Present state of the City. 91 

 • 



Wars of succession between rival masters of ceremoniesr 

 disputes between the frequenters of different assembly rooms, 

 and a general intolerance of the gilded fetters in which an 

 earlier generation had delighted, were but the indications- 

 that a healthier and more manly system was required. 



Bath had indeed a better future, and was advancing 

 rapidly towards it. As the floating population diminished, 

 the number of permanent residents increased, and the influx 

 of men of large minds and cultured intelligence brought 

 about a more real and intelligent interest in municipal 

 affairs. 



We should be sorry to infer that the improve- 

 unicipa. jnent in local administration dates only from 

 the Municipal Corporations Reform Act 

 (1835). There had, during the later years of the past and 

 the earlier of the present century, been an earnest effort not 

 only to improve the city, but also to remedy the gross 

 abuses which tainted the administration of the civic charities- 

 But the Act and the enquiries and orders of the Charity 

 Commission not only compelled reform, but provided a, 

 machinery for giving effect to it. The boundaries of the 

 city, as defined by the charter of Queen Elizabeth, were 

 very much wider than those which were represented by the 

 mediaeval walls, but they did not include the transpontine 

 parishes which had, in all but administration, become parts 

 of the city. 



The united parishes of Lyncombe and Widcombe con- 

 tain a large urban and a still larger suburban population 

 intimately associated with their friends beyond the river.. 

 The parish of Bathwick formed a distinct aristocratic 

 district under the government of Improvement Commis- 

 sioners. The estate consisted of low-lying meadows, which 



