, Wapping .. 
 
 St. Paul, Shadwell 
 
 Hamlet of Ratcliff 
 
 All Saints, Poplar.. 
 
 St. Mary,Stra'fordle-Bow 
 
 St. Leonard, Bromley 
 
 Christchurob. . . . . 
 
 St. Saviour 4 
 
 Charlton-next-Woolwich 6 
 
 Pluuistead 5 
 
 Eltham 5 
 
 Lee .. .. 
 
 Kidbrooke .. .. 
 
 Lewisham .. .. ..5 
 
 Hamlet of Penge .. ..5 
 
 St. Olave 4 
 
 St. Thomas, Southwark .. 4 
 St. John, Korselydown .. 4 
 
 «. a. 
 
 4 2 
 4 1 
 
 4 1 
 
 5 11 
 
 4 7 
 
 5 10 
 5 4 
 
 3 
 1 
 4 
 1 
 1 
 7 
 8 
 10 
 5 10 
 5 5 
 3 
 1 
 9 
 S 
 9 
 
 Average Annual Rate in the £ .. .. Ss. 2d. 
 
 The interest attaching to the foregoing table 
 is that it illustrates the difficulty that may- 
 exist in dealing with the details of local go- 
 vernment of the metropolis when it may be 
 proposed to extinguish the vestries and the 
 district boards and to erect a new autho- 
 rity, or new authorities, to take their place. The 
 table almost seems to show that it will be neces- 
 sary to allow each district which is now under 
 the control of a vestry or district board to 
 remain for local purposes of management in 
 detail a separate district under the jurisdiction 
 of a separate authority. Considerable agitation 
 Would necessarily arise if a measure were pro-;
 
 THE GOVERNMENT OF LONDON'. 27 
 
 posed by which an average rate for all local pur- 
 poses should be struck throughout the whole of 
 the metropolis. The discrepancy which exists 
 is caused to some extent by differences in tho 
 Poor rate arising from tho peculiar local circum- 
 stances of different parishes, but this doos not 
 account for all tho discrepancies to be found. 
 In somo cases expenditure on road-making, 
 mending, scavenging, and watering differs very 
 much, and a careful examination of tho accounts 
 of the various vestries would seem to indicate 
 that differential rates are matters of necessity in 
 tho several districts of London. 
 
 The constitution of the County Council for 
 London will bo vastly different from that of the 
 Metropolitan Board of Works. One instance will 
 enable tho reader to see how striking the con- 
 trast is. Tho ratepayers of Penge, one of the 
 outlying districts of tho metropolis, meet and 
 elect a vestry. That vestry, in the course of 
 their duties, elect members to the Lewisham 
 Board of Works. In their turn the Lewisham 
 Board of Works elect a representative for their 
 district to the Metropolitan Board of Works. 
 Thus the mode of election of the expiring autho- 
 rity is about as indirect as it can possibly be. 
 The new County Council is to be very differs ntlyj 
 chosen. The members are to bo elected by a 
 new body of voters and by direct election. Each 
 of the Parliamentary boroughs comprised in tho 
 metropolis is to return to tho County Council o{ 
 London double the number of members which it 
 is entitled to send to the Imperial Parliament. 
 The metropolis now sends 59 members to the 
 House of Commons, and so tho County Council 
 of London will consist of 118 elected members 
 and of 19 aldermen, for the aldermen in the 
 County, oi London are not to exceed one-sixth j^i
 
 28 
 
 TIIE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 tha number of councillors. Tlio aldermen will ho 
 elected by the Council at a provisional meetings 
 In order that candidates and voters may have a 
 precise notion of the districts that will he repre- 
 sented, and may have some idea of the numbers 
 of the various electors, the following table 
 is given, showing the Parliamentary boroughs 
 in the metropolis, with the number of Par- 
 liamentary electcrs recorded at the last revision. 
 It is not possible at present to give the num- 
 ber of county electcrs who will be entitled to 
 vote in the election of county councillors for 
 London, but it is probable that they will not 
 differ seriously from tho numbers given below., 
 As a rule the number of burgesses in a muni- 
 cipal borough slightly exceeds the number of 
 Parliamentary voter::. The lodgers and the ser- 
 vice voters wh» do not get the municipal fran- 
 chise are generally less in number than the lady 
 voters who have the privilege of a;;sifting in the 
 election of town and county councillors. The 
 following table, then, shows the metropolitan 
 boroughs and the numbers of Parliamentary 
 voters. It may be added that each constituency 
 will be entitled to two representatives on the 
 County Council of London, with the exception 
 of the City of London, which will have four 
 representatives, whose voting power, hov. ever, 
 will be limited : — 
 
 
 No. of 
 Voters. 
 
 
 
 Et. Pancras, North 
 
 . 6,190 
 
 „ West .. 
 
 . 7,261 
 
 1, *.iL! t ». 
 
 . e,£C7 
 
 „ South.. 
 
 . 5,554 
 
 Islington, North . . 
 j^. West .. 
 
 ,. 8,723 
 
 Twr. Hmlts., MUe-eDd 
 „ Lira' house 
 „ BowandErorxley 
 ,, Poplar .. 
 
 Fulham .. .. .. 
 
 Chelsea 
 
 St. George'a, Hanover-so;. 10,405 ; 
 
 .Westminster — . j*. 7A2S 
 
 No. of 
 . 
 5,571 
 6,272 
 9,452 
 9,340 
 7,911 
 
 12,415
 
 TIIE GOVERNMENT OF LOMRiN. 
 
 29 
 
 Islington. East 
 
 „ South . . . . 
 Hackney, North.. 
 
 ,, Central .. 
 
 „ South.. .. 
 
 IIammer.*mith .. .. 
 
 Ken. iugtou.Noith.. .. 
 
 ,, Booth.. >. 
 
 Paddington.Nortb... 
 
 ,, nth.. .. 
 
 Mnrylebone,Wif,t .. .. 
 
 ,, East .. .. 
 
 Xl '■ "" ly I o.r.orn .. 
 „ East .. 
 
 ax jn-v/Hnccerston., 
 
 Bhorcd 1 tch- UI( .,, m 
 
 Eethnol-grecn, Noith-cast 
 ,, South-west 
 
 pwr. Ilmlto., V. 
 
 „ St. George's 
 
 „ Stepney .. 
 
 No. of 
 Voter?. 
 9,022 
 7.843 
 8,0j9 
 7,018 
 9.CT8 
 
 10,326 
 8.3SS 
 B.805 
 6,953 
 5,174 
 8,120 
 6,956 
 
 7.78S 
 
 11,333 
 
 6,140 
 
 8.263 
 
 6,810 
 7,! 7 
 6,922 
 3.CG3 
 6,378 
 
 Strand . 
 City < 
 
 Wandsworth., 
 Dattersea ., u 
 Clapham ., ., 
 Lambeth, North .. 
 
 „ Kennington 
 
 „ Eriiton .. 
 
 ,, Norwood .. 
 Newington, West .. 
 
 ,, Wal'iorth 
 Southwark, West . . 
 
 ,, Bermondsef 
 
 „ Itotherhithe 
 Camtcrwell, North 
 
 „ Dulwich . 
 
 ,, Feekbain. 
 Deptford .. 
 L wisham .. « 
 Greenwich .. ,. 
 Woolwich .. .. 
 
 be stated that 
 
 No. ot 
 Voters. 
 11,254 
 
 31,533' 
 
 12,014 
 
 10,988 
 
 10,020 
 
 7,870 
 
 9,277 
 
 8,959 
 
 7,932 
 
 6.S93 
 
 6,223 
 
 8,296 
 
 10,164 
 
 8,919 
 
 9.SC0 
 
 9.2S0 
 
 10,402 
 
 10,471 
 
 10,193 
 
 8,719 
 
 10,853 
 
 whila 
 
 It only remains to 
 throughout the country courts of quarter sessions 
 are busy in dividing the various administrative! 
 counties into electoral divisions for the purposes 
 of the Local Government Act, no such work is 
 necessary in the metropolis, because the Act 
 itself prescribes that every metropolitan borough 
 Bhall lio an electoral division, and that whero a 
 I ugh is divided already into divisions, each 
 Df such divisions shall have its own repre; cita- 
 tion on tho County Council. The elections are 
 to tako place in January, and already there are 
 signs among the metropolitan constituencies of 
 candidates who intend seeking tho suffrages of 
 Ithacounty electors. Tho lists of voters for tha
 
 30 THE LOCAX GOVEPwXUENT ACT. 
 
 metropolis have alreadv been made ont and are 
 5n course of revision. H will be the fault of the 
 county electors of the new administrative County 
 of London if they do not send to the council-table 
 a more vigorous and more independent body of 
 men than have recently sat on the Metropolitan 
 Board of Works. The fact that the representa- 
 tives are subject to popular election will certainly 
 render them more sensitive to popular criticism 
 than the gentlemen of whom some seem to have 
 found membership of the Metropolitan Board 
 both deasant and Drofitable. 
 
 \
 
 THE ELECTION OF CUtTNTY COUTSCTIXOItg. SI 
 
 III.— THE ELECTION OF COUNTY 
 COUNCILLORS. 
 
 After an experience extending ovor a long 
 series of years, the inhabitants of our municipal 
 boroughs have probably becomo familiarized with, 
 the mode of election to municipal office. Even 
 they must have had their minds disturbed from, 
 time to time by tho interpretation which the 
 Courts have placed, upon the Acts of Parliament 
 governing tho municipal franchise and regulating 
 tho modes of olection. Perplexed, however, as 
 tho municipal voter may bo, ho probably has a' 
 general idea of tho steps necessary to be taken 
 to obtain a seat on his town council ; but the 
 avorago candidate for the new county councils 
 has no cxperienco to guide him, and a 
 porusal of tho Acts of Parliament, without 
 reference to the reported decisions of the Courts, 
 will net help him much. The pedestrian 
 would bo puzs^ed by a signpost pointing in two 
 different directions to tho same place, so 
 tho candidate may bo forgiven if he fails to 
 understand some of tho conflicting rules which 
 Parliament has laid down for his direction and 
 guidance. The Judges have done their best to 
 reconcile conflicting enactments, but in doiui: SO:
 
 32 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 they have sometimes upset opinions which had 
 "been commonly received and acted upon for some 
 years. While it would be impossible within anj 
 reasonable limits to give a detailed and reliable 
 guide which should be useful to the county 
 elector and to the caunty candidate in everj 
 possible emergency, there are so many well- 
 defined pitfalls in which the unwary candidate 
 might easily find himself that a few general 
 hints on the subject of the candidature ana 
 nomination, and subsequently as to the election, 
 will be useful, although not superseding iecourso 
 to a legal adviser in any unforeseen difficulty 
 that should occur. 
 
 The first point that a candidate for the county 
 council will have to consider will be the area 
 over which his constituency will extend. He ia 
 to bo a member of the council for his county. 
 Tne Local Government Board some weeks sinca 
 settled the number of county councillors for each 
 Of the county councils in England and Wales. 
 The numbers vary from 210 for the county of 
 York to 21 for the county of Rutland. For tha 
 purposes of the Local Government Act, York i3 
 cut up into three administrative counties. The 
 West Riding of York will have 90 councillors,, 
 and the other Ridings 61 and C9 respectively. 
 The largest county council, indeed, appears to 
 be that of London, but the number for London 
 was settled by the Local Government Act itself, 
 and did not depend upon the discretion of the 
 Local Government Board. The nest largest ia
 
 TITE ELECTION OP COUNTY COUNCILLORS. 33 
 
 Lancaster, the county council of which is tc 
 have 105 members. Tho other counties vary in? 
 number, and are generally to have between 50 and 00 
 members. These numbers are exclusive of the alderw 
 men, who will be elected. But tho Local Govern* 
 merit Board have only settled tho number of menrt 
 bers toeaehcounty council ; thcolectoral divisions 
 havo to bo settled for tho purposes of tho first 
 elections by tho Courts of Quarter Sessions, and 
 theso bodies are now busy doing that work. 11 
 is to bo completed by November 8, and ad 
 tho county justices aro beginning to feel that 
 they may not after all despiso a scat on the 
 afcy councils, the precise constitution and 
 boundaries of tho electoral divisions have con-t 
 siden bl« interest for them. That the work of 
 cutting up tho counties into electoral divisions 
 would bo difficult in the ordinary w;sy is suffr 
 ciently obvious, but the Local Government Act 
 has made it more difficult by the directions that 
 havo been laid down. The populations of the 
 electoral divisions are to bo as nearly as may b« 
 equal, i d is to bo had to tho proper re* 
 
 presentation of tho rural and tho urban popula- 
 tion, to the distribution and pursuits of such 
 population, and to area as well as to tho last 
 published census, and to evidence of any considers 
 ablo change of population since that census. 
 The o aro, moreover, a number of other detailed 
 instructions to which it is not interesting to 
 refer. T andidato tho constitution of 'the 
 
 i on is all important. Until this 
 
 q been settled , tho candidate cannot 
 
 tell what towns and villages ho will havo ta 
 canvass, nor how many mileshe may have to drivaj 
 in or . utually to stump the constituency 
 
 B
 
 84 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 He will not know how many meetings he may 
 Lave to address, nor now much money the Cor-* 
 rupt Practices Act will allow him to spend in 
 promoting his candidature. By November 8J 
 however, all this is to be settled ; and, indeed^' 
 before that date those intending candidates who 
 are in tbe secrets of the Sessions-house will 
 probably have a very good idea of the manner ip 
 which their own particular county will be cut up 
 into electoral divisions. 
 
