Chapter IV: Front Matter (4)

The number of persons engaged in agriculture in England and Wales was
found by the census of 1901 to be 1,192,167; the total showing a
steady decrease (e.g. from 1,352,389 in 1881), which is especially
marked in the case of females. But the decrease lies mainly in the
number of agricultural labourers; the number of farmers is not notably
affected, and the increasing substitution of machinery for manual
labour must be taken into consideration. The average size of holdings
in England may be taken approximately as 66 acres, the average in 1903
being 66.1, whereas in 1895 it was 65.3.

(See also the article AGRICULTURE.)

Sea fisheries.

_Fisheries._--All the seas round Britain are rich in fish, and there
are important fishing stations at intervals on all the English coasts,
but those on the east coast are by far the most numerous. On an
estimate of weight and value of the fish landed, Grimsby at the mouth
of the Humber in Lincolnshire, stands pre-eminent as a fishing port.
For example, the fish landed there in 1903 were of nearly four times
the value of those landed at Hull, which was the second in order of
all the English stations. Next in importance stand Lowestoft, Yarmouth
and North Shields, Boston and Scarborough, and, among a large number
of minor fishing stations, Hartlepool and Ramsgate. Great quantities
of fish are also landed at the riverside market of Billingsgate in
London, but the conditions here are exceptional, the landings being
effected by carrier steamers, plying from certain of the fishing
fleets, and not taking part in the actual process of fishing. On the
south coast Newlyn ranks in the same category with Boston; at Plymouth
considerable catches are landed; and Brixham ranks alongside the last
ports named on the east coast. The chief fishing centres of the
English Channel are thus seen to belong to the coast of Devonshire and
Cornwall. On the west coast the Welsh port of Milford takes the first
place, while Swansea and Cardiff have a considerable fishing industry,
surpassed, however, by that of Fleetwood in Lancashire. Liverpool also
ranks among the more important centres. As a comparison of the
production of the east, south and west coast fisheries, an average may
be taken of the annual catches recorded over a term of years. In the
ten years 1894-1903 this average was 6,985,588 cwt. for the east coast
stations, 669,759 cwt. for those of the south coast, and 884,932 for
those of the west (including the Welsh stations).

Distinctions may be drawn, as will be seen, between the nature and
methods of the fisheries on the various coasts, and the relative
prosperity of the industry from year to year cannot be considered as a
whole. Thus in the period considered the recorded maximum weight of
fish landed at the east coast ports was 9,539,114 cwt. in 1903 (the
value being returned as L5,721,105); whereas on the south coast it was
736,599 cwt. in 1899, and on the west 1,117,164 cwt. in 1898.
Considered as a whole, the individual fish, by far the most important
in the English fisheries, is the herring, for which Yarmouth and
Lowestoft are the chief ports. The next in order are haddock, cod and
plaice, and the east coast fisheries return the greatest bulk of these
also. But whereas the south coast has the advantage over the west in
the herring and plaice fisheries, the reverse is the case in the
haddock and cod fisheries, haddock, in particular, being landed in
very small quantities at the south coast ports. Mackerel, however, are
landed principally at the southern ports, and the pilchard is taken
almost solely off the south-western coast. A fish of special
importance to the west coast fisheries is the hake. Among shell-fish,
crabs and oysters are taken principally off the east coast; the oyster
beds in the shallow water off the north Kent and Essex coasts, as at
Whitstable and Colchester, being famous. Lobsters are landed in
greatest number on the south coast.

The number of vessels of every sort employed in fishing was returned
in 1903 as 9721, and the number of persons employed as 41,539, of whom
34,071 were regular fishermen. The development of the steam
trawling-vessel is illustrated by the increase in numbers of these
vessels from 480 in 1893 to 1135 in 1903. They belong chiefly to North
Shields, Hull, Grimsby, Yarmouth and Lowestoft. There are a
considerable number on the west coast, but very few on the south.
These vessels have a wide range of operations, pursuing their work as
far as the Faeroe Islands and Iceland on the one hand, and the Bay of
Biscay and the Portuguese coast on the other.

Freshwater fisheries.

