198 THE BEITISH ISLES. 



drainage, tlio forination of new streets, the supervision of the gas and water 

 supply, the fire brigade,* and the public parks and gardens. But, however 

 great its influence, it is overshadowed by the powerful corporation which has its 

 seat in the City. In 1835, when the municipalities of the kingdom were reformed, 

 the City of London was the only place of importance exempted from the opera- 

 tion of that Act, and it continues to enjoy, up to the present day, its ancient 

 privileges and immunities. Old English customs are preserved there to an 

 extent not known elsewhere, except, perhaps, in the decayed municipal boroughs 

 whose maladministration has only recently been exposed in Parliament. The 

 City is divided into 20 wards, and these into 207 precincts, the latter consist- 

 ing sometimes of a single street. The inhabitants of each precinct, whether 

 citizens or not, meet annually a few days before St. Thomas's Day, when the 

 affairs of the precinct are discussed, and the roll of candidates for election as 

 common councilmen and inquestmen is made iip. The " Wardmote " meets on 

 St. Thomas's Day for the election of a common councilman, and of other ofiicials, 

 including the inquestmen charged with the inspection of weights and measures 

 and the removal of nuisances. At this meeting only freemen of the City, who 

 are also on the parliamentary voters' list, have a right to vote. On the Monday 

 after Twelfth Day the inquestmen of the wards attend before the Court of 

 Aldermen sitting at the Guildhall, when the common councilmen chosen are 

 presented. The wardmote likewise elects the aldermen, but for life, and these, 

 jointly with the common councilmen, form the Court of Common Council, which 

 thus consists of 233 members, 26 of whom are aldermen. The Lord Mayor, 

 whose election takes place annually on the 29th of September, presides over the 

 Courts of Aldermen and of Common Council, as w^ell as over the " Common Hall ' 

 of the Livery. As a rule the senior alderman Avho has not served the office is 

 chosen Lord Mayor, the privilege of nomination being vested in the Common Hall, 

 that of election in the Court of Aldermen, and the same person generally holds the 

 office only once for one year. The election is formally approved by the Lord 

 Chancellor on behalf of the Crown. On the 8th of iS^ovember the Lord Mayor 

 elect is sworn in before the Court of Aldermen, and invested with the insignia of 

 his office, and on the day after, " Lord Mayor's Day," he proceeds in state to the 

 High Court of Justice, where he takes the oath of allegiance. On his return to 

 the City the procession is joined by the Judges, her Majesty's Ministers, the 

 foreign ambassadors, and other distinguished persons, to be entertained at a 

 magnificent banquet at the Guildhall, the expenses of which are borne jointly by 

 the Lord Mayor and the two Sheriffs. The Lord Mayor holds the first place in 

 the City next to the sovereign ; he is, ex officio, a member of the Privy Council, 

 a Judge of the Central Criminal Court, a Justice of the Peace in the metropolitan 

 counties. Lord- Lieutenant and Admiral of the Port of London, and Conservator 

 of the Thames. In order to assist him in keeping up the traditional reputation 

 of the City for hospitality, he is allowed an annual stipend of £10,000. 



* 505 men, with 4 floating fire-engines on the Thames, 32 steam-engines, 112 manual engines, and 

 129 fire-escapes. Between 1,600 and 1,700 fires break out annually, but of these less than 200 are 

 described as ''serious." 