 The electoral divisions, then, having been 
 settled and the candidate having determined to 
 offer his services to his neighbours,he must ascer-< 
 tain that he is duly qualified. If his name be. 
 not on the several lists which now are being 
 revised be may say " good-bye " at once to his 
 chance of a seat at the county council — absence 
 of the name from the register of voters is abso- 
 lutely fatal to the would-be candidate. Whether 
 the name has been omitted by mere negligence, 
 or by malicious proceedings on the part of a poli- 
 tical opponent, or by mischance matters not ; if, 
 when the list leaves the hands of the Revising 
 Barrister, the would-be candidate's name is not 
 there he is absolutely precluded from coming 
 forward unless he be a peer owning property in 
 the county, or be registered as a Parliamentary 
 voter in respect of the ownership of property in 
 the county. Unfortunately, however, for the 
 candidate, the fact that the name is on the list 
 is not conclusive in his favour ; it must not 
 only be there, but he must be entitled to have 
 it there. Assuming, however, that our candi- 
 date possesses the proper qualification, and ia 
 not under any disability, and is not concerned 
 in any contract which will be transferred from. 
 the county justices to the county council, he will,, 
 aftsa. takang_suoh js eljumnaar stem j&s. ja&x ift
 
 THE ELECTION OF COTTNTY COOTTCTLLORS. 35 
 
 necessary to mako his candidaturo known, hav« 
 to think about tho formal requisites for hiiJ 
 nomination. It is the opinion of the Local 
 Government Board that ladies are not e\U, 
 gible for the county council. From a casual 
 observation that was dropped by Mr. Justice 
 A. L. Smith in a recent case it is also hia 
 opinion that women are not qualified to bo menu 
 bers of a town council and therefore of a county 
 council. Tho Municipal Corporations Act con^ 
 tains a clauso stating that words importing thq 
 masculine gender shall include women for all- 
 purposes connected with and having referenco to 
 the right to vote at municipal elections. Tho. 
 inference is, therefore, quite correctly drawn, ae-s 
 cording to the accepted mode of interpreting 
 Acts of Parliament, that for all purposes excepts 
 ing tho right to vote words importing masculine 
 gender are to includo men only. So, whatevet 
 may havo been the intention of the Legislature, 
 we cannot have lady county councillors, nor can 
 wo havo county alderwomen.A candidate need not 
 live within his county. A separate list is made 
 of those who live within 15 miles of the county 
 for which they stand, and they are just as 
 eligible for the county council as residents in 
 the county, nor need the candidate reside 
 within the electoral division which he seeks to 
 represent. As long as his name is on and en- 
 titlod to bo on the county register he is eligible 
 to represent any division of the county, but ha 
 can only bo nominated and supported by electors, 
 for the particular division for which ho stands. 
 The nomination requires the signature as pro- 
 posor and seconder of two electors and the sup* 
 port of eight electors. The following is a forms 
 of nomination paper adapted from the schedule 
 of the Municipal Corporations Act :• — 
 
 B-2
 
 36 
 
 THE LOCAL GOVET^MENT ACT. 
 
 COUNTY OF 
 
 Election or one councillor For — , ' Division, in,' 
 
 the said county, to be held on the — January, 18S9. 
 Nomekation Paper. 
 
 We. the nndersicnecL being respectively electors for; 
 the above Division, hereby nominate the following 
 person as a candidate at the said election : — 
 
 Surname. 
 
 Other Names. 
 
 Abode. 
 
 Description. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Signature. 
 
 Number on Register, with 
 the Division or Polling 
 District, if any, having a 
 Distinct Numbering. 
 
 -Polling District No..- 
 -Polling District No.., 
 
 We, the undersigned, being respectively electo.3 for 
 the above division, hereby assent to the nomination of 
 the above-named person as a candidate at the said 
 election. 
 
 Dated this — day of January, 18S9. 
 
 Here follow the signatures of eight electors, with 
 cumber on the register, showing the division or polling 
 district, if any, having a distinct numbering. 
 
 The- completion of the nomination paper and 
 its delivery involve compliance with numerous 
 technicalities. There is a section in the Muni- 
 cipal Corporations Act which appears intended 
 to nrovide against serious conseauenc.es follow-
 
 THE ELECTION 07 COUNTY COTJNCIXL0119. 37 
 
 ing any misdescription or misnomer. In that 
 section nomination papers are not referred to r 
 and tho Courts have occasionally been very strict 
 in dealing with nomination papcro and mistakoa 
 mado tlu rein. At ono time it appeared that 
 Bomo slight licenco would be allowed. Li a case, 
 in 188-4 the Court of Queen's Bench thought that 
 " Wm." did not clearly represent tho Christian, 
 name " William," and, indeed, there had been, 
 previous decisions which gavo colour tc* 
 that view, but tho Court of Appeal, while 
 considering that " W." might not have 
 been sufhVk-nt because Walter or Wilbraham. 
 might havo been meant, yet thought that "Wm."' 
 meant clearly William, and so allowed tho paper.. 
 The mero fact, however, that serious litigation, 
 has occurred on a point of tho kind indicates the 
 necessity for absolute care in all steps relating 
 to nomination papers. This decision of tho 
 Court of Appeal is probably one which would 
 commend itself to the mind of every la)man ; 
 but in a later caso a very sorious view was taken 
 of a variance between the name in the nomina- 
 tion paper and tho namo on tho burgess roll. 
 More than one writer of standing had advised 
 that where a namo appeared incorrectly on a 
 burgess roll, and it was desired to nominate 
 tho person as to whoso namo a mistake had been 
 ide, his correct name should be entered in the 
 uiiuation puper, together with his number on 
 tho burgess roll, so that identification would 
 ho easy ; hut in a case v.hich was deliberately 
 discussed in 1885 ono Charles Arthur Burman 
 signed a nomination paper as an assent-* 
 ing burgess. His number on the burgess 
 roll was correctly inserted against his namo. An 
 examination of tno nomination paper, however,, 
 by a microscoDical oyo discovered that tho Bur-* 
 
 398015
 
 38 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 man No. 467 on the burgess roll was there 
 tentered as Charles .Burman whereas the assent- 
 ling burgess had signed his name as Charles 
 .Arthur Burman, and the Court of Queen's Bench 
 Was asked to declare that Charles Arthur Burman 
 who signed the Domination paper as No. 467 on 
 the burgess roll might be held to be identical 
 with the Charles Burman who appeared opposite 
 Ko. 467 on the burgess roll. At this, however, 
 the Court of Queen's Bench struck ; they con- 
 sidered that burgesses ought to bo able to decide 
 whether a candidate is properly nominated and 
 assented to without any trouble or doubt ; 
 "that they ought to be able to say whether the 
 right person had signed a nomination paper and 
 burgess roll without " further and laborious 
 inquiry," and thereupon the nomination paper 
 Was disallowed. Upon this case, therefore, the 
 best advice to give candidates and their sup- 
 porters is that they should closely examine the 
 register of voters and take care that on the nomi- 
 nation papers the names of all who sign be so 
 written as to correspond to the dot of the " i " and 
 the cross of the*'t" with the precise letter of the 
 name as it appears on the register of voters. This 
 will be the safer course to pursue, although it 
 may be that the tide of legal opinion will not 
 always roll with equally destructive force. Indeed, 
 there was a sign of its ebbing slightly three 
 months ago when the Queen's Bench Division 
 admitted the signatures as assenting burgesses 
 to the nomination of " Edwin J. Hooper," whose 
 name appeared as Edwin John Hooper on the bur- 
 gess roll ; of " W. E. Waller," whereas the 
 name on the burgess roll was "William 
 £. Waller ; and of ?( R. Turner," instead of 
 Robert Turner as it appeared os the burgess. 
 roUL There has. however, been no hint that anjF-
 
 TITE ELECTION 07 COUNTY COUNCILLORS. 39 
 
 thing short of full names and addresses corre- 
 sponding with the burgess roll would be suffi- 
 cient for the description of the candidate, and in. 
 a case where the namo of a candidate is not cor- 
 rectly entered on the register of electors it 
 would probably bo well, after stating the full 
 correct names, to add that the candidate ia 
 described on the register of voters in such and 
 such a way. As will have been observed from 
 the form of nomination paper, the candidate must 
 be proposed and seconded, and then supported 
 by eight electors. It must be borne in mind that 
 it is the nomination that is assented to and sup- 
 ported by the eight electors, and, therefore, a 
 nomination has been held by the Courts to be bad 
 where, after the assentors had signed, the namo 
 of the nominator was altered. The assent, the 
 Judges said, must follow the nomination and not 
 precede it. It is not an uncommon practice in a 
 municipal boroughfor a candidate to get his eight 
 assentors to sign the paper, leaving the places of 
 honour as proposer and seconder to bo tilled by 
 persons of distinguished position, but this course 
 is irregular, and if found out would be dangerous. 
 The nomination paper, having been filled up, 
 signed, and the numbers on the register of elec- 
 tors duly and correctly inserted, has to be de- 
 livered at the returning officer's office by the 
 candidato in person, or by his proposer or 
 seconder — sending by post, or parcel, or mes- 
 senger will not;<lo, Wiero must be a personal 
 delivery of the paper at the prescribed office. 
 
 The first elections for the county councils in 
 England are to be held in January, and the 
 notices of election have to he published by the 
 returning officer in December next. The re- 
 turning officer is to fix between the nomination 
 and election a period not exceeding six days, and
 
 CO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 as under the Act notice has to be published next 
 December and the election cannot take place 
 earlier than January 14th candidates will have 
 plenty of time to prepare themselves for a 
 personal journey to the place of nomination. 
 iThere are two apparently contradictory rules in 
 the Municipal Corporations Act with regard to 
 the number of nomination papers that an elector 
 may sign. One rule states that the same 
 burgesses may subscribe as many nomination 
 papers as there are vacancies to be filled, and 
 another rule lays it down that where a person 
 subscribes more nomination papers than one his 
 subscription is to be inoperative in all but the 
 one which is first delivered. The first of these 
 rules (Rule 3) was the expression of the law 
 ;existing at the time the Act was passed, and the 
 second of the rules (Rule 10) was introduced as 
 an amendment m Committee as the Bill was 
 passing through the House. The Courts have 
 bad theBe two rules under their consideration, 
 but it may be doubted whether a satisfactory de- 
 cision has been given. It has been suggested 
 that Rule 3 applied to an election where there 
 were several vacancies, and that Rule 10 — the 
 rule which restricts the effective signature of 
 burgesses to one nomination paper — applied only 
 to such elections as those for the county council,, 
 where (except in London) there will be only one 
 ■vacancy. It is possible, however, that these two 
 rules will be the subject of further litigation, and 
 perhaps a higher and possibly a different opinion 
 ;may be given. In the meantime, candidates would 
 do well to ask each elector who signs his nomina- 
 tion paper, whether proposer, seconder, or assen- 
 itor, whether he has Bigned any previous paper, 
 ; and». if so^ it would be Eafest .to leave that parr
 
 TITE KLFCTION OV COUNTY COUNOTIXOIt3. 41 
 
 tloular elector alono and to get someone elao to 
 sign in hia place. 
 
 The next act in the procops of nomination is 
 the scrutiny of the nomination papers. On the 
 day after tho date fixed for delivery of nomina- 
 tion papers tho returning officer is to attend at 
 tho place of which ho shall have given notico, 
 for a sufficient timo between 2 and 4. 
 ifco decide on tho validity of every objec- 
 tion, mado in writing, to tho nomination papers. 
 Tho candidate may attend before tho returning 
 bfficcr himself, or ho may be represented by, or 
 have tho assistance of, ono person, who must ba 
 appointed in writing, and whoso appointment 
 must bo delivered to the returning officer before 
 6 o'clock on tho day fixed for delivery of nomina- 
 tion papers. No one, unless for tho purpose of 
 iassisting tho returning officer, is allowed to be 
 present when the objections to nomination papers 
 are dealt with, except, of course, the candidates 
 and their duly-appointed representatives. Each 
 candidate or his representative may object to the 
 nomination paper of any other candidate for tho 
 same electoral division. Tho unsuspecting can- 
 didate might supposo that tho returning officer 
 could under these provisions deal with all sorta 
 of objections, but hero again tho Courts have 
 stopped in, and tho Houso of Lords, this time, 
 has very emphatically declared that tho powers 
 of tho returning officer are exceedingly limited. 
 The qualification of a candidate had been con« 
 sidercd a matter which tho returning officer, 
 could hear arguments upen and decide. It was, 
 however, Lord Ilcrschell sai in tho House of 
 Lords, " impossible to supp< Be teat Buch a ques- 
 tion as the qualification of a candidate should, on 
 it may be.-very imperfect information and without 
 liwni AflHLhtaiico. be finally and coruduaivols do*
 
 42 THE LOCAi GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 fcorrnirtpd bv a returning officer, who in this case 
 was the" mayor of a municipal borough." It had 
 previously been decided that a mayor had no 
 power to deal with an objection as to the time oi 
 the delivery of nomination papers, and therefore 
 the candidate who is confident that the names of 
 his proposer and seconder and also of his assentora 
 correspond to the entries on the register of 
 electors, and that their numbers on the register 
 are correctly stated, need fear very little from 
 the ordeal of the examination of the nomination 
 paper before the returning officer. If, however,the 
 candidate prefers not to come face to face with hia 
 opponent but feels faint-hearted and dislikes the 
 prospect of a contest, he can at any time 
 before 2 on the day for objection withdraw his 
 candidature by giving notice in writing to the, 
 returning officer. 
 
 , It may be convenient to intending candidates 
 jto know that their personal presence in this 
 country at the time of nomination is not abso- 
 lutely requisite if they have, in the presence oftwa 
 ■witnesses within one month before the day oi 
 nomination, signed a consent to be a candidate, 
 which consent has to be produced at the time 
 the nomination paper is delivered in. 
 
