68 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRATIC 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
By JAS. H. ROTHWELL. November 20th, 1906. 
Mr. Rothwell said the purpose of that paper was not to 
discuss the present or future development of local democratic 
government in the abstract, or in a form which might be 
applicable to all sections of civilised society, but its purpose 
was to indicate briefly the historical development of the in- 
stitutions peculiar to local government in England. Events 
in the history of the nation had had a considerable effect on 
the various forms of contemporaneous local government and 
much was also due to the character of the various races now 
consolidated under the name of Englishman. What was at 
one time a democratic form of local government was rapidly 
changed by outside influences into that of a small oligarchy, 
and this oligarchy or close corporation had been again trans- 
formed by political events and movements into a government 
essentially democratic. Mr. Rothwell dealt with the influence 
of the earlier Roman occupation of Britain, and proceeding, 
said that before the Norman conquest, the system of local 
government in England was simple in form and essentially 
democratic. There was no approach to the modern idea of 
a corporation with its legal personality, its common seal, and 
its perpetual succession ; even London under its port reeve 
and bishop was only an aggregate of communities, townships 
and parishes. William I recognised the importance of the 
towns, and included most of them in the Royal demesne. The 
practice subsequently arose of granting charters of incorpor- 
ation, which conferred such privileges as the right of indepen- 
dent jurisdiction and the right of paying “‘ firma burgi,” or a 
fixed sum as rent to the king or to the lord, instead of sub- 
mitting to the arbitrary exactions of the sheriff. The readiness 
with which the towns undertook municipal government and 
the ease with which they were incorporated by charter was 
due to the fact that they already possessed a more or less com- 
plete organisation in the guild system. The most important 