The English freshwater fisheries are not of great commercial
importance, nor, from the point of view of sport, are the salmon and
trout fisheries as a whole of equal importance with those of Scotland,
Ireland or Wales. The English salmon and trout fisheries may be
geographically classified thus: (1) _North-western division_, Rivers
Eden, Derwent, Lune, Ribble: (2)_North-eastern_, Coquet, Tyne, Wear,
Tees, &c.; (3) _Western_, Dee, Usk, Wye, Severn; (4) _South-western_,
Taw, Torridge, Camel, Tamar, Dart, Exe, Teign, &c.; (5) _Southern_,
Avon and Stour (Christchurch) and the Itchin and other famous trout
streams of Hampshire. The rivers of the midlands and east are of
little importance to salmon-fishers, though the Trent carries a few,
and in modern times attempts have been made to rehabilitate the Thames
as a salmon river. The trout-fishing in the upper Thames and many of
its tributaries (such as the Kennet, Colne and Lea) is famous. But
many of the midland, eastern and south-eastern rivers, the Norfolk
Broads, &c., are noted for their coarse fish.

_Mining._--Although the conditions of mining have, naturally,
undergone a revolutionary development in comparatively modern times,
yet some indications of England's mineral wealth are found at various
periods of early history. The exploitation of tin in the south-west is
commonly referred back to the time of the Phoenician sea-traders, and
in the first half of the 13th century England supplied Europe with
this metal. At a later period tin and lead were regarded as the
English minerals of highest commercial value; whereas to-day both, but
especially lead, have fallen far from this position. The Roman working
of lead and iron has been clearly traced in many districts, as has
that of salt in Cheshire. The subsequent development of the iron
industry is full of interest, as, while extending vastly, it has
entirely lapsed in certain districts. However long before it may have
been known to a few, the use of coal for smelting iron did not become
general till the later part of the 18th century, and down to that
time, iron-working was confined to districts where timber was
available for the supply of the smelting medium, charcoal. Thus the
industry centred chiefly upon the Weald (Sussex and Kent), the Forest
of Dean in Gloucestershire, and the Birmingham district; but from the
first district named it afterwards wholly departed, following the
development of the coal-fields. These have, in some cases, a record
from a fairly early date; thus, an indication of the Northumberland
coal-supply occurs in a charter of 1234, and the Yorkshire coal-field
is first mentioned early in the following century. But how little this
source of wealth was developed appears from an estimate of the total
production of coal, which gives in 1700 only 2,612,000 tons, and, in
1800, 10,080,000 tons, against the returned total (for the United
Kingdom) of 225,181,300 tons in 1900.

The chief minerals raised in England, as stated in the annual home
office report on mines and quarries, appear in order of value, thus:
coal, iron ore, clay and shale, sandstone, limestone, igneous rocks,
salt, tin ore. Coal surpasses all the other minerals to such an extent
that, taking the year 1903 as a type, when the total value of the
mineral output was very nearly L70,000,000, that of coal is found to
approach L61,000,000.

Coal-fields.

The position of the various principal coal-fields has been indicated
in dealing with the physical geography of England, but the grouping of
the fields adopted in the official report may be given here, together
with an indication of the counties covered by each, and the percentage
of coal to the total bulk raised in each county. These figures are
furnished as a general demonstration of the geographical distribution
of the industry, but are based on the returns for 1903.

+----------------+-----------------------------+-------------+
| Coal-fields. | Counties. | Percentage. |
+----------------+-----------------------------+-------------+
| Northern | Durham | 22.37 |
| | Northumberland | 7.48 |
+----------------+-----------------------------+-------------+
| | Yorkshire (West Riding)[20] | 17.76 |
| Yorkshire, &c. | Derbyshire | 9.40 |
| | Nottinghamshire | 5.41 |
+----------------+-----------------------------+-------------+
| Lancashire | Lancashire | 15.26 |
| and Cheshire | Cheshire | 0.25 |
|................| Leicestershire | 1.31 |
| | Shropshire | 0.50 |
| Midland[21] | Staffordshire | 8.10 |
| | Warwickshire | 2.12 |
| | Worcestershire | 0.44 |
+----------------+-----------------------------+-------------+
| | Cumberland | 1.37 |
| | Gloucestershire[22] | 0.87 |
| Small detached | Somersetshire | 0.62 |
| | Westmorland | 0.07 |
| | Yorkshire (North Riding)[20]| .. |
+----------------+-----------------------------+-------------+
| | Monmouthshire[23] | 6.67 |
+----------------+-----------------------------+-------------+