 The further proceedings towards the election 
 of a candidate will be dealt with in a separata 
 paper, but in connexion with the candidature 
 gome very important rules laid down by the Muni-< 
 cipal Elections Corrupt Practices Act, 1884, have 
 to be observed. A candidate might very inno- 
 cently infringe some of the provisions of that 
 Act,and might unwittingly render himself liable. 
 Hot only to the loss of his 6eat and to 
 ■unpleasant disqualification, but even to serious 
 punishment. The Act, of course, prohibits all 
 fifiEEopt, .nraeticfig^ Treating undue, jjofluencjiw
 
 THE ELECTION OF COUNTY COTTNCTLLOBS. 43 
 
 and bribery hardly need in these days any de- 
 tailed definition. Candidates tor the county 
 council are probably quite familiar with the 
 prohibitions which exist in the case of Parlia* 
 nientary elections against practices of this sort. 
 Those prohibitions will apply equally to elec- 
 tions for the county council ; but, in addition to 
 those practices which would probably strike the 
 ordinary candidato as being corrupt, many things 
 innocent in themselves are, by the Act referred 
 to, mado illegal practices. First, the total sum 
 which a candidato may spend in and about hia 
 election is limited to £25, with an additional 3d. 1 
 for each elector above tho first 500 electors. In, 
 a constituency numbering 5,0C0 electors thq 
 maximum amount that can be spent by any onq 
 candidato would, thereforo, be £81 5s. Another 
 provision of the Act prohibits the use o{ 
 more than one committee-room for every 2,000^ 
 or any incomplete part of 2,000 electors. Nd 
 committee-room may be held on any premisesi 
 licensed for selling intoxicating liquor or refresh-* 
 ment, whether food or drink, nor on any premises! 
 -where any intoxicating liqnor is supplied ta 
 members of a club, society, or association, not*, 
 may a meeting for promoting the election of a 
 candidate bo held on any such premises aa 
 these. Tho number of persons that may be em-J 
 ployed for payment is limited to two persons for] 
 the first 2,000 electors, and one person in addition! 
 for every 1,000 electors beyond 2,000. One- 
 polling agent may be employed in each polling 
 Btation, and a person may be legally paid who is an 
 elector, but if so employed he may not vote* 
 Then, municipal elections aro supposed to bd 
 sufficiently enlivening not to require tho use oJ 
 bands of music, torches, flags, banners, cockades. 
 ji bauds., or other nxaxka ot .distiikctkiiu. and
 
 44 THE LOCAL GOVEP.KMEXT ACT. 
 
 any payment or promise of payment m re- 
 Bpect of any of these things is an illegal pay* 
 ment, and subjects the person paying and the 
 person receiving to punishment. Iso payment 
 may be made on account of the conveyance of 
 electors, and it is also important to remember 
 "that no public or hackney carriage, nor any horse 
 kept for drawing the same, nor any carriage horse 
 or other animal -which is kept or used to be let 
 out on hire may be used for the conveyance of 
 electors to or from the poll. It matters not 
 whether the uce of the horse is paid for or not, 
 if it be a horee that is kept for being let out for 
 hire it may not be used even gratuitously at the 
 election. An elector may himself take a cab, or 
 two or three electors may combine to pay for one 
 for themselves. Another point to be borne in 
 mind by the candidate is that every bill, 
 placard, or poster, and, to be safe, every circular 
 or card having reference to the election mustbear 
 upon it the name and address of the printer and 
 publisher. If it does not, the candidate, if behave 
 printed or published, or caused it to bo printed 
 or published, is guilty of an illegal practice, 
 his election may be declared void, he may bo 
 fined £100, and will bo incapable for five years of 
 voting at any election. It is also necessary for 
 the candidate to n c that every claim made 
 
 against him in respect of the election expenses 
 must be sent in within 14 days of the date of 
 election, and if not eent in within that 
 will bo barred. All the expenses that he has in- 
 curred must be paid within 21 days, and within 
 28 days he is to make a return of his expenses to 
 the returning officer. 
 
 The points which have been referred to arg 
 those which it is most necessary for a candidate 
 to keen in mind during his candidature, and if
 
 THE ELECTION OF COUNTY COUNCILLORS. 45 
 
 tho mere enumeration of some of the provisions 
 of tho Act should havo startled a timid 
 candidate, ho may bo reassured when he 
 oa that the High Court of Justice 
 has power to excuse an innocent offender from, 
 |the consequence of Bomo indiscretion or inadver- 
 tence if only tho Court be satisfced of his bona 
 Juries, and if ho apply promptly after tho discovery 
 of his mistake. V, hen tho Act was first passed 
 the Judges wero very indulgent, they have been 
 gradually getting moro and moro strict. No 
 doubt, however ,the first candidates for thocounty 
 councils will receive merciful consideration for 
 any mistakes that they may make, if only it 
 appears to tho Court that tho mistakes arose 
 from ignorance of tho provisions of the statute or 
 teal inadvertence. If, however, tho act committed 
 were ono which in any way had helped a candi- 
 date to success at his election tho Court would 
 bo very loth and very unlikely tooxcuse it.
 
 46 THE LOCAL GOVEKNMEN'T ACT. 
 
 W.—THE COUNTY COUNCILLORS— THEIR 
 ELECTION AND FIRST MEETINGS. 
 
 It is, of course, the returning officer who will 
 provide the election machinery ; the place for 
 taking the poll and for counting the votes will be 
 appointed by him. He also will provide pre- 
 siding officers, poll clerks, ballot papers, and 
 everything that is necessary to ascertain the 
 opinions of the electors. The returning officer 
 for the first elections will be the sheriff of the 
 county, unless, indeed, he should be desirous of 
 becoming a candidate, and then he may apply to 
 quarter sessions, and quarter sessions may ap- 
 point some one to act as returning officer for the 
 first elections. In the county of London the ap- 
 pointment of returning officer for the first elec- 
 tion is vested in the Local Government Board. 
 The first returning officer will have considerable 
 power, for it devolves upon him to divide the 
 electoral divisions into polling districts. He is 
 to take care that every polling district shall be 
 the area or a combination of areas for which 
 separate parts of the register of electors are made 
 out, but subject to that he appears to have entire, 
 discretion over the constitution of polling dis-i 
 tricts. This, as everyone who has any experi- 
 ence in connexion with elections rmist know, is a* 1 
 very important function, the discharge of which
 
 thb coxnmr cottxcillobs. 47 
 
 may materially affect tho exercise of tlie fran- 
 chise. It may, indeed, in some cases practically 
 shut out from voting a number of electors if the 
 
 S idling districts bo improperly constituted, 
 'ho candidate can, if he please, amuso himself 
 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. by driving round and visit- 
 ing such of tho polling stations as are within 
 reach. He may also have present in each sta- 
 tion, if ho so desire it, an agent, who must have 
 previously been appointed by tho candidate, and 
 who must have made a declaration that he will 
 observe secrecy, and will not disclose informal 
 tion as to who has or who has not voted. The agent 
 is generally to aid in maintaining the secrecy oi 
 the ballot proceedings. The appointment of the 
 agent has to bo notified to the returning officer 
 one clear day before the polling day, and it 
 must be borne in mind that if an elector accepts 
 for payment the appointment of polling agent ho 
 will not be entitled to vote at the election. 
 
 On tho mode of voting much might be said., 
 Numerous decisions of tho Courts have been re- 
 corded allowing and disallowing ballot papers 
 marked in all sorts of fantastic ways. "Without 
 referring to reported cases in detail, it may 
 suffice for candidates to remember that tho help- 
 less or illiterate voter is entitled to every posn 
 siblo assistance at tho hands of tho presiding 
 officer. The stupid and blundering voter may 
 misunderstand the directions as to filling up hiai 
 ballot paper, but if he succeeds in putting any-* 
 thing on it which will indicate the way in which; 
 ho desires to voto without at the same time being 
 likely to cause his identification the voto will ba 
 recorded. If, for instanco, ho puts a dash instead 
 of a cross in the spaco which the voter has to> 
 mark, the dash will bo allowed ; but if ho puts his; 
 initials instead of a cross the voto will be di)W
 
 48 THE LOCAI, GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 allowed. Mistakes on the part of the voter the 
 candidate must take his chance of, and be com- 
 forted by remembering that mistakes are just as 
 likely to be made by those who wish to vote for 
 his opponents as by those who desire to vote for' 
 himself. In the process of voting electors must 
 not be interfered with, and, indeed, nowadays it 
 is dangerous to interfere with them outside the 
 polling station. The employment of men " to 
 keep the boys away and to distribute handbills 
 outside the polling stations " was severely com-* 
 mented upon in the Stepney case. Apart from 
 any other circumstance, such an employment of 
 men is not one of those things contemplated by 
 the Corrupt Practices Act, if allowed by it* 
 Other considerations are, moreover, provoked,' 
 and Judges have thrown out a hint that under 
 Borne circumstances the employment of men suifi-' 
 ciently burly " to keep the boys away " might 
 possibly amount to intimidation of voters. If 
 gratuitous labour can be employed for the distri- 
 bution, the nature of the handbill will have to be, 
 considered. It had not been uncommon to print 
 cards showing a sort of facsimile of the ballot 
 paper, but with one candidate's name in very large 
 type and the others' in very small letters, and 
 with a cross against the name of the favourite 
 candidate. Then a note would.be put at the foot 
 of the card stating that, if the ballot paper were 
 marked in any other way than that intimated 
 above, the vote would be lost. It seems tolerably 
 clear from what has dropped from various mem- 
 bers of election courts that such cards would be con- 
 demned as fraudulent devices, and might, there- 
 fore, invalidate an election. Handbills saying : — 
 " Vote for Jones and Economy " or " Vote 
 for Smith and Efficiency " would bo permissible if 
 distributed without necessitating the cmDloyment
 
 THE COUNTY COT7NOTLLOT13, &0. 49 
 
 of unauthorized agcnt3 and without obstructing 
 or intimidating voters. 
 
 After tho clock has struck 8 in the evening no 
 moro ballot papers are to bo given out. There 
 may be persons in tho room waiting to vote, but 
 thoy will not bo entitled to receivo a paper, and 
 they must bo consoled for the los3 of tho fran-< 
 chise by a remindor that thoy should have afri 
 tended earlier in the day. As soon as tho last 
 paper delivered out before 8 has been filled up 
 and placed in tho ballot box, tho ballot box will 
 bo sealed to be taken off to tho placo of counting 
 tho votes. Durin:; this process tho candidate anot 
 agents are entitled to bo present. These agenta 
 must also have been appointed beforehand, and 
 must have mado their declarations of secrecy. 
 They will not bo allowed to interfere with tho 
 counting, but an opportunity must bo afforded 
 them by tho returning officer of seeing how it is 
 done. In all probability tho returning officer will 
 bo very happy to afford them every facility for 
 checking tho counting, and, indeed, will be glad 
 that someone should control the figures ascertained 
 by his own stall'. Precautions are provided 
 against the insertion of a number of forged ballot 
 papers into the ballot boxes. Not only does the 
 presiding officer have to see that tho official mark 
 is on the papers put into tho ballot box, but before 
 tho votes are dealt with the first duty enjoined on 
 the returning officer is that the papers taken 
 from each box should be counted and compared 
 with a statement, which tho presiding officer will 
 havo handed in, showing the number of papers 
 which ho has issued at his polling station and the 
 number of blank papers and counterfoils which 
 he has returned. This having been done, the 
 papers are to be mixed, so that it shall not ba 
 Boon what Dronortion. of vote* tor a naxticulaE
 
 50 THE LOCAX GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 candidate may come from any special district, and 
 then the counting will proceed. The doubtful 
 papers will be adjudicated upon by the return- 
 ing officer and the result declared. 
 
 Within 10 days of the date of election the 
 candidate has to sign a declaration that he takes 
 upon himself the office of councillor, and within 
 21 days he must pay every expense that he has 
 incurred. If he make a single payment after the 
 expiration of 21 days the payment will be an 
 illegal one and entail liability to the consequences" 
 referred to in the last paper on this subject. There 
 is, however, a provision giving power to the High. 
 Court of Justice or to a County Court, in the case 
 of a council election, to allow a claim to be sent 
 in and expenses to be paid after the time limited. 
 The accounts having been sent in and paid, a 
 return, vouched by bills stating the particulars 
 and accompanied b3 r receipts, has to be verified 
 by a statutory declaration, and within 28 days 
 after the day of election handed over to the re- 
 turning officer. The returning officer keeps the 
 statement of accounts and declaration for 12 
 months, and is bound to show them to anyone 
 on payment of Is., and to deliver copies on pay- 
 ment of a small prescribed fee. While cases have 
 occurred in which the Courts have exercised their 
 power of excuse, and have given absolution to 
 candidates who have failed to comply with theso 
 provisions, yet there have been cases in which 
 the absolution has been refused, and no candi- 
 date can safely make a payment without permis- 
 sion of the Court after 21 days of the date of 
 election, nor can he safely omit after 28 days to 
 send in his return. The particulars of expendi- 
 ture given must be sufficient to enable the differ- 
 ent expenses incurred to be identified and, if 
 p.eed be. to be comclamed of. If, for instance.
 
 THE COUNTY COUNCILLORS, &0. 51 
 
 it app'ars that th travelling expenses of an 
 elector have been paid, and an entry Is made in 
 the account to that effect, tho election may be 
 upset; so, too, where it appeared that persons 
 had been employed to keep order at a meeting 
 connected with an election. That was held to 
 do an illegal employment, as wero also refresh 
 ments given to people who had been called 
 " workers " at an election. On the other hand, 
 the candidate who has by accident made an 
 illegal payment cannot safely omit it from his re- 
 turn, for then ho will be liable to serious punish* 
 ment. He must, therefore, mako the best of itj 
 and tako the consequences. 
 
