The Life of the City. 503 



It seems in my humble judgment not out of place that the con- 

 sideration of scientific Municipal Government should be within the 

 scope of a Scientific Congress. It is surely true that Science has 

 but as yet touched the fringe of its future intellectual possessions, 

 and that the time is to come when scientic methods in civic adminis- 

 tration will come closer home than has been possible up to the 

 present, in a way directly affecting the welfare of the citizens. 



I cannot but think that Municipal government in its present 

 organisation is inherently defective from the reason that it takes no 

 account of the fact that the administration of a large city requires 

 the best brains, given continuously to the work by men who have 

 the special knowledge to do so, and that this cannot be possibly ob- 

 tained by voluntary assistance, however freely and generously given. 

 It is impossible to imagine any commercial enterprise being carried 

 on under the unfair conditions under which we expect our Munici- 

 palities to be successfully worked. When we consider the enormous 

 sums of money which in these days pass through the Municipal 

 hands, we cannot but hope and believe that the community will 

 realise the necessity of paying handsomely for ser\'ices to be ren- 

 dered in their interests. That this would in any way degrade Muni- 

 cipal life is absurd. One might just as well expect directors of a 

 large public body or the managers of a railway to give their services 

 free as to expect Councillors to do sO' without payment. 



It is too much to expect that the type of citizen whO' is to be 

 most desired as a Councillor, namely, one who' has a large business 

 or professional responsibilities, should neglect his own business or 

 profession for the thankless task which at present falls to the lot of 

 those who undertake the duties of a Municipal Councillor, and it is 

 impossible for a man to do everything that is required of him in 

 carrying on the intricacies of Municipal Government and that of his 

 own business with perfect success to both. The only possible solu- 

 tion of the problem — and it is one of the greatest importance to all 

 city dwellers — is that wider powers of government should be ex- 

 tended to the Municipality, and that those who take part in its 

 government should be offered such remuneration as the citizens can 

 well afford to give to enable the best men to devote their entire 

 services to the interests of the city. 



In cities of old foundation like London the struggle has gone 

 on for many years to reform Municipal government, but owing to the 

 number of vested interests involved, with little success. Here, 

 however, in South Africa we have an opportunity of reaping the 

 advantages of the experiences of the Old Countr>- and of organising 

 matters upon a more sensible and scientific basis. 



When this is done — and only when it is done — shall we expect 

 to have a city beautiful to ga^e upon, and healthy and comfortable 

 to live in, and I believe that this most desirable consummation can 

 only be arrived at by the growth of the sense of order and of our 

 responsibilities as members of the body corporate, which it is the 

 obvious mission of Education in the fulness of years to accomplish, 

 an Education based upon the best experiences of modern scientific 

 thought. 