The coal-fields on the eastern flank of the Pennines, therefore,
namely, the Northern and the Yorkshire, are seen to be by far the most
important in England. The carrying trade in coal is naturally very
extensive, and may be considered here. The principal ports for the
shipping of coal for export, set down in order of the amount shipped,
also fall very nearly into topographical groups, thus:--Newcastle,
South Shields and Blyth in the Northern District; Newport in
Monmouthshire; Sunderland in the Northern District, Hull, Grimsby and
Goole on the Humber, which forms the eastern outlet of the Yorkshire
coal-fields; Hartlepool, in the Northern District, and Liverpool. The
tonnage annually shipped ranges from about 4-1/2 millions of tons in
the case of Newcastle to some half a million in the case of Liverpool;
but the export trade of Cardiff in South Wales far surpasses that of
any English port, being more than three times that of Newcastle in
1903. The coastwise carrying trade is also important, the bulk being
shared about equally by Sunderland, Newcastle, South Shields and
Cardiff, while Liverpool has also a large share. Of the whole amount
of coal received coastwise at English and Welsh ports (about 13-1/2
million tons), London received considerably over one-half (nearly 8
million tons in 1903). The railways having the heaviest coal traffic
are the North-Eastern, which monopolizes the traffic of Northumberland
and Durham; the Midland, commanding the Derbyshire, Yorkshire and East
Midland traffic, and some of the Welsh; the London & North Western,
whose principal sources are the Lancashire, Staffordshire and South
Welsh districts; the Great Western and the Taff Vale (South Welsh),
with the Great Central, Lancashire & Yorkshire and Great Northern
systems.

In the face of railway competition, several of the canals maintain a
fair traffic in coal, for which they are eminently suitable--the
system of the Birmingham navigation, the Aire and Calder navigation of
Yorkshire, and the Leeds and Liverpool navigation have the largest
shares in this trade.

Iron.

The richest iron-mining district in England and in the United Kingdom
is the Cleveland district of the North Riding of Yorkshire. It
produces over two-fifths of the total amount of ore raised in the
Kingdom, and not much less than one-half of that raised in England.
The richness of the ore (about 30% of metal) is by no means so great
as the red haematite ore found in Cumberland and north Lancashire
(Furness district, &c.). Here the percentage is over 50, but the ore,
though the richest found in the kingdom, is less plentiful, about
1-1/2 million tons being raised in 1903 as against more than 5-1/2
millions in Cleveland. There is also a considerable working of brown
iron ore at various points in Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and
Leicestershire; with further workings of less importance in
Staffordshire and several other districts. The total amount of ore
raised in England is about 12-1/2 million tons, but it is not so high,
in some iron-fields, as formerly. Some of the lesser deposits have
been worked out, and even in the rich Furness fields it has been found
difficult to pursue the ore. The import of ore (the bulk coming from
Spain) has consequently increased, and the ports where the principal
import trade is carried on are those which form the principal outlets
of the iron-working districts of Cleveland and Furness, namely
Middlesbrough and Barrow-in-Furness.

The geographical distribution of the remaining more important English
minerals may be passed in quicker review. Of the metals, the
production of copper is a lapsing industry, confined to Cornwall. For
the production of lead the principal counties are Derbyshire, Durham
and Stanhope, but the industry is not extensive, and is confined to a
few places in each county. Quarrying for limestone, clay and sandstone
is general in most parts. For limestone the principal localities are
in Durham, Derbyshire and Yorkshire, while for chalk-quarrying Kent is
pre-eminent among a group of south-eastern counties, including
Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey, with Essex. Fireclay is largely raised
from coal-mines, while, among special clays, there is a considerable
production of china and potter's clays in Cornwall, Devonshire and
Dorsetshire. As regards igneous rocks, the Charnwood Forest quarries
of Leicestershire, and those of Cornwall, are particularly noted for
their granite. Slate is worked in Cornwall and Devon, and also in
Lancashire and Cumberland, where, in the Lake District, there are
several large quarries. Salt, obtained principally from brine but also
as rock-salt, is an important object of industry in Cheshire, the
output from that county and Staffordshire exceeding a million tons
annually. In Worcestershire, Durham and Yorkshire salt is also
produced from brine.

The total number of persons in any way occupied in connexion with
mines and quarries in England and Wales in 1901 was 805,185; the
number being found to increase rapidly, as from 528,474 in 1881.
Coal-mines alone occupied 643,654, and to development in this
direction the total increase is chiefly due. The number of ironstone
and other mines decreased in the period noticed from 55,907 to 31,606.