 The Act requiring a return of expenses and 
 declaration applies equally in cases whero no 
 expenses at all have been incurred. This was 
 held in a recent case, and tho Queen's Bench 
 Division were very emphatic in laying down the law 
 that, notwithstanding a candidate had incurred 
 no expenses at all, he must make the declara- 
 tion in the prescribed form ; for one object of that 
 declaration is to negative the expenditure of 
 money by other persons on behalf of the candi- 
 date 
 
 Our candidate may have thought it desirable 
 to have two strings to his bow and to stand for 
 two electoral divisions. If this should have been 
 the case, and if he has been lucky enough to be 
 elected in both, he must declare in writing to tho 
 returning oflicer his choice of the division for 
 which he will sit ; and if he should not bo able to 
 "make up his mind, then the returning oflicer is. 
 to mako the choice for him before the first 
 meeting of tho provisional council. It is not 
 intended by the Act that one county councillor 
 shall at the same time represent two electoral, 
 divisions*
 
 (52 THE LOCAL GOVEK> T MENTC ACT. 
 
 The candidate having been duly elected will 
 not enter upon nis duties as a rully-tleclged 
 councillor until the 1st of April, or such other day 
 as the Local Government Board may appoint, but 
 on the second Thursday next after the day fixed 
 for the first election the county councillors 
 ■will hold a meeting as a provisional council. 
 Of that meeting notice will be given by the 
 returning officer at the same time that ho senda 
 tho councillor formal intimation of his election, 
 and the hour and place of meeting will be deter- 
 mined by the returning officer. At this meeting 
 the provisional councillors will elect one of 
 ^heir number to be chairman of that and of 
 the second meeting, and they will then pro- 
 ceed to elect the county aldermen. INow 
 these aldermen may or may not have been 
 elected members of the council, but if not coun- 
 cillors they must be persons who would have been 
 qualified to be on the council. They are to be 
 elected according to the provisions of the Muni- 
 cipal Corporations Act and with the formalities 
 prescribed by that statute. The mode of election 
 is by every councillor entitled to vote delivering 
 at tho meeting to the chairman a voting paper 
 containing the surname and other names, the 
 place of abode, and description of the person for 
 whom he votes. This enactment must be 
 strictly complied with. Voting papers which 
 contained the description of the place 
 where the candidate daily transacted his 
 business instead of his place of abode were 
 held to be bad,although the description was made 
 without fraud or intention to mislead, and was 
 guch as would be commonly understood to apply 
 to the person voted for. In another case the 
 benevolent intention of the section of the Act 
 intended to prevent the occurrence, of injustice
 
 TTIE COUNTY COUNCILLORS, &0. f>3 
 
 by accidental misnomer was much cramped by 
 tho Court. A candidate a few days prior to his 
 election had removed from Gonvilie-road to 
 Newmarket-road, but in his voting paper he was 
 described as of Gonvillo-road, and the Judges 
 considered that " this was not an inaccurato 
 description of a place," but was an " accurate 
 description of a wrong place" and not covered by 
 the statute. In another case the name, sur- 
 name, and pluco of abode of the candidate were 
 given, but he wan not described, and the vote was 
 thrown out. These instances are selected from 
 several to show tho absolute necessity for the 
 utmost care in filling up voting papers in the 
 election of aldermen. The voting paper has to 
 be signed. There is no secrecy about it,and, indeed, 
 as soon as all the voting papers havo been given 
 to tho chairman he Las openly to produce 
 and read them or cause tbem to be read. 
 Any would-be alderman should therefore take 
 care, unless it be beneath his dignity to do so, 
 that the councillors who intend to vote for him 
 are furnished with accurate particidars as to his 
 surname and other names, place of abode, and 
 description. At tho same meeting tho county 
 councillors aro to determine by ballot which, 
 of tho aldermen shall serve for three years only, 
 and which for six, for under tho provisions of 
 tho Act one-half of tho aldermen first elected, 
 will havo to retire at the end of three years' ser- 
 vice, in many cases, however, tho number of alder- 
 men is not divisible by two, and then the larger 
 half aro to retire first at the end of three years, 
 and the lesser half will remain in office for six 
 years. 
 
 If the county councillors should bo unable to 
 choose the aldermen, or should they discuss the 
 election of chairman at such lemrth as to siva
 
 54 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 
 
 them no time for the process of electing alder- 
 men, they may adjourn their first meeting, and 
 at the adjourned meeting elect the aldermen, but 
 they appear to have no power to transact any 
 other business at the first meeting. At tha 
 second meeting of the provisional council the 
 county aldermen are to be summoned to attend > 
 and at that meeting or at the adjournment there- 
 of the chairman and vice-chairman of the county 
 council may be chosen. 
 
 Of course, if county councillors have been elected 
 aldermen, vacancies will have been caused on the 
 council, and it would probably be a compliance 
 with the spirit, although not necessarily accord- 
 ing to the letter, of the Act for the second meet- 
 ing to be held at such time as would permit of 
 the vacancies having been filled up and of the 
 full provisional council being present. As the 
 quorum necessary for the transaction of busi- 
 ness at the ordinary council meeting is one-fourth, 
 of the whole number, so it is presumed that the 
 same proportion of members of the provisional 
 council will be competent to transact the pre- 
 liminary business which is contemplated. 
 
 The chairman of the first and second meetings 
 of the provisional county council is to have a 
 second or casting vote in case of equality of 
 votes, and where on the selection of the chair- 
 man an equal number of votes is given to two or 
 more persons, the meeting is to determine by lot 
 which of those persons shall be the chairman. 
 
 The term of office of chairman will apparently 
 be regulated by the provisions of the Municipal 
 Corporations Act which make the mayor an 
 annual officer. Under the Municipal Corporations 
 Act the mayor is not necessarily a member of the 
 council, but he must possess the qualifications 
 necessary Joj a councillor j so it would appear;
 
 THE COUNTY COUNCILLORS, &C. 55 
 
 that the chairman of the county council may he 
 like the mayor of a borough, " a fit person 
 elected by the council from among the aldermen 
 or councillors or persons qualified to be such." 
 It would appear, too, by the incorporation of tho 
 Municipal Corporations Act, that the chairman of 
 a county council may, like tho mayor, receive 
 " such remuneration as the council think reason- 
 able." 
 
 In London a deputy chairman may be chosen, 
 and the county council may pay him such re- 
 muneration as they may from timo to timo think 
 ht. It will bo remembered that tho chairman of 
 the Metropolitan Board of Works receives a 
 salary, and the option of appointing a deputy 
 chairman with remuneration is doubtless to 
 enablo tho county council of London, which will 
 be tho most important county council in the 
 kingdom, to securo the services of a second 
 person of distinction and ability, who will hold 
 a higher rank than that of clerk to the council, 
 but upon whose services the council may bo 
 entitled to rely. The deputy chairman will pro- 
 bably be chairman of the finance committee, or a 
 Bort of metropolitan Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
 The business of tho provisional council, tho 
 aldermen and chairman having been elected, is to 
 provide for bringing the provisions of tho Act 
 into full operation on the appointed day, and to 
 make the necessary arrangements with quarter 
 sessions, and to provide for all such matters 
 as aro necessary to enable tho county 
 council, as now fully constituted, to exe- 
 cute its duties and to give full effect 
 to tho Act. Tho provisional council will 
 be entitled to uso the county buildings, and 
 tho clerk of tho peaco and his officers and tho 
 Quarter sessions officers aro, if required, to act
 
 66 THE LOCAL GOVEENMEXT ACT. 
 
 as officers of the provisional council ; but. or 
 the other hand, the provisional eouncil may "hire 
 buildings and appoint interim officers, and pay 
 them as it may think fit to do so. The proceed- 
 ings for filling up the casual vacancies caused en 
 the council by the election of any councillors to 
 the office of alderman will be similar to those pre- 
 scribed for the first election. Thn sheriff or other 
 person who acted as returning officer at the first 
 election will be returning officer in respect of the 
 casual vacancies, and the new councillor ap- 
 pointed will hold his office for the term during 
 which the person whom he succeeds would have- 
 lac ted. 
 
 The term of office of the councillors is three 
 years. They are then all to retire together, and 
 their places are to be filled by a new election, and 
 the county councillors first elected are to retire 
 from office on the ordinary day of the election in 
 the third year after the passing of the Act — viz. t 
 1891. On the 7th of November in the same yea$ 
 the retiring aldermen will either be re-elected or 
 their places will be filled up. The triennial re- 
 tirement of all the councillors is a variation from 
 the practice in municipal boroughs, where one- 
 third only of the council retire every year. Thus 
 something like continuity of policy is secured. 
 The aldermanic element in the county councils is 
 supposed to be the element of stability. As half 
 the aldermen retire in the year in which there 
 niay^ be a clean sweep of the council chamber, the 
 stability of the council will depend upon a leaven 
 consisting of one-eighth in number of the whole 
 council — a very little leaven to leaven the whole 
 lump.
 
 THE COUNTY COUKCILLOr.3 AT WOP.K. 57 
 
 V.— Till'] COUNTY COUNCILLORS AT 
 
 WORK. 
 
 The county councillor will search tho Local 
 Government Act in vain for any complete code of 
 regulations as to tho conduct of tho council 
 "business. Tho directions which havo to ba 
 followed aro dotted about in tho Local Govern- 
 ment Act and in the Municipal Corporations Act. 
 The second schedulo to tho latter Act contains 
 an approach to something like a codo which the. 
 county councillor should learn by heart, and 
 which has nil the advantago of antiquity. Most 
 of the rules contained in this second schedulo 
 duoed verbatim from the Act which 
 reformed tho municipal corporations in 1835.' 
 Many of them had been in force for many years 
 before that date. It would, however, have 
 been very convenient if in a schedule to 
 the Local Government Act the county councillor 
 could have found collected in a few paragraphs, 
 all the ruks which will have to bo followed. 
 , however, is not to bo found, and a brief 
 sketch may thereforo Lo given hero which will 
 perhaps prove of some service. 
 
 If tho number of necessary meotings bo taken 
 as a criterion, Parliament has not contemplated 
 that the county councils should bo over-worked, 
 ^hero need only be four meetings in the course
 
 53 THE LOCAL GOVEKNTMENT ACT. 
 
 of the year. One of these is to be held at noon 
 on the 7th of November, and the three other statu- 
 tory meetings are to be held on such dates as the 
 councils may on the 7th of November,or by stand- 
 ing order, appoint. With the exception of the 
 fth of November meeting, at which the chairman 
 is to be elected, and at which every three years 
 aldermen are to be appointed, the meetings can 
 be held at such time as may be fixed ; and as to 
 all the meetings, there is no necessity to hold 
 them within the limits of the county itself. 
 The chairman may at any time call a meeting of 
 the council and any five members may re- 
 quire the chairman to convene one. If he 
 should refuse, or if he should fail after 
 the prescribed time to obey a requisition of this 
 sort, the five members may themselves summon 
 their colleagues together. Apart from this pro- 
 cedure the council can, of course, appoint as many 
 meetings as they think fit. The county council of 
 London, succeeding to the powers and duties of 
 the Metropolitan Board of Works, would find it 
 impossible to transact all its business in four 
 quarterly meetings, and that particular council 
 will probably find it desirable to meet weekly, or 
 at least fortnightly. In many of the counties of 
 England the distances which will have to be 
 traversed by members of the council will pro- 
 bably incline them to follow in the footsteps of 
 their predecessors, the Courts of Quarter Sessions, 
 and to hold four meetings only in the year. The 
 experience of the town councils of our municipal 
 boroughs will hardly give a lead in this respect 
 to the county councils, for the districts governed 
 by the municipal corporations are compact, and 
 attendance at the council meetings seldom involves 
 any long journeyings.But in many of the smaller 
 boroughs the town . councils confine themselves.
 
 TffE COTTNTT COtrN'CILLOrvS AT WORK. B9 
 
 to quarterly meetings, whilo in the larger 
 •boroughs monthly meetings aro generally the 
 rule, although in exceptional cases the councils 
 meet fortnightly. The council meetings will bo 
 presided over by tho chairman, and in his absenco 
 at tho timo of holding tho meeting the coun- 
 cillors present must elect ono of their number to 
 preside. Although they have power to elect a 
 vice-chairman at tho same time that they choose 
 their chairman, yet tho vice-chairman is not 
 entitled to preside at any council meeting unless 
 specially elected at tho time to the chair. Par- 
 liament has provided against meetings being held 
 without proper notice to the councillors, and in a 
 borough notice of an intended meeting has to be 
 fixed on the town-hall, but in a county it will 
 have to bo fixed " in some conspicuous place." 
 This notice, in tho case of a meeting called 
 upon a requisition of members, has to specify 
 the business to bo dono at the meeting, 
 but in other cases it will merely state tho 
 time and place at which the meeting is to bo 
 held. As, however, it is obvious that a notice of 
 this kind is very likely to escape the attention of 
 members of tho council it is further provided 
 that three clear days before any meeting is hold 
 a summons stating tho business to be transacted 
 is either to bo dolivored or sent by registered 
 letter to every member of tho council at his 
 place of abode. The summons will state pretty 
 tully what business is to bo dealt with. Tho 
 Local Government Act makes a special provision 
 for tho protection and guidance of tho inexperi- 
 enced bodies which it creates, and directs that 
 if any resolution for paying a sum exceeding £50 
 out of the County Fund, or for incurring any 
 cost, debt, or liability exceeding that sum, is to 
 foe proposed. the_ notice of m,cetin£ 6hall stata
 
 60 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 the amount and the purpose for which the money 
 Is required. 
 
