Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 14.djvu/849

ADMINISTRATION.] LONDON 819

vestries and district boards; while various authorities, to be afterwards mentioned, exercise jurisdiction in special matters over the whole area of the metropolis or in separate localities.

Government of the City.

The City of London, which is a county in itself, and with which the borough of Southwark is assimilated, is governed by a lord mayor, twenty-six aldermen, and two hundred and six common councilmen, forming a Court of Common Council. This court has a certain independent power to enact regulations for the government of the City, is entrusted with the management of the finances and the estates of the corporation, elects most of the officials, and controls the police. The City elects a sheriff of Middlesex as well as a sheriff of London; and the lord mayor is elected by the trade guilds in common hall from among the aldermen who have served as sheriffs. He is lord lieutenant within the City, the dispenser of its hospitality, the chair man of the courts of the corporation, and holds certain other offices, the dignity of which is now almost entirely nominal. The aldermen, who hold office for life, are chosen by the several wards, each ward electing one. Since 1867 the power of election has been enjoyed by all possessing the household and lodger franchise. The Court of Aldermen has the power of appointment to certain offices, exercises judicial functions in regard to licensing and in disputes connected with the ward elections, has some power of disposal over the City cash, and possesses magisterial control over the City, each alderman being a judge and magistrate for the whole City, and by virtue of his office exercising the functions of a justice of the peace. The common councillors were chosen originally in the reign of Edward I. as assistants to the aldermen, and in 1384 were constituted a standing committee to regulate the affairs of the City, each ward chosing four, six, or eight, according to its size. A gradual increase in their number took place until 1840, when it was fixed at two hundred and six. From the time of Richard II. the election was vested in freemen householders, but it is now regulated by the Act of 1867. The Court of Common Hall, formerly the popular assembly or ancient folkmote, is now composed of the lord mayor, four aldermen, and the liverymen of the city guilds, and nominates yearly two aldermen, who must previously have been sheriffs, for the Court of Aldermen to select one for the office of lord mayor. The sheriffs are themselves chosen by the Court of Common Hall, which also appoints the chamberlain, the bridge masters, and the city auditors.

City guilds.

The fragmentary and indirect participation in the government of London at present exercised by the livery companies represents the remnants of an influence which was paramount from the time of Edward III., when enactments were passed which made admission to the freedom of the city dependent on membership in a trade or mystery. Originally established to afford mutual aid to members of their "craft," the guilds of London gradually assumed a certain control over their trade or manufacture, and by the payment of large sums of money obtained various monopolies, with the power to make by-laws for the regulation of their craft. From gifts for charitable purposes, and from entrance money and fines, many of the guilds, on account of the rise in the value of property, have amassed enormous wealth. Within the limits of the City alone the gross annual rental of the land possessed by them is over £500,000, and it is believed that the land they possess outside its limits is of equal value. At one time their number was over one hundred, but they now number seventy-six, and some represent trades which are extinct. Twelve so-called "great companies" claim precedence over the others, but of these some are not so wealthy as a few of the less highly privileged. The "livery" or dress of the companies, first formally adopted in the reign of Edward III., was ultimately worn only by a higher grade of the members called liverymen. The extension of London beyond the City limits and changes in trade maxims and in social life have now left them little more than the shadow of their former authority over trade and manufacture, but a few, such as the fishmongers, the stationers, the goldsmiths, and the apothecaries, still discharge certain functions in the regulation of their several crafts. Besides administering their charities, many of the companies contribute largely to benevolent objects of pressing need, and some take an interest in promoting technical instruction, and in various matters relating to their special trade or manufacture; but the business of most of them is now chiefly of a ceremonial kind. The halls of the companies number thirty-five, and many of them are of interest either from their architectural merits, their antiquarian associations, or the portraits or other objects they contain. Their annual assessed value is over £60,000. The hereditary connexion of the companies with the corporation, their large ownership of property in the City, and their control over so many charities still enable them to exercise a very great influence in municipal affairs.

The following list (Table I.) gives details regarding the twelve great companies, and six other companies which may be ranked next to them in importance: –

Name. Date. Situation of Hall. Purchase of Freedom. Livery Admission.

Great Companies. £ s. d.

Mercers 1393 Cheapside ... ... Grocers 1345 Poultry 4 11 0 23 10 0 Drapers 1364 Throgmorton Street 108 0 0 26 5 0 Fishmongers 1363 Upper Thames Street 113 10 6 31 15 0 Goldsmiths 1327 Foster Lane 1 19 0 63 7 0 Skinners 1327 Dowgate Hill ... ... Merchant Taylors 1466 Threadneedle Street 84 0 0 80 8 0 Haberdashers 1448 Gresham Street 84 0 0 ... Salters 1530 St Swithin's Lane ... ... Ironmongers 1464 Fenchurch Street 110 1 6 45 5 0 Vintners 1363 Upper Thames Street 126 0 0 Clothworkers 1480 Mincing Lane 110 11 6 108 17 0

Other Companies.

Apothecaries 1615 Water Lane 105 0 0 22 0 0 Armourers 1452 Coleman Street 113 18 0 33 2 6 Barbers 1462 Monkwell Street ... 40 2 6 Cordwainers 1410 Cannon Street 60 0 0 40 0 0 Saddlers 1364 Cheapside 63 0 0 20 5 0 Stationers 1556 Ludgate Hill 33 0 0 70 0 0

Special prerogatives of the City corporation.

The corporation of the City of London still retains certain exceptional prerogatives. The lord mayor's court still exercises civil jurisdiction, the two courts of the sheriffs' compter survive in the City of London court, and the lord mayor exercises the functions of judge in the central criminal court, which superseded the court of oyer and terminer in 1834, and extends beyond the radius of the Metropolitan area. The corporation possesses the sole right to establish markets within 7 miles of the City; it enjoys a metage of grain, partially commuted in 1872 to a fixed duty chargeable by weight, and applied to the preservation of Epping Forest and other open spaces; and it levies coal and wine duties, continued by various Acts, for defrayment of the cost of public improvements. Most of the work of the corporation is performed by committees; and "commissioners of sewers," under Act of Parliament, have charge of the cleaning, lighting, and paving of the streets.

City accounts.

A large portion of the City income is derived from rents, which have increased from £3488 in 1692 to £19,199 in 1785, £45,269 in 1825, and £117,781 in 1881. In 1692 the City markets were farmed for £3100, the profit being about £2500; in 1785 their revenue was £15,631, and the profit £2621; in 1825 these were respectively £58,958 and £52,271; and in 1881 they were £152,816 and £20,911. The total revenue of the City in 1692 was £11,658, in 1785 £59,356, and in 1881 £896,688, not including the public and trust accounts, which are regulated by various Acts of Parliament. They include the Bridge-House estate account, the sewers rate, the Metropolitan Board of Works sewers rate, the police rate, the ward rate, and the duties on coal, wine, and grain. The total charge of the government establishment in 1692 was £3947, and in 1881 it was £51,855, not including £7856 spent in pensions of