_Manufacturing Industries._--There are of course a great number of important industries which have a general distribution throughout the country, being more or less fully developed here or there in accordance with the requirements of each locality. But in specifying the principal industries of any county, it is natural to consider those which have an influence more than local on its prosperity. In England, then, two broad classes of industry may be taken up for primary consideration--the textile and the metal. Long after textile and other industries had been flourishing in the leading states of the continent, in the Netherlands, Flanders and France, England remained, as a whole, an agricultural and pastoral country, content to export her riches in wool, and to import them again, greatly enhanced in value, as clothing. It is not to be understood that there were no manufacturing industries whatever. Rough cloth, for example, was manufactured for home consumption. But from Norman times the introduction of foreign artisans, capable of establishing industries which should produce goods fit for distant sale, occupied the attention of successive rulers. Thus the plantation of Flemish weavers in East Anglia, especially at the towns of Worstead (to which is attributed the derivation of the term worsted) and Norwich, dates from the 12th century. The industry, changing locality, like many others, in sympathy with the changes in modern conditions, has long been practically extinct in this district. Then, when religious persecution drove many of the industrial population of the west of Europe away from the homes of their birth, they liberally repaid English hospitality by establishing their own arts in the country, and teaching them to the inhabitants. Thus religious liberty formed part of the foundation of England's industrial greatness. Then came the material agent, machinery propelled by steam. The invention of the steam engine, following quickly upon that of the carding machine, the spinning jenny, and other ingenious machinery employed in textile manufactures, gave an extraordinary impulse to their development, and, with them, that of kindred branches of industry. At the basis of all of them was England's wealth in coal. The vast development of industries in England during the 19th century may be further correlated with certain events in the general history of the time. Insular England was not affected by the disturbing influences of the Napoleonic period in any such degree as was continental Europe. Such conditions carried on the work of British inventors in helping to develop industries so strongly that manufacturers were able to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the American Civil War (in spite of the temporary disability it entailed upon the cotton industry) and by the Franco-German War. These wars tended to paralyse industries in the countries affected, which were thus forced to English markets to buy manufactured commodities. That England, not possessing the raw material, became the seat of the cotton manufacture, was owing to the ingenuity of her inventors. It was not till the later part of the 18th century, when a series of inventions, unparalleled in the annals of industry, followed each other in quick succession, that the cotton manufacture took real root in the country, gradually eclipsing that of other European nations, although a linen manufacture in Lancashire had acquired some prominence as early as the 16th century. But though the superior excellence of their machinery enabled Englishmen to start in the race of competition, it was the discovery of the new motive power, drawn from coal, which made them win the race. In 1815 the total quantity of raw cotton imported into the United Kingdom was not more than 99 millions of pounds, which amount had increased to 152 millions of pounds in 1820, and rose further to 229 millions in 1825, so that there was considerably more than a doubling of the imports in ten years.

Textiles.

The geographical analysis of the cotton industry in England is simple.
It belongs almost entirely to south Lancashire--to Manchester and the
great industrial towns in its neighbourhood. The industry has extended
into the adjacent parts of Cheshire, the West Riding of Yorkshire and
Derbyshire. The immediate neighbourhood of a coal-supply influenced
the geographical settlement of this industry, like others; and the
importance to the manufacture of a moist climate, such as is found on
the western slope of the Pennines (in contradistinction to the
eastern), must also be considered. The excess of the demand of the
factories over the supply of raw material has become a remarkable
feature of the industry in modern times.

The distribution of the woollen industries peculiarly illustrates the
changes which have taken place since the early establishment of
manufacturing industries in England. It has been seen how completely
the industry has forsaken East Anglia. Similarly, this industry was of
early importance along the line of the Cotteswold Hills, from Chipping
Camden to Stroud and beyond, as also in some towns of Devonshire and
Cornwall, but though it survives in the neighbourhood of Stroud, the
importance of this district is far surpassed by that of the West
Riding of Yorkshire, where the woollen industry stands pre-eminent
among the many which, as already indicated, have concentrated there.
As the cotton industry has in some degree extended from Lancashire
into the West Riding, so has the woollen from the West Riding into a
few Lancastrian towns, such as Rochdale. Among other textile
industries attaching to definite localities may be mentioned the silk
manufacture of eastern Staffordshire and Cheshire, as at Congleton and
Macclesfield; and the hosiery and lace manufactures of
Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.

Metal-working.