 This is a truly paternal provision,and one which 
 it will be somewhat difficult to carry out, consider- 
 ing that the annual expenditure of some of the 
 county councils will exceed a quarter of a million, 
 and that in comparatively few cases will it be less 
 than £30,000. It is also rather singular, but it 
 is the fact, that certain business to be transacted 
 at the quarterly meetings need not be specified 
 in tho summons. In giving notice for tho meet- 
 ingofthe7th of November it would beconsidered 
 " bad form " on the part of the clerk of tho 
 peace, but it would be quite legal, to omit from, 
 the summons such items as the election of chair- 
 man and the election of aldermen, and so the un- 
 wary councillor might possibly be induced, by 
 press of his own business or other circumstances, 
 to neglect attending a meeting at which business 
 certainly of interest and probably of importance 
 "would be transacted. Bat such a contingency ia 
 hardly likely to arise, and the councillor will 
 himself be to blame if he should forget that on 
 tho 7th of November,all over England and Wales, 
 chairmen, and every three years aldermen, are to 
 be elected. 
 
 The acts of the council and all questions arising 
 before it are to be decided by a majority of 
 the members present and voting, and in case 
 of equality of votes the chairman has a second or 
 casting vote. The minutes of the meeting need 
 not be written while the meeting is proceeding, 
 and if not signed at the time they may be signed 
 at tho next en sun: ; by the chairman 
 
 himself or by some member of the council de- 
 scribing himself as chairman of the meeting at 
 which tho minute is signed. 
 
 The minutes are opea to the inspection of any,
 
 TTTE COUNTY COUTTCILLOHS AT WORK. CI 
 
 county doctor on payment of ls. ; and ho may 
 copy or take extracts troin tliom. It is, of course, 
 impossible that all business of tho class that will 
 havo to bo transacted by county councils can 
 bo done by tho full council in regular meeting 
 assembled, and so they havo power to appoint 
 committees, and particularly they are required 
 to appoint a tinanco committee, without whose 
 recommendation a payment cannot bo mado. 
 Moreover, they will havo to join with tho Court 
 of Quarter Sessions in appointing a joint com- 
 mittee, who will havo power to appoint and 
 removo tho clerk of tho peace. It has already 
 boon stated that tho existing clerks of tho peace 
 are to bo clerks of tho county councils, but it is 
 an error to suppose that futuro clerks of tho 
 peace can bo appointed by county councils ; 
 thoy can only bo appointed, and they can bo 
 removed, by tho joint committee, and the joint 
 committco may appoint a deputy clerk to act in 
 liou of tho clerk, in case of death, illness, or 
 absenco from any other cause, as may be deter- 
 mined by tho joiut committee. It would seem, 
 therefore, that, while clerks of the peace will 
 probably retain their power to appoint deputy 
 clerks for tho purposo of judicial business, tho 
 appointment of deputy for tho purposes of the 
 Local Government Act can only bo effected by 
 the joiut committee. Tho joint committee- 
 will also have charge of tho police and tho 
 provision of accommodation for Quarter Ses- 
 sions and other matters of detail. Tho 
 joint committees are to consist of such 
 equal number of Quarter Sessions justices 
 and members of tho county council as may 
 bo arranged between tho Quarter Sessions 
 and the council, or in default of arrangement as 
 may, bo directed by tho Secretary of Stato. Aai
 
 62 THE LOCAL GOVEET7MEST ACT. 
 
 this constitution of the joint committee may 
 lead to equality of voting, they are to elect a- 
 chairman. In case of equality of votes for two or 
 more persons for the chair one of them is to be 
 elected by lot ; thus, if the members of the joint 
 committee appointed by Quarter Sessions and the 
 representatives of the county councils voto to- 
 gether so that important questions may depend 
 upon the casting vote of the chairman, the Act of 
 Parliament deliberately leaves those important 
 questions to an officer chosen by lot. 
 
 The proceedings of all the committees of the 
 county council have to be reported to the 
 council from time to time. This will doubtless 
 be done in the same form that has for many years 
 prevailed with regard to the committees ofQuartei 
 Sessions. A few days before the Quarter Sessions 
 are held printed reports of the committees are 
 circulated among the justices, who are thus, if 
 they take the trouble to read their reports, fully 
 conversant with the recommendations and busi- 
 ness that may be brought before them. This plan 
 is also adopted in all well regulated municipal 
 boroughs, and is, indeed, the only way in which 
 the council can keep its hand upon the reins. 
 
 The proceedings of the joint committee do 
 not require any confirmation by the county 
 council, and the county council, on the other 
 hand, are to provide such funds as the joint com- 
 mittee may need in connexion with the powers 
 which they exercise. Standing orders may bo 
 made by the county councils for the regulation 
 of their business, and, indeed, will be necessary. 
 It will be advisable to provide for the delibera- 
 tive business being conducted with due dignity 
 and in proper form. The number of times that 
 any member of the council may be entitled to 
 speak on any eiven subject, the nature of amend-
 
 TIIE COUNTY COUNCILLORS AT WOftK. 63 
 
 monts that may be allowed, the modo of giving 
 notice of motion, the manner of dealing with and 
 voting upon the " previous quostion " should all 
 be provided for by standing order. DeBidea these 
 matters, standing orders will bo wanted for re- 
 gulating tho proceedings as to licensing stage 
 plays and music and dancing, but on all these 
 
 Eoints the county councillors will find any num- 
 er of precedents in the municipal boroughs of 
 standing and experience. 
 
 An interesting question may sometimes arise 
 as to the disqualification of members of tho 
 council. One who becomes bankrupt, or com- 
 pounds with his creditors, or, except in case of 
 illness, is continuously absent from the county 
 for more than six months, becomes disqualified. 
 If chairman, he may only be absent two months 
 without becoming disqualified. In case of bank- 
 ruptcy or composition with his creditors, the 
 disqualification as regards subsequent elections 
 ceases on obtaining an order of discharge, 
 t)T, in case of compounding, on payment of 
 the debts in full. Thero are other dis- 
 qualifying circumstances. One is accepting 
 any office or placo of profit in tho gift or 
 disposal of the council, and another is having 
 directly or indirectly by himself or partner any 
 share or interest in any contract or employment 
 with, by, or on behalf of the council ; but this 
 does not apply to a lease, sale, or purchase of 
 land, to an agreement for the loan of money, nor 
 to an intorest in a newspaper in which tho 
 council's advertisements are inserted. So, too, a 
 councillor may be a shareholder in a company 
 which contracts with the council, but he must 
 not vote or take part in the discussion of any 
 matter in which the company or he himself have. 
 directly or indirectly any pecuniary interest.
 
 64 THE LOOAX GOVERNMENT ACT, 
 
 When the county councillors take up their 
 office their first duty will probably be to con- 
 sider how far their staff is efficient for the work 
 that will have to be done. They are to have the 
 assistance of all the Quarter Sessions officers, in- 
 cluding the surveyor and treasurer, and if they 
 find it necessary to dispense with any of them they 
 will have to pay them compensation ; but beyond 
 the existing staff the Municipal Corporations Act 
 gives the council ample powers to appoint such 
 officers as it may think necessary for carrying on 
 its duties ; the clerk of the peace and his deputy 
 being the only officers with whose appointment 
 the county council cannot deal. They may 
 appoint a secretary, solicitor, or any number of 
 clerks. A medical officer of health may be 
 appointed, in addition to the existing staff, and 
 his services may by arrangement be made avail- 
 able for any district within the county. As to 
 his salary, and as to the pay of all the other 
 officers, the discretion of the county council is 
 entirely unlimited ; but it may be that the county 
 councils will pause before they make many new 
 appointments, and that they will devote them- 
 selves in the first instance to the consideration 
 of the important question of finance. 
 
 To this too much attention cannot be paid. 
 The financial operations of the counties have 
 been of considerable magnitude. According to 
 the last published local taxation returns the out- 
 standing county loans amounted to upwards of 
 three-and-a-half millions, and the annual rates 
 levied by the counties exceeded two millions, 
 while other items brought up their total receipts 
 to upwards of three millions in the year. Of 
 course, in a case like this, striking an average 
 would not convey an accurate idea of the financial 
 .operations of the counties generally. A few
 
 TITE COUNTY COrXCILLOES AT WORK. 65 
 
 counties may bo picked ont by way of example 
 The curront receipts of Lancaster In one year 
 are returner! at £391,524 ; Chester, Kent, Mid- 
 dlesex, Stafford, and Suiroy are between £100,000 
 and £200,000 each. Of the smaller counties the 
 annual current receipts of Rutland are £4,095, 
 and those of Radnor £4,591. These last, now- 
 cvor, aro of course exceptional figures. The in- 
 debtedness has for the most part been incurred 
 in respect of the erection of lunatic asylums. 
 Those buildings, with the land on which they 
 stand, figure for a total of £2,800,000 of the. 
 county indebtedness, and nearly half a million, 
 is attributable) to police stations and gaols*. 
 Not only do the total figures applicable to each 
 county vary somewhat in proportion to the size, 
 population, and wealth of tho counties, but the 
 amounts of tho rates leviod in various counties 
 differ considerably. Tho highest county rate 
 fchown in tho local taxation returns is 6d. in the 
 pound, that being tbe rate levied in Mont- 
 gomeryshire. Herefordshire comes near to thafi 
 figure with 5|d., and Bedfordshire with 5d« 
 The lowest rate levied is that in Lancashire, 
 which is 1 l-16d. To this the metropolitan 
 counties approximate very closely. Tho police 
 rato, too, varies considerably, tho highest being 
 3^d. and tho lowest Ofd. 
 
 As tho financial circumstances of all the coun- 
 ties in England and Wales differ considerably, 
 it would not answer any useful end to offer more 
 than general observations with regard to the 
 effect that tho Local Government Act may have 
 upon county finance. Tho following tablo shows 
 in a compact form tho duties that are to be 
 transferred from tho Imperial Exchequer in aid 
 of tho rates. Subjoined to that tablo aro the 
 inures of tho Government grants which will be 
 
 a
 
 06 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 withdrawn. It will be seen that there is a net 
 "balance of about three millions per annum which, 
 in one form or another, will go to reduce local 
 taxation : — 
 
 Grants in aid of Local Taxation in England 
 a>:i> Walls to lz Discontinued. 
 
 Amounts Paid 
 in 1886-7. 
 Disturnpiked and main maris ... ... ^fJ'qfa 
 
 Teacl ern in Poor Law schools ... ... ^i> a1 ^ 
 
 Poor Law medical officers ... ... ... 14/,0ol 
 
 Medical officers of health and inspectors 
 
 of nuisances ... .-• ••• ••• }''-■■'{ 
 
 Begistrars oi births and deaths ... ... »i*« 
 
 Criminal prosecutions ... ... ... ^o oik 
 
 Pauper lunatics ... ... ... ••• £'»» |a5 
 
 Police (metropolitan, county, and borough) l,411,ooo 
 Grunts to School Boards (under So and 34 
 
 Vic, c. .5, s. 97) ... 6,200 
 
 Awards to public vaccinators (under 30 
 
 and 31 Vic, c. 84, s. 5) * ... 19,000 
 
 Total £2,582,434 
 
 Licence Duties and other Imperial Revenue to ee 
 Received by the County. Councils. 
 
 Duties to be transferred to the Ket produce 
 
 County Councils :— in 1886- i . 
 
 Intoxicating liquor licences ... -arut 
 
 Licences to deal in game ... o.JOO 
 
 Other Licence Duties : — 
 
 Beer dealers 29,755 
 
 Spirit dealers 103,060 
 
 Sweet dealers ... ... ... 315 
 
 Wine dealers 43,002 
 
 Refreshment-house keepers ... 0,'i o'J 
 
 Tobacco dealers ... ... 63,541 
 
 Carriages or other vehicles ... 492,779 
 
 Aimorial bearings ... ... Olt,184 
 
 Male servants 123,500 
 
 Dogs 317,241 
 
 Game (licences to kill) ... 150,028 
 
 Guns ... .... , 66,448 
 
 £I,4o<,212 
 
 Carried forward ... £2,835,355
 
 Till-: COUNTY COITNCILLUKS AT WORK. 07 
 
 Brought forward 
 
 ■*• 
 
 •*• 
 
 £2,835,355 
 
 Other Licence Duties, continued 
 
 : — 
 
 
 
 Ap auctioneers, and 
 
 
 
 
 house agents. .. 
 
 65, 
 
 ,055 
 
 
 Pawnbrokers 
 
 28, 
 
 ,005 
 
 
 J'late dealers 
 
 39, 
 
 
 134,518 
 
 
 
 
 Estimated yield of new licence 
 
 
 
 
 duties as proposed to La 
 
 
 
 
 modi 
 
 
 
 720,000 
 
 Estimated amount of 40 per 
 
 
 
 
 cent, of probate duty 
 
 
 
 1,800,000 
 
 Total £5,405,873 
 
 For the present neither tho counties nor any of 
 the 1< ca.1 authorities will ho troubled with tha 
 collection of tho money that is to aid them in 
 reducing their rates. The licences, probate duty, 
 and the new horse and wheel tax, if it should bo 
 passed, will all bo collected by the officers of the 
 Inland Revenue as hitherto. Apportionments will 
 be made by the Local Government Board, in con- 
 junction with the Treasury, and all that tho 
 local authorities will have to do practically will 
 bo to shut their eyes, open their mouths, and 
 Bwallow tho plum that the Local Government 
 Doard will insert. It is not possible at present 
 to say precisely what ell'ect tho transfer of tho 
 licence duties and the probate duty will have 
 upon the rates of a particular district. There 
 have to be adjustments of a somewhat compli- 
 cated kind between tho county finances and tho 
 finances of tho municipal boroughs in the geo- 
 graphical counties. None of tho larger 
 boroughs, which have for tho purposes of 
 tho Act been created county boroughs, will 
 in futi.vo bo liable to pay county rates. Many 
 of those which havo been quartor sessions 
 boroughs have already enjoyed such exemption.. 
 
 c— 2
 
 68 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 but those which have not been exempt will have 
 to redeem their freedom. The provisions of the 
 Act have been carefully framed to guard against 
 any undue transfer of liability from counties to 
 boroughs, or vice versa. It is probable that the 
 good sense of the municipal authorities and of 
 the new county councils will lead to agreements 
 being made in the great majority of cases that 
 will fairly regulate the adjustment of liabilities 
 and assets upon the severance of the old partner- 
 ships, but if no agreement should be come to, 
 Commissioners have been appointed who will 
 arbitrate between the disputing authorities. 
 
