CHAPTER VII 



\\KSTMIXSTEH, LONDON 



THE city of Westminster comprises 25,027 acres of 

 the most fashionable and busiest part of London. 

 It extends about 3 miles in one direction by 2} miles 

 in another and has 99 miles of streets. It includes 

 the Strand, Charing Cross, and the principal shopping 

 districts in the vicinity of Regent Street and takes in 

 the aristocratic West End with Buckingham Palace and 

 the leading theaters. Finally, to add diversity to the con- 

 ditions, Covent Garden Market, one of the largest markets 

 in London, is included in the boundaries. Unlike 

 most of London, the surface of the ground is not level, 

 but slopes with considerable gradients in places cov- 

 ered by principal thoroughfares. These gradients have 

 had much to do with the use of wood pavements, 

 Westminster offering one of the best illustrations in 

 Europe of the successful employment of wood for streets 

 with heavy traffic. The population of Westminster, 

 according to the census of 1901, was 183,011. 



The street-cleaning authority in the city of West- 

 minster is vested in a committee of the City Council 

 known as the Highways Committee. This 



Authority 



committee has charge of the maintenance, over street 

 as well as the cleaning of the carriage roads, 

 and by agreement cleans also the sidewalks. The 

 following matters are included in the work of the High- 



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