The metal-working industries also follow a geographical distribution,
mainly governed by the incidence of the coal-fields, as well as by
that of the chief districts for the production of iron-ore already
indicated, such as the Cleveland and Durham and the Furness districts.
But the district most intimately connected with every branch of this
industry, from engineering and the manufacture of tools, &c., to
working in the precious metals, is the "Black Country" and Birmingham
district of Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Apart from
this district, large quantities of iron and steel are produced in the
manufacturing areas of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire,
and here, as in the Black Country, are found certain centres
especially noted for the production of an individual class of goods,
such as Sheffield for its cutlery. There is, further, a large
engineering industry in the London district; and important
manufactures of agricultural implements are found at many towns of
East Anglia and in other agricultural localities. Birmingham and
Coventry may be specially mentioned as centres of the motor and cycle
building industry. The establishment of their engineering and other
workshops at certain centres by the great railway companies has
important bearing on the concentration of urban population. For
example, by this means the London & North Western and the Great
Western companies have created large towns in Crewe and Swindon
respectively.

Certain other important industries may be localized. Thus, the
manufacture of china and pottery, although widespread, is primarily
identified with Staffordshire, where an area comprising Stoke and a
number of contiguous towns actually bears the name of the Potteries
(q.v.). Derby has a similar fame, while the manufacture of glass,
important in Leeds and elsewhere in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and
in the London district, centres peculiarly upon a single town in South
Lancashire--St Helens. Finally, the bootmakers of Northamptonshire (at
Wellingborough, Rushden, &c.), and the straw-plaiters of Bedfordshire
(at Luton and Dunstable), deserve mention among localized industrial
communities.

_Occupations of the People._--The occupations of the people may be so considered as to afford a conception of the relative extent of the industries already noticed, and their importance in relation to other occupations. The figures to be given are those of the census of 1901, and embrace males and females of 10 years of age and upwards. The textile manufactures occupied a total of 994,668 persons, of which the cotton industry occupied 529,131. A high proportion of female labour is characteristic of each branch of this industry, the number of females employed being about half as many again as that of males (the proportion was 1.47 to 1 in 1901). The metal industries of every sort occupied 1,116,202; out of which those employed in engineering (including the building of all sorts of vehicles) numbered 741,346. Of the other broad classes of industry already indicated, the manufacture of boots and shoes occupied 229,257, and the pottery and glass manufactures 90,193. For the rest, the numbers of persons occupied in agriculture has been quoted as 1,192,167; and of those occupied in mining as 805,185. Among occupations not already detailed, those of the male population include transport of every sort (1,094,301), building and other works of construction (1,042,864), manufacture of articles of human consumption, lodging, &c. (774,291), commerce, banking, &c. (530,685), domestic service, &c. (304,195), professional occupations (311,618). The service of government in every branch occupied 171,687. Female workers were occupied to the number of 1,664,381 in domestic service generally. Tailoring and the textile clothing industries and trade generally occupied 602,881; teaching 172,873; nursing and other work in institutions 104,036; and the civil service, clerkships and similar occupations 82,635.

IX. TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS, &C.

For various administrative and other purposes England and Wales have been divided, at different times from the Saxon period onwards, into a series of divisions, whose boundaries have been adjusted as each purpose demanded, without much attempt to establish uniformity. Therefore, although the methods of local government are detailed below (Section X.), and other administrative arrangements are described under the various headings dealing with each subject, it is desirable to give here, for ease of reference and distinction, a schedule of the various areas into which England and Wales are divided. The areas here given, excepting the Poor Law Union, are those utilized in the Census Returns (see the General Report, 1901).

_England and Wales; Areas._

County (ancient or geographical).

Parliamentary / Division.
Areas \ Borough.

/ Administrative County.
| County Borough. \ (City,
Administrative | Municipal Borough. > town)
Areas < Urban District (other than borough). /
| Rural District.
| Civil Parish.
\ Poor Law Union.

/ County Court Circuit.
Judicial Areas < County Court District.
\ Petty Sessional Division

Ecclesiastical / Province.
Areas < Diocese.
\ Parish

/ Division.
Registration < County.
Areas | District.
\ Subdistrict.