 It will be interesting to see how the general 
 scheme will work out as to its financial 
 results. It is impossible, dealing with a 
 large subject and with ever-varying circum- 
 stances, to lay down any general rules that 
 Bhall work no hardship and that shall operate 
 with uniform effect throughout the country. It 
 may be, and indeed it is obvious from the esti-. 
 mates which the Local Government Board have 
 prepared, that in some places the relief of local 
 taxation will be greater than in others. The 
 Lancashire boroughs were in a continual state of 
 agitation while the Local Government Act was 
 passing as to what would be the effect upon them 
 in regard to the maintenance of their main roads, 
 and in some of those boroughs the operation of 
 the Act is not by any means looked upon with 
 ■unmitigated satisfaction. But the British rate- 
 payer must look upon the matter philosophically, 
 and be content to remember that,upon the whole, 
 £3,000,000 less per annum will have to be ab- 
 stracted from his pocket in the future than has 
 been drawn from him in the past. The county rates 
 will in future be made and levied by the county 
 ficuncila, .Foe capital expenditure they have. power
 
 Tin: COUNTY councillors at wokic (J3 
 
 to borrow. The reign of decentralization which 
 it was bu] , would set in when the Local 
 
 i munent Bill d is strangely inaugurated 
 
 by tho control of the Local Government Uoard, 
 over borrowing powers being extended to 
 loans contracted by county councils. The 
 county justices have been free from the super* 
 vision of the Local Government Board in thia 
 respect, but the county councils will not be able 
 to borrow £5 without the- sanction of tha 
 central authority. The borrowing powers aro 
 limited in tii.it the loans they raiso will 
 havo to bo repaid within a period of 30 
 years, and the amount which, without a special 
 provisional order, cannot be exceeded in any 
 county is limited to one-tenth of tho rateable: 
 value. That this limit is adequato appears 
 clearly from the fact that the annual rateable 
 ie of the counties in England is £100,000,000, 
 whereas tho outstanding loans are only about? 
 one-fortieth of that sum. So that if every 
 county should quadruple itB present capital 
 expenditure tho limit would only then ba 
 reached. Tho county councils are directed. 
 to make up and publish an annual budget 
 at tho commencement of the linancial year, 
 and their accounts aro to bo audited by 
 district auditors appointed under tho Local Go* 
 vernment Jit is to extend to tha 
 
 accounts of the committees appointed, whether 
 for lunatic asylums or for the other purposes of 
 ounty councils. This audit will not, in all 
 probability, supersede tho necessity for a careful 
 (supervision of the accounts of each county 
 council on tho part of professional accountants, 
 for it is well known that the audit of the district 
 auditors extends rather to the legality of the pay- 
 ments charged in the accounts than to tho
 
 70 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT? ACT. 
 
 general accuracy and honesty of the accounting 
 officers. 
 
 Too inucn attention cannot be given By tne mem- 
 bers of the county councils to all questions of 
 county finance. The figures with which the county 
 councils have to deal are for the most part of 
 considerable amount. Readjustment of the loans 
 may in many cases cause considerable relief to 
 the ratepayers of the present generation, whilst 
 carefully watching balances, guarding against too 
 much money lying idle in the hands of the 
 county treasurers, and seeing that the best ad- 
 vantage is obtained in the shape of discounts for 
 ready money payments will effect a sensible 
 economy. This will amply repay the expenditure 
 of a little time and will reward the application of 
 the commercial knowledge of the merchant or 
 banker. There will be on the county councils 
 many members whose daily experience has qualified 
 them to look after the pence, but though this be 
 done the pounds will not take care of themselves, 
 and it may be hoped that there will be on the 
 councils a sufficiency of men whose own large 
 imsiness transactions will qualify them to super- 
 vise business transactions of considerable mag- 
 nitude.
 
 niE C0CNTY. COUNCILLORS. &0. 71 
 
 VI,— THE COUNTY COUNCILLORS, THEIR 
 MINISTERIAL AND QUASI-JUDICIAL 
 DUTIES. 
 
 Of all tho Ministerial duties that will devolve 
 Upon county councillors none will mako a greater 
 demand upon their time, their patience, and their, 
 good feeling than the care of the paupor lunatia 
 asylums. Tho number of patients provided fot 
 on January 1 last was 50,180. The county 
 councillors havo to see that sufficient asylums are 
 provided for the pauper lunatics of their county,, 
 including, of course, the smaller boroughs. Even 
 in the first instance the county councils may find 
 themselves called upon to provide nioro accommo- 
 dation than at present exists, for some of the 
 courts of quarter sessions have slaved oft* pro- 
 jected increases in their buildings until their 
 successors should come into power. The co 
 councils will havo to appoint committees of 
 visitors, who will exercise functions analogous to' 
 those of the directors of a large hotel, but more, 
 troublesome and more responsible. Happily for 
 them they will not havo to decide upon any vexed 
 question of sanity or madness. The Act expressly 
 excludes from their jurisdiction all power of 
 admission or detention, but, short of that, tho 
 visitors appointed by tho county council will 
 have thrown upon them the entire responsibility 
 of controlling laxco establishments which contain,
 
 72 THE lOOAL GOVEKNlfENT ACT 
 
 from 100 to upwards of 2,000 patients. They, in 
 fact, will exercise supreme domestic authority, and) 
 it will bo to the committees of visitors that the 
 public will look for an explanation of all those 
 mysterious cases of broken ribs, scalding in 
 baths, and suicide which disfigure the reports 
 made to th9 Commissioners of Lunacy. Tho 
 expense of maintaining the patients is borne by 
 the guardians of the unions to which the patients 
 are chargeable. In many cases, however, the 
 chargeable union cannot be found, and in thos9 
 and some other instances the cost of board and 
 clothing falls upon the county fund. The average 
 cost of maintenance of patients in county and 
 borough asylums during last year was 8s. 9d. per 
 head per week. There has been hitherto a 
 Treasury contribution of 4s. per week, and the 
 figure quoted does not include the cost of pro- 
 viding and repairing the asylums and the 
 necessary furniture. This, as a rule, is borne out 
 of the county fund. But it will be seen that to 
 maintain a large body of lunatics, many of whom 
 are in delicate health, within the figure 
 mentioned must require economy on the part of 
 the visitors and a zealous co-operation on the part 
 of the asylum superintendents . As may be 
 expected the Act contains elaborate provisions as 
 to joint asylums, and as to adjustments which 
 will have to be made in the case of boroughs 
 which have henceforward to look after their own 
 lunatics, but who have taken their part in pro- 
 viding existing asylums. All these matters will 
 be differently dealt with according to the circum- 
 stances of each particular case. Every county 
 council will have a greater or less number of 
 lunatics to provide for, and will have to ask some 
 of its members to undertako the difficult, some- 
 times painful and often thankless* task of ser-
 
 ! COUNT V COUNCILLORS, &c. 73 
 
 ving on tlio committee of visitors, not tho least 
 painful, but the m y, < whose duties, 
 
 is tho regular in a of the wards. Not lesa 
 
 than two > conmi re to do this. 
 
 two months, and I ... mino as far 
 
 as possible every lunatic in tho asylum. Tho, 
 duty next in importaneo in point of interest and 
 responsibility i that connected with 
 
 reformatory and industrial schools. Tho care of 
 theso schools remains to the local authorities aa 
 their own surviving duty in the provision of quasi-; 
 penal accommodation. V. hen the Prisons Act of 
 prisons to the Government iij 
 loft tho charge of reformatory and industrial 
 schools in tho hands of local authorities, and 
 that charge is to devolve upon the county 
 councils. The charge i3 no slight ono. At the 
 oning of tho present year there wero under 
 ation in tho industrial schools of the country 
 13,388 boys and 4,096 • die in tho ref< - 
 
 tory schools th( t 5,180 boys and 947 girls«L 
 
 Tho county councils will have to see that suili-' 
 cient reformatory or industrial school accommoda- 
 tion is available, and they may either provide 
 and • on their own account or 
 
 oontribu v.-iso provided, 
 
 ■ 1 by an inspectos 
 app< ry. Judged by 
 
 the financial contribui . hieh the counties 
 
 have h upon to make 
 
 will not bo on ing financial 
 
 interest to uncils, but tho import* 
 
 ance d to be done, in 
 
 tho scL 3 thoughtful and 
 
 mncillor .oh, as f 
 
 his pocket iB co L, will be wanting. To tho 
 
 refornia: ools tho county rates last 
 
 contributed £14.000 and tho borough rate6 £9.000-
 
 t3 the local government act. 
 
 There was a Treasury allowance of, £80,000 and 
 the profit realized on tlie industrial department 
 was £13,000, while the parents contributed 
 £4,800. To the industrial schools the county- 
 rates contributed £28,000, the borough rates 
 £11,000, the School Boards £65,000, the Treasury 
 £180,000, and the children's parents £15,000, 
 while the industrial department left a clear 
 profit of £21,000. A question of considerable 
 interest arises as to the results attained after a 
 stay in these schools, and the last report of the 
 Home Office inspector gives interesting details 
 on this question. During last year 1,492 
 children were discharged from reformatory 
 schools. Of these 006 went to employment or 
 service, 510 were placed with their relations, 321 
 emigrated, 156 went to sea, 36 enlisted, 29 were 
 discharged from disease, and only 28 'were dis- 
 charged as incorrigible. From the industrial 
 schools 3,883 were discharged. Of these 1,768 
 went to employment or service, 1,231 were placed 
 out through their friends, 153 emigrated, 
 499 went to sea, 109 enlisted, 84 were discharged 
 as diseased, and 39 were committed to reforma- 
 tories. The family circumstances of the children 
 in the reformatory schools is not given by tho 
 inspector, but of those in the industrial schools 
 details are given, and it appears that of 4,031 
 children only i88 had lost both parents, 229 had 
 been deserted by both parents, 244 were illegiti- 
 mate, and 1,723 of them had both parents alive 
 and able to take care of their children. 
 
 From the subject of reformatory and industrial 
 schools tho mind readily turns to the question 
 of police. Tho police forces are to be under the 
 control of a joint committee appointed by quarter 
 sessions and the county councils. Although 
 this joint control _aad = reaiiQnsibUity- wjarovided.
 
 TIIE COTTNTY COrjN'CILLORS, &0, 73 
 
 for, the chief constable and men under him are to 
 obey tho lawful orders given by justices as con- 
 Bervators of tho peace. While, moreover, tho joint 
 committee have tho management of tho polico 
 force they will not bo allowed to neglect it nor to 
 ]n rmit it to degenerate. Hitherto a spur ta 
 efficiency has been ail'orded by tho grant madq 
 out of tho public funds upon the certificate of tho; 
 inspectors of constabulary. As this and all 
 similar grants aro to cease, and the local authori-i 
 ties will have nothing to expect in this respect^ 
 tbey aro to bo under a fine which will bo 
 recoverable if tho Secretary of Stato withholds a 
 certificate that tho polico has been maintained irj 
 a stato of efliciency both in point of numbers and 
 discipline. Tbe fino is to bo equivalent to hali 
 the cost of the pay and clothing of polico o£ 
 tho county during the year. It is possiblo to 
 conceive that tho provisions as to tho polico may 
 not at all timos work quite satisfactorily to the: 
 county councils. They will have to provide the 
 county fund, and if a fino be imposed they will 
 have to mako up tho deficiency by means of rates. 
 Yet it is quite possible that the liability to tha 
 fino may bo incurred entirely by tho members ol 
 quarter sessions outvoting on the joint committee 
 their colleagues who come from the county council, 
 and so tho county council may have to bear the 
 brunt of tho default of delegates in whoso 
 appointment they had no hand. This, however, 
 is a contingency which, though possible, is hardly 
 likely to occur. 
 