The ancient counties were superseded for most practical purposes by the administrative counties created by the Local Government Act of 1888. The ancient division, however, besides being maintained in general speech and usage, forms the basis on which the system of distribution of parliamentary representation now in force was constructed. The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 made a new division of the country into county and borough constituencies. All the English counties, with the exception of Rutland, are divided into two or more constituencies, each returning one member, the number of English county parliamentary areas being 234. In Wales eight smaller or less populous counties form each one parliamentary constituency, while the four larger are divided, the number of Welsh county parliamentary areas being 19. The number of county areas for parliamentary purposes in England and Wales is thus 253, and the total number of their representatives is the same. Outside the county constituencies are the parliamentary boroughs. Of these there are 135 in England, one of them, Monmouth district, being made up of three contributory boroughs, while many are divided into several constituencies, the number of borough parliamentary areas in England being 205, of which 61 are in the metropolis. Of the 205 borough constituencies, 184 return each one member, and 21 return each two members, so that the total number of English borough members is 226. Besides the county and borough members there are in England five university members, namely, two for Oxford, two for Cambridge and one for London. In Wales there are 10 borough parliamentary areas, all of which, except Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea town division, consist of groups of several contributory boroughs. Each Welsh borough constituency returns one member, except Merthyr Tydfil, which returns two, so that there are eleven Welsh borough members.

The administrative counties, created in 1888, number 62, each having a county council. They sometimes coincide in area with the ancient counties of the same name, but generally differ, in a greater or less degree, for the following reasons--(1) in some cases an ancient county comprises (approximately) two or more administrative counties, in the formation of which names of some ancient divisions were preserved, thus:--

_Ancient County._ _Administrative County._

Cambridgeshire / Cambridge.
\ Isle of Ely.

Hampshire / Southampton.
\ Isle of Wight.

/ Parts of Holland.
Lincolnshire < Parts of Kesteven.
\ Parts of Lindsey.

Northamptonshire / Northampton.
\ Soke of Peterborough.

Suffolk / East Suffolk.
\ West Suffolk.

Sussex / East Sussex.
\ West Sussex.

/ East Riding.
Yorkshire < North Riding.
\ West Riding.

The Scilly Islands, which form part of the ancient county of Cornwall, without being ranked as an administrative county, are provided with a county council and have separate administration. (2) The administrative county of London has an area taken entirely from the counties of Middlesex, Kent and Surrey. (3) All boroughs which on June 1, 1888, had a population of not less than 50,000, boroughs which were already counties having a population of not less than 20,000, and a few others, were formed into separate administrative areas, with the name of county boroughs. Of these there were originally 61, but their number subsequently increased. (4) Provision was made by the act of 1888 for including entirely within one administrative county each of such urban districts as were situated in more than one ancient county.

The various urban and rural districts are described below (Section X.). The _Civil Parish_ is defined (Poor Law Amendment Act 1866) as "a place for which a separate poor-rate is or can be made," but the parish council has local administrative functions beyond the administration of the poor law. The civil parish has become more or less divorced in relationship from the _Ecclesiastical Parish_ (a division which probably served in early times for administrative purposes also), owing to successive independent alterations in the boundaries of both (see PARISH). _Poor-law unions_ are groups of parishes for the local administration of the Poor Laws. Within the unions the local poor-law authorities are the _Board of Guardians_. In rural districts the functions of these boards are, under the Local Government Act of 1894, performed by the district councils, and in other places their constitution is similar to that of the urban and district councils (see POOR LAW).

_Registration districts_ are generally, but not invariably, coextensive with unions of the same name. These districts are divided into sub-districts, within which the births and deaths are registered by registrars appointed for that purpose. _Registration counties_ are groups of registration districts, and their boundaries differ more or less from those both of the ancient and the administrative counties. In England and Wales there are eleven registration divisions, consisting of groups of registration counties (see REGISTRATION). (O. J. R. H.)

X. LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The Reform Act of 1832 was the real starting-point for the overhauling of English local government. For centuries before, from the reign of Edward III., under a number of statutes and commissions, the administrative work in the counties had been in the hands of the country gentlemen and the clergy, acting as justices of the peace, and sitting in petty sessions and quarter sessions. Each civil or "poor law" parish was governed by the vestry and the overseers of the poor, dating from the Poor Law of 1601; the vestry, which dealt with general affairs, being presided over by the rector, and having the churchwardens as its chief officials. In 1782 Gilbert's Act introduced the grouping of parishes for poor law purposes, and boards of guardians appointed by the justices of the peace. The municipal boroughs (246 in England and Wales in 1832) were governed by mayor, aldermen, councillors and a close body of burgesses or freemen, a narrow oligarchy. Reform began with the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, grouping the parishes into Unions, making the boards of guardians mainly elective, and creating a central poor law board in London. The Municipal Corporations Act followed in 1835, giving all ratepayers the local franchise. And as a result of the failure of the Public Health Board established in 1848, the royal commission of 1869-1871 led to the establishment in 1871 of the Local Government Board as a central supervising body. Meanwhile, the school boards resulting from the Education Act of 1870 brought local government also into the educational system; and the Public Health Act of 1875 put further duties on the local authorities. By 1888 a new state of chaos had grown up as the result of the multiplication of bodies, and the new Redistribution Act of 1885 paved the way for a further reorganization of local matters by the Local Government Act of 1888, followed by that of 1894. In London, which required separate treatment, a similar process had been going on. The Metropolis Management Act of 1855 established (outside the city) two classes of parishes--the first class with vestries of their own, the second class grouped under district boards elected by the component vestries; and the Metropolitan Board of Works (abolished in 1888), elected by the vestries and the district boards, was made the central authority.

In 1867 the Metropolitan Asylums Board took over its work from the metropolitan boards of guardians. See further CHARITY AND CHARITIES, PUBLIC HEALTH, EDUCATION, JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, VESTRY, &c.

The system of local government now existing in England (see also the article LOCAL GOVERNMENT) may be said to have been founded in 1888, when the Local Government Act of that year was passed. Since then the entire system of the government of districts and parishes has been reorganized with due regard to the preceding legislation. The largest area of local government is the county; next to that the sanitary district, urban or rural, including under this head municipal boroughs, all of which are urban districts. The parish is, speaking generally, the smallest area, though, as will hereafter be seen, part of a parish may be a separate area for certain purposes; and there may be united districts or parishes for certain purposes. It will be convenient to follow this order in the present article. But before doing so, it should be pointed out that all local bodies in England are to some extent subject to the control of central authorities, such as the privy council, the home office, the Board of Agriculture, the Board of Trade, the Board of Education or the Local Government Board.

The county and the county council.

_The Administrative County._--The administrative county includes all places within its area, with two important exceptions. The first of these consists of the county borough. The second is the quarter sessions borough, which forms part of the county for certain specified purposes only. But the county includes all other places, such as liberties and franchises, which before 1888 were exempt from contribution to county rate. For each administrative county a county council is elected. For purposes of election the entire county is divided into divisions corresponding to the wards of a municipal borough, and one councillor is elected for each electoral division.

County council elections.

The electors are the county electors, i.e. in a borough the persons enrolled as burgesses, and in the rest of the county the persons who are registered as county electors, i.e. those persons who possess in a county the same qualification as burgesses must have in a borough, and are registered.

The qualification of a burgess or county elector is substantially the
occupation of rated property within the borough or county, residence
during a qualifying period of twelve months within the borough or
county, and payment of rates for the qualifying property. A person so
qualified is entitled to be enrolled as a burgess, or registered as a
county elector (as the case may be), unless he is alien, has during
the qualifying period received union or parochial relief or other
alms, or is disentitled under some act of parliament such as the
Corrupt Practices Act, the Felony Act, &c. The lists of burgesses and
county electors are prepared annually by the overseers of each parish
in the borough or county, and are revised by the revising barrister at
courts holden by him for the purpose in September or October of each
year. When revised they are sent to the town clerk of the borough, or
to the clerk of the peace of the county, as the case may be, by whom
they are printed. The lists are conclusive of the right to vote at an
election, although on election petition involving a scrutiny the vote
of a person disqualified by law may be struck off, notwithstanding the
inclusion of his name in a list of voters.

The qualification of a county councillor is similar to that required
of a councillor in a municipal borough, with some modifications. A
person may be qualified in any one of the following ways: viz. by
being (1) enrolled as a county elector, and possessed of a property
qualification consisting of the possession of real or personal
property to the amount of L1000 in a county having four or more
divisions, or of L500 in any other county, _or_ the being rated to the
poor rate on an annual value of L30 in a county having four or more
divisions, or of L15 in any other county; (2) enrolled in the
non-resident list, and possessed of the same property qualification
(the non-resident list contains the names of persons who are qualified
for enrolment in all respects save residence in the county or within 7
m. thereof, and are actually resident beyond the 7 m. and within 15
m.); (3) entitled to elect to the office of county councillor (for
this qualification no property qualification is required, but the
office of a councillor elected on this qualification only becomes
vacant if for six months he ceases to reside within the county); (4) a
peer owning property in the county; (5) registered as a parliamentary
voter in respect of the ownership of property in the county. Clerks in
holy orders and ministers of religion are not disqualified as they are
for being borough councillors, but in other respects the persons
disqualified to be elected for a county are the same as those
disqualified to be elected for a borough. Such disqualifications
include the holding of any office or place of profit under the council
other than the office of chairman, and the being concerned or
interested in any contract or employment with, by or on behalf of
the council. Women, other than married women, are eligible.