 Tho sanitary powers which aro conferred upon 
 county councils are twofold. First, they aro 
 intrusted with tho power of taking proceedings 
 to enforce tho provisions of tho llivers Pollution 
 Prevention Act, 187G ; and they may not only 
 take oroceedines thoinsolvos. but tkey muv.cony
 
 7fi THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 tribute towards the cost of proceedings instituted 
 under the Act by any other county council, or by 
 an urban or rural authority. Furthermore, the 
 Local Government Board may by provisional order 
 ' h'tuta a joint committee representing 
 administrative counties l which any river 
 
 Snay pass, and that committee may form an in- 
 dependent body of itself to protect a river in 
 question against pollution. The provisions of 
 the Rivers Pollution Prevention Act are pretty 
 "well known. They are directed to prevent tho 
 pollution of streams either by manufacturers, 
 minors, or ercn by sanitary authorities them- 
 selves. It lias not always been found that 
 sanitary authorities are above the temptation of 
 turning their into the nearest available 
 
 river regardless of the pollution which may be 
 caused. Manufacturers are, however, probably 
 the greatest sinners in this respect, and 
 numerous proceedings under the Act have from 
 time to time been taken in respect of discharges 
 of an offensive or noxious kind from various 
 factories. Much is expected from the extension 
 of the powers under this Act to the county 
 councils. The sanitary authorities who have been 
 offenders could not be expected to prosecute 
 themselves, nor have some of the small sanitary 
 authorities been able or willing to take pro- 
 ceedings against some of the larger "and more 
 powerful manufacturers in their districts, who 
 have therefore been allowed to pollute the 
 streams to their hearts' content. The county 
 councils will be independent of immediato 
 local inter. . .ill, it is hoped, exercise 
 
 a v.iso and jurisdiction in this 
 
 respect. The other sanitary power conferred on 
 .the country c. p] ointing a medical 
 
 officer of "health. A:; far as the Act of Parliament
 
 THE COUNTY COUNCILLOIIS, &0. Tt 
 
 can indicate the intention of tho Legislature, it 
 Bcems to bo desired that tho medical officer shall 
 1)0 ono who gives his wholo timo and attention to 
 tho work of the council, for without the written* 
 consent of tho council ho is not to engage ill 
 private practice. His services may by arrange- 
 ment with tho county councils be mado regularly 
 availablo for any district council within tha 
 county, and unless ho has had experience as a 
 medical otlicer or as an inspector of the Local 
 Government Board ho is to possess certain special 
 diplomas. The most important enactment in 
 regard to sanitary matters is, however, that which 
 requires every medical officer of health for a 
 district in the county to send to the county 
 council a copy of his periodical reports, and the 
 county councils are charged with tho duty of 
 examining such reports, and if it should appear 
 to them that the Public Health Act has not 
 properly been put in force within the district to 
 which tho report relates, or that any other mattor 
 affecting the public health of tho district requiroa 
 to bo remedied, councils may cause representa*. 
 tion to be mado to tho Local Government Board 
 upon tho matter. In its present form this is a 
 very mild power, indeed, to confer on tho county 
 councils, but it may be hopod that a future Act 
 •will considerably extend it. 
 
 It may bo convenient next to pass to the crowd 
 of minor matters as to which the powers of 
 justices aro transferred to the county councils.. 
 Tho Contagious Diseasos of Animals Act is to be 
 administered by the county councils. As tho local 
 authority they will often havo to consider 
 whether a market or a fair should be stopped oj 
 restricted. They will have large powers for 
 inspection and slaughter — subject to compensa- 
 tion — of diseased animals and animals which
 
 78 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 have been in contact with disease or are likely 
 to be infected. They will be able to prohibit the 
 removal of animals and compel disinfection, but 
 they will bo subject to a general control on the 
 part of the Privy Council. "~ The county councils 
 are also to act as the local authority under tho 
 Destructive Insects Act, but that Act, which was 
 
 Eassed in anticipation of the Colorado beetle, 
 as never yet been put in force, and if it should 
 become operative all that the county councils will 
 have to do will be to assess the compensation for 
 any crops, which in order to stamp cut the insect, 
 they might direct to be destroyed. The county 
 councils will act as the local authority with 
 regard to fish conservancy, and they will be able 
 to appoint in fishery districts which the Secretary 
 of State may form boards of conservators- with 
 power to issue licences, make by-laws as to 
 close time, and generally enforce laws for the 
 protection of fish. Under the Wild Birds Acts the 
 only powers which the county councils appear to 
 have is to make an application to the Secretary 
 of State that the close time for any particular 
 bird may be extended. With regard to weights 
 and measures, the county councils will have to 
 provide legal standards of measure and weight 
 and means for verifying weights and measures by 
 comparison with such standards. They will 
 have to appoint inspectors of weights and 
 measures and allot them districts and make by- 
 laws for regulating their duties and fixing the 
 fees which are to be taken. A set of standard 
 weights and measures costs somewhere about 
 £100, but as every Court of Quarter Sessions pos- 
 sesses a set of standards, and as they will pass 
 to the county councils with the other property 
 transferred by the Act, no fresh expense will be 
 jacurred in this respect*
 
 Tnr. COUNTY COUNCILLORS, kC. 73 
 
 Tho enmity councils will also liavo to prot< >ct 
 the public in the use of gas meters. They will 
 take over from the Courts of Quarter Sessions 
 copies of the models of gas meters and will I 
 
 to appoint inspectors to examine and stamp 
 meters in their respective districts. 
 
 Inspectors have to attend in towns where pas 
 is consumed if so required, and arc to examine 
 and test and if found correct stamp meters. Tho 
 Act contemplates that a meter may register moro 
 than 2 per c< nt. in favour of the seller or 3 per 
 cent, in favour of the consumer, but beyond 
 thoso limits a meter is not to be considered 
 correct. Tho inspectors have general powers of 
 ontering houses and examining meters, and penal- 
 ties are provided to be enforced where ceil;. in 
 standards of correctness arc not observed. Tho 
 county council will have (lie appointment of 
 an analyst under the Rale of Feed and Drugs Acts,, 
 and they will be able to prescribe his duty as to 
 obtaining samples from time to time for tho 
 purpose of analysis, and the analyst is to maka 
 a quarterly report showing the number of 
 articles analyzed by him, the result of each 
 analj-sis, and tho sum paid in respect thereof. 
 Samples may bo submitted by the analyst, by; 
 any medical cfliccr, inspector of nuisances, 
 ctor of weights and measures, inspector of 
 markets, or police constable. If on the analyst's 
 report it appears that an offence has been 
 committed in respect of any article so sub- 
 mitted tho officer submitting it may tako 
 proceedings for the recovery of the penal- 
 ties provided by the Act. As to explosives tho 
 county councils will become tho local autho- 
 rity. It will bo for them to grant licences 
 for premises used for tho manufacture and 
 gtorage of explosives, and to appoint inspectors tq
 
 80 the local govee:;me.\t act. 
 
 keep a careful eye upon those- premises. In 
 smaller towns the approach of November 5 is a 
 signal for the increased activity of the explosives 
 inspector, but in the larger towns and" in the 
 country districts explosives of mere importance 
 than squibs and crackers will engage the attention, 
 of the inspectors and of the county councils* 
 The Home Office inspectors of explosives keep 
 a most vigilant watch upon all the local 
 authorities, and are in the habit of paying 
 " surprise " visits to districts. They look up 
 the local inspector, ask him to make a round of 
 inspection in their company and in that way from 
 time to time test the efficiency of the officers 
 appointed by the local authorities. The larger 
 explosive factories have to be licensed directly 
 by the Home Secretary, and the local authorities 
 are free from any responsibility and from inspec- 
 tion or supervision. That the bridges and the 
 roads repairable as bridges should in future be 
 looked after by the county councils instead of the 
 county justices goes almost without saying. That 
 the main roads should be repairable by the 
 county councils is quite a new departure. 
 Hitherto the county authority, while it has had 
 power of supervision and inspection and has had 
 to contribute half the cost of the maintenance of 
 main roads, it has not generally had any duty 
 in regard to their repairs. There are upwards of 
 17,000 miles of main roads in England, and their 
 repairs como to more than £600,000 in the year. 
 In future those repairs are to be done, and. there- 
 fore, that money will have to be speii: by the 
 county councils, subject, however, to the provision 
 that an urban authority may, if it please, apply 
 to the county council to be allowed to repair its 
 own main road and it will then devolve upon the 
 Br baa authority to maintain it, but they will then
 
 TIIE COUNTY COUNCTLLOBS, &C. 81 
 
 bo able ' ai ? * nnua l 
 
 sum towards tho expense in which it will ho 
 involved. Tho oouncil will have various highway 
 powers of moro or less importance Tho authority. 
 however, which now has power or duty to ligni 
 a road will have the Bame power or duty in futuro. 
 and tho county councils will not ho under amo 
 responsibility in a a therewith. A small 
 
 duty is placed upon county councils in connexion 
 with tho registration of tho rules of certain 
 societies. They v. ill have to register the rules of 
 scientific societies and of loan societies, but, aa 
 they have no discretionary powers as to tho 
 contents of tho rules, or, in fact, as to the registra- 
 tion, it is hardly worth whilo to trouble tho 
 county councillor with many remarks on tho 
 subject. Tho councils will have to keep a record 
 of all certified places of worship and also a record 
 of charitable gifts, but these are matters which 
 will bo well cared for by the clerks of the peace. 
 
 Tho financial powers of county councils have 
 been dealt with in a general way. It probably 
 only remains to add that, for tho purpose of 
 emigration, the county councils may mako 
 advances so long as they have a guarantee for tho 
 repayment of such advances from any local 
 authority in a county or from the Government of 
 any colony. Tho debts and liabilities of tho 
 quarter sessions or justices or officers incurred for 
 county purposes will pass to tho county councils, 
 and, subject to providing accomodation for 
 quarter sessions, they may alter and, with the 
 consent of tho Local Government Board, sell a.ny 
 land or buildings that they may so acquire. 
 Thoy have,, indeed, with regard to all the county 
 property, almost absolute powers of ownership, 
 subject to providing for tho administration of 
 iustice and tho discharge of county business, and
 
 82 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 subject also, in specified cases, to the sanction 01 
 the Local Government Board. Then, to relievo 
 the county councillors from the personal dis- 
 charge of more work than they can manage, 
 limited powers of delegation are given to them, 
 hut they may not delegate the power to raise 
 money on loan. Powers to make by-laws for the 
 good rule and government of the county and foi 
 the suppression of certain nuisances are also 
 vested in the county councils. Similar powers 
 have for many years been intrusted to town 
 councils under the Municipal Corporations Act. 
 There must bo at least two-thirds of the whole 
 number of the council present when the by-lawa 
 are made, and they may not come in force until 
 40 days after a copy of them has been fixed on the 
 town-hall in a borough or at " some conspicuous 
 place " in the county. Formalities are provided 
 with regard to the allowance or confirmation of 
 the by-laws, but, unfortunately, every offendei 
 against a by-law is at liberty to contend 
 that it is unreasonable. The fact that the 
 by-law has been allowed or confirmed by the 
 prescribed authority is not even prima facie evi- 
 dence that is reasonable. Kecent instances in 
 which by-laws have been set at nought and 
 upset by the Courts have been those aimed at 
 preventing the proceesions of the Salvation Army ; 
 while the latest case reported of a by-law, duly 
 allowed by the Home Secretary, having been 
 upset by the Court was one made by the Corpo- 
 ration of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The town 
 council made a by-law prohibiting children 
 under eight selling articles in the streets at any 
 time, and prohibiting children under }2 selling 
 in the streets between 10 o'clock in the evening 
 and 5 o'clock in the morning. There was no 
 ldoubt_that the motives of _ the . council were very;
 
 TUK COUNTY COUNCILLORS, &0. 83 
 
 laudable, and ono of the judgi i went as far as to 
 
 pay that if the by-laws had -ono on to make the 
 ace conditional on tho obstruction to traffic 
 Qg caused he would have been inclined to 
 hold that the by-law was pood ; but it was 
 knocked on the head, and is an instance of tho 
 anomaly which the Legislature permits and now 
 
 f>erpctuatcs in allowing a council to frame by- 
 aws assed the ordeal of the Home 
 
 Office, can be upset by the Court. 
 
 Tho coroner for the county will in future be 
 appointed by tho county council and not by tho 
 freeholders. All the machinery necessary for 
 enabling the district of a coroner to extend into a 
 county borough or beyond the district of the 
 county council is provided, and some of tho 
 existing coroners whose duties arc adjusted and 
 whose districts are diminished will be entitled 
 to certain compensation. 
 
 Tlio powers of tho local authority under tho 
 Local Stamp Act are transferred to county 
 councils, but fhis Act is not largely adapted and 
 merely enables certain local fees to be taken 
 by means of stumps instead of money. 
 
 The guasi-judicial duties which would have 
 devolved upon tho county councils if their 
 
 f>owers of licensing for tho sale of intoxicating 
 iquors had remained would have been very 
 considerable. Ac tho Act stands, the duties of 
 this class are not of serious importance. "Where, 
 hitherto, music aud dancing licences havo 
 been granted (under any general Act, 
 by quarter sessions those licences will in 
 future be granted by county councils. Jlcnce- 
 ird it will bo tho county council of, 
 London that will decide whether the Westminster 
 Aquarium and places of that class aro to have' 
 their licences renewed or refused Tho Act
 
 84 TUB LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 under which the London places of amusement 
 are licensed extends only to 20 miles from the 
 boundaries of the metropolis. There are, how- 
 ever, local Acts conferring a similar power in 
 existence in some places, but probably they 
 would not bo considered " General Acts," and 
 bo possibly the transfer by the Local Government 
 Act of music and dancing licensing to county 
 councils will extend only to the metropolis and 
 20 miles round it. The county council are also 
 to have the powers of the justices to grant 
 licences for stage plays. As the licences for 
 theatres in London and places where the 
 Sovereign occasionally resides are granted by the 
 Lord Chamberlain and not by justices, the 
 county councils of London, Windsor, Brighton, 
 and one or two other places will have nothing to 
 do with licensing theatres within their dis- 
 tricts. Elsewhere the theatrical licences will 
 in future be granted in the discretion oi 
 the county councils, who can make rules 
 for insuring order and good behaviour in the 
 buildings. Further power as to licensing is con- 
 ferred upon the county councils under the Race 
 Course Licensing Act, 1S79. That Act, how- 
 ever, only applies to such race-courses as ars 
 within 10 miles of Charing-cross, and so will only 
 affect London and one or two other councils. The 
 only other duty that can be called gwasi-judicial 
 is that which will arise under the Riot (Damages) 
 Act, 1888. Under that Act compensation for 
 injury, stealing, or destruction of property caused 
 by riotous and tumultuous assemblies will be 
 fixed by the county councils (beyond the Metro- 
 politan Police District) and paid out of the 
 police rate. In awarding compensation the 
 council have several matters to take into their 
 consideration, and particularly as to how far the
 
 THE COUNTY COTTNCTLLOR3, &0. 85 
 
 clru'm.nnt actively or passively contributed to 
 his property being damaged. 
 
 Besides those various matters other powers will 
 bo exorcised by tho county councils. They 
 •will ho ablo to make provisional orders for 
 tho compulsory acqu it of land for tho 
 
 purpose of allotments. These powers, how- 
 , they aro not likely to bo called upon to 
 exercise, for if tho real value of the land is such 
 as to justify a local authority in buying it thcro 
 will generally bo no difficulty in getting tho 
 vendor to sell ; whilo if tho real value bo such 
 that allotment rents will not recoup tho expendi- 
 ture tho local authority will not want to buy, 
 compulsorily or otherwise They will also havo 
 power to divide tho county into polling districts 
 for tho purposo of Parliamentary elections, and 
 they will have a variety of minor powers and 
 duties which aro all in their turn of more or loss 
 importance, but which need not seriously exercise 
 the minds of county councillors. 
 
 Tho brief sketch that has thus been given as to 
 the nomination and candidaturo and election of 
 county councils, and as to some of their powers 
 and duties, has not been intended to supersede 
 tho advice which tho county councils will from 
 time to timo receive from tho clerks of tho peace or 
 from their other professional advisers. Nor has tho 
 qualification of tho county elector been dealt} 
 with. Tho list of electors and of persons qualified, 
 to bo elected to tho councils had been published 
 when the first paper of this series appeared and 
 tho time had elapsed for making claims. Theso 
 lists havo now for tho mos part been revised 
 and completed, and they contain tho names of 
 many men who livo not for themsolves alone. 
 These papers may enable such men to decide 
 whether or not they will join the ranks of tho
 
 86 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 connf.y councillors, and if they should become 
 candidates to warn them of some of the dangers- 
 which may beset their path in the course of; 
 candidature. Considering the enormous number 
 of amendments that were introduced, almost at 
 the last moment, into the Bill as it passed 
 through Parliament, the Local Government Act is 
 even now a model of scientific drafting. It is 
 probable, however, that so complex a piece oi 
 legislation will be open to numerous attempts tc 
 construe it in a variety of ways, and it is not 
 likely that many months may elapse before the 
 Courts of .Law are called upon to interoret several 
 of its provisions,.
 
 LEADING ARTICLE, OCTOBER 23. 87 
 
 LEA DIN a ARTICLE, OCTOBER 23. 
 
 We print to-day the sixth and conclnding articles 
 of a scries in which an endeavour has heen made 
 to explain clearly, succinctly, and compendiously 
 tho leading provisions of tho Local Government 
 Act as regards both the mode of electing the new 
 County Councillors and the duties which tho 
 County Councils will have to undcrtako as soon 
 as thjy aro fully constituted. A " Vade Mecum 
 "tor County Councillors " of this kind, if wo may 
 bo term it, is all tho more necessary and useful 
 because, although the Act is, as our Correspond- 
 ent says, a model of scientific drafting, it is, 
 for that very reason, perhaps, not drafted in such 
 a form as to bo readily understanded of the 
 people. The main principle of tho Act is to 
 extend to tho counties, and to tho boroughs, 
 cities, and municipalities regarded as counties 
 for tho purposes of the Act, tho system of local 
 organization and government already established 
 in municipal boroughs. Thi3 principlo has been 
 incorporated in the very structure of tho Act, and 
 the practice, so dear to the scientific drafts- 
 man, of constructing a new statute by reference 
 to the provisions of an old one has bcon carriod 
 to sucii an extent that tho County Councillor can 
 only attain to a clear conspectus of his functions;
 
 88 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 and duties by reading the Local Government Act 
 to which he owes his existence together with the 
 Municipal Corporations Act, and especially the 
 second schedule of the latter. For legal and 
 judicial pnrposes, and for certain Parliamentary 
 purposes, this practico is, no doubt, very con- 
 venient. Lawyers and Courts of Law always 
 have copies of the statutes at hand, and 
 it makes very little difference to them whether 
 the law is to be found in one volume or a dozen. 
 For the County Councillor, on the other hand, it 
 is a little perplexing to find that when he has 
 mastered the Local Government Act he is only 
 at the beginning of the studies necessary to 
 fit him for the discharge of his new duties. 
 We trust that the exposition of the Act 
 which we have printed will remove many 
 of his difficulties. We have already told a 
 prospective candidate what to do and how to do 
 it, and also what he must not do, if he wishes to 
 become a County Councillor ; and in the sixth 
 article, which we print to-day, and it3 immediate 
 predecessor we have explained what he will have 
 to do when ho has attained the object of his 
 ambition. The only thing now remaining to be 
 done is for candidates to present themselves. 
 The lists of electors and of persons qualified to 
 be elected have now been compiled and 
 published, bat the districts into which counties 
 are to be divided for the purposes of election 
 have still in many cases to be defined. That 
 task, which is intrusted to the Quarter Sessions*
 
 lEAT>INO Ar.TTrT.1% OCTOBER '1Z. R9 
 
 will 1)0 completed early noxt month, and then 
 candidates will bo ablo to declare themselves- 
 We repeat what wo havo already said more than 
 once, that a groat deal will depend on tho class 
 of men who como forward, and wo earnestly 
 trust that tho electors will bestir themselves in 
 all parts of tho country to secure men as their 
 candidates who will givo to tho County Coun- 
 cils such a character for energy, capacity, and 
 public spirit as will go far to detcrmino tho. 
 wholo future of Local Government in thia 
 country. 
 
 A great many preliminary and provisional ques- 
 tions will havo to bo settled when tho County 
 Councils first meet. Tho Councils themsolvca 
 will not bo formally constituted until tho County 
 Aldermen havo been selected by tho elected 
 Councillors meeting provisionally for the purpose; 
 and as tho selection of tho Aldermen will pro- 
 bably cause somo vacancies among tho elected! 
 Councillors somo further delay will probably 
 occur in practico, though tho Act does not appeal 
 to roquiro that the provisional meetings should bo 
 suspended until tho vacancies havo been filled 
 up. Wo shall watch with somo int rest aid 
 anxiety tho working of tho provisions for tho 
 election of Aldermen. An Alderman ne<:d not bo 
 selected from among tho elected Councillors, but 
 ho must possess tho qualifications of an elected 
 Councillor. There is thus a choice between thrco 
 classes — namely, elected Councillors,mcn who havo 
 been unsuccessful at tho poll, and men who, 
 although Qualified, havo not oiTorod themselves as
 
 90 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. 
 
 candidates tor popular election. We trust that trie' 
 Councillors in choosing Aldermen will en- 
 deavour to select men who will add strength, 
 authority, and even dignity to the Council, rather 
 than men who, possessing precisely the same 
 qualifications as themsslves, will only add 
 Btrength to a party majority on one side or the 
 other. "When the Council is fully constituted, it 
 will elect its Chairman for the year, and may 
 determine whether ho is to receive remuneration or 
 not, and will fix the number of its own 
 meetings. These must be at least four in the 
 year, of which one is to be held on the 7th of 
 November, and may be as many as the business 
 to be transacted requires. The Council will then 
 nominate its Committees and adjust its relations 
 with the Court of Quarter Sessions. A joint Com- 
 mittee of the Council and Quarter Sessions is to 
 have charge of the police and other important 
 matters ; this Committee will appoint its own 
 Chairman, who will have a casting vote in all 
 cases of equality ; and if the votes for two candi- 
 dates for the office of Chairman are equal, one of 
 them is to be chosen by lot. It is thus one of 
 the anomalies of the Act that the decision of 
 important questions by the joint Committee may 
 rest upon the casting vote of a Chairman chosen 
 by lot. Such is the law, and perhaps in practice 
 it will seldom work amiss ; but the anomaly 
 is a curious product of the joint wisdom of 
 Parliament and the Local Government Board 
 devoted to the creation of a representative
 
 LEADING ARTICLE, OCTOBEK "J3 91 
 
 system of Local Government. The next import- 
 ant business of tho Councils will be to con- 
 sider and adjust their financial position and 
 responsibilities. They will begin lifo with a 
 tolerably full exchequer — that is, thcro is a sum 
 of over £2,500,000 now received as Grants in Aid 
 of Local Taxation to bo discontinued and a sum 
 of nearly £5,000,000 derived from licence duties 
 and other Imperial revenue to be divided among 
 tho County Councils. Against this, on the other 
 hand, thero are tho outstanding liabilities of 
 county finance to bo taken over, including a sum 
 Df £2,800,000 for lunatic asylums and of nearly 
 half a million for police stations and gaols, and 
 there are besides a variety of liabilities and assets 
 to be adjusted between the counties and tho 
 boroughs. Thero is thus plenty of room and need 
 for financial ability and skill in the County 
 Councils. It is, perhaps, to be feared that these 
 qualities may bo checked in their development by 
 tho very tight loading-strings imposed by the Act 
 on tho new county finance. No sum exceeding 
 £o0 can be ordered to be spent at any meeting of 
 the Council unless tho notice summoning the 
 meeting has stated the amount and the purpose 
 for which the monoy is required ; and not even £5 
 can be borrowed without the sanction of the LocaL 
 Government Board. The restriction on tho 
 borrowing powers is salutarj r , at least at tho 
 outset, though it hardly fulfils the promise 
 of decentralization which was supposed to 
 b? one of. the chief recommendations of
 
 92 THE LOCAL GOVEKNIIENT ACT. 
 
 the Act. Financial control is the key of the 
 whole situation, and so long as it is retained in 
 the hands of the Local Government Board it 13 
 thatofficeof the State, and not the County Councils? 
 that will really be responsible for Local Govern- 
 ment. The £50 limit will not bo found very 
 inconvenient where the business of the County 
 Council is so considerable as to require 
 frequent meetings, but in the smaller Councils, 
 whose meetings will not perhaps largely 
 exceed the statutory number of four, it may 
 provo a troublesome restriction not altogether 
 conducive to economy. Committees will be 
 apt to fall into the extravagant habit of asking 
 for a larger sum than they immediately need 
 in order to save themselves the trouble and in- 
 convenience of summoning a special meetiug to 
 vote money as it is actually required. 
 
 The executive duties of the County Councils 
 will be of the highest importance to the com- 
 munity, and they will demand no little public 
 spirit for their punctual and faithful discharge. 
 They are enumerated in the article which we print 
 elsewhere to-day. The Council will take charge 
 of pauper lunatic asylums, of reformatory and 
 industrial schools ; it will be associated with the 
 magistrates in the management of the county 
 police ; it will administer the Livers Pollutions 
 Act, and will be empowered to appoint a medical 
 officer of health, who may be required to abstain 
 from private practice and to devote his whole 
 time to the duties assigned to him by the Council J
 
 LEADING AT.TICLE, OCTOHER 23. 93 
 
 it will repair county bridges and main roads ; 
 and will exorciso a largo variety of minor 
 powers which need not hero bo specified. 
 Before wo sco tho County Councils actually at 
 work it is difficult to anticipate with anyapproach 
 to accuracy tho direction in which tho transfer of 
 power from tho hands of the magistracy to that of 
 a representative body will first manifest itself in. 
 any decided chango of policy or result. There 
 is, undoubtedly, room for improvement in tho 
 management of pauper lunatic asylums, and tho 
 County Councils will certainly be expected to 
 ascertain for themselves whether tho ribs 
 and breastbones of lunatics — especially pauper 
 lunatics — are quito so brittle as they are some- 
 times represented to be, and why it is that 
 lunatics — especially pauper lunatics — aro so very 
 apt to tumble into over-heated baths. In tho 
 administration and enforcement of tho Pavers 
 Pollution Acts, again, tho County Councils aro 
 likely to provo stronger and more exacting than 
 local sanitary authorities have been, though hero 
 it must bo recollected that manufacturers who 
 Cud it convenient to pour their refuso into tho 
 nearest rivers will bo very apt to seek a place on 
 the County Councils and to endeavour to pcrsuado 
 their colleagues that their particular refuso is tho 
 most harmless substanco in the world. In. 
 sanitary matters it is to bo expected that tho 
 Coxmty Councils will bo neither much more nor 
 much less enlightened than tho constituencies to 
 which they will owe their existence. Probably
 
 Vi TI1E LOCAL GOVERNMEN'T ACT. 
 
 more attention is now paid to sanitary science m 
 England than in any other country in the world, but 
 there is still plenty of room for improvement even 
 in England; and we suspect that, if the whole truth 
 were known, there is quite as much room for im- 
 provement in rural England as there is in urban 
 England. In towns self-interest almost compels us 
 to be sanitary, the penalty for indulgence in 
 insanitary conditions is so heavy and so certain 
 to be exacted sooner or later. In rural districts, 
 on the other hand, the mischief is more insidious 
 and less palpable, though not less destructive in 
 proportion to the sparser population. There is 
 plenty of room, therefore, for the energies of a 
 County Council in the development of rural sani- 
 tation. On the whole, the duties of a County 
 Councillor, though not exciting in themselves, 
 and not attractive to every one, should be of suffi- 
 cient importance to induce good men and good 
 citizens to undertake their discharge. If the 
 Locil Government Act failed to quicken the civic 
 life of our rural districts and to raise it to higher 
 levels of virtue, capacity, integrity, and intel- 
 ligence, thvn, indeed, we should have to admit 
 that representative institutions themselves ara 
 on their trial. 
 
 POINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GEORGE EDWARD WKIGnT, 
 
 AX TDK TIMES OFFICE, PRINTING-HOUSE SQUARE, 
 
 LONDON*
 
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