County councillors are elected for a term of three years, and at the
end of that time they retire together. The ordinary day of election is
the 8th March, or some day between the 1st and 8th March fixed by the
council. Candidates are nominated in writing by a nomination paper
signed by a proposer and seconder, and subscribed by eight other
assenting county electors of the division; and in the event of there
being more valid nominations than vacancies a poll has to be taken in
the manner prescribed by the Ballot Act 1872. Corrupt and illegal
practices at the election are forbidden by a statute passed in the
year 1894, which imposes heavy penalties and disqualifications for the
offences which it creates. These offences include not only treating,
undue influence, bribery and personation, but certain others, of which
the following are the chief. Payment on account of the conveyance of
electors to or from the poll; payment for any committee room in excess
of a prescribed number; the incurring of expenses in and about the
election beyond a certain maximum; employing, for the conveyance of
electors to or from the poll, hackney carriages or carriages kept for
hire; payments for bands, flags, cockades, &c.; employing for payment
persons at the election beyond the prescribed number; printing and
publishing bills, placards or posters which do not disclose the name
and address of the printer or publisher; using as committee rooms or
for meetings any licensed premises, or any premises where food or
drink is ordinarily sold for consumption on the premises, or any club
premises where intoxicating liquor is supplied to members. In the
event of an illegal practice, payment, employment or hiring, committed
or done inadvertently, relief may be given by the High Court, or by an
election court, if the validity of the election is questioned on
petition; but unless such relief is given (and it will be observed
that it cannot be given for a _corrupt_ as distinguished from an
illegal practice), an infringement of the act may void the election
altogether. The validity of the election may be questioned by election
petition. Indeed, this is the only method when it is sought to set
aside the election on any of the usual grounds, such as corrupt or
illegal practices, or the disqualification of the candidate at the
date of election. Election petitions against county councillors and
members of other local bodies (borough councillors, urban and rural
district councillors, members of school boards and boards of
guardians) are classed together as municipal election petitions, and
are heard in the same way, by a commissioner who must be a barrister
of not less than fifteen years' standing. The petition is tried in
open court at some place within the county, the expenses of the court
being provided in the first instance by the Treasury, and repaid out
of the county rates, except in so far as the court may order them to
be paid by either of the parties. If a candidate is unseated a casual
vacancy is created which has to be filled by a new election. A county
councillor is required to accept office by making and subscribing a
declaration in the prescribed form that he will duly and faithfully
perform the duties of the office, and that he possesses the necessary
qualification. The declaration may be made at any time within three
months after notice of election. If the councillor does not make it
within that time, he is liable to a fine the amount of which, if not
determined by bye-law of the council, is L25 in the case of an
alderman or councillor, and L50 in the case of the chairman. Exemption
may, however, be claimed on the ground of age, physical or mental
incapacity, previous service, or payment of the fine within five
years, or on the ground that the claimant was nominated without his
consent. If during his term of office a member of the council becomes
bankrupt, or compounds with his creditors, or is (except in case of
illness) continuously absent from the county, being chairman for more
than two months, or being alderman or councillor for more than six
months, his office becomes vacant by declaration of the council. In
the case of disqualification by absence, the same fines are payable as
upon non-acceptance of office, and the same liability arises on
resignation. Acting without making the declaration, or without being
qualified at the time of making the declaration, or after ceasing to
be qualified, or after becoming disqualified, involves liability to a
fine not exceeding L50, recoverable by action.

Chairman, &c.

The councillors who have been elected come into office on the 8th
March in the year of election. The first quarterly meeting of the
newly-elected council is held on the 16th or on such other day within
ten days after the 8th as the county council may fix. The first
business at that meeting is the election of the chairman, whose office
corresponds to that of the mayor in a borough. He is elected for the
ensuing year, and holds office until his successor has accepted
office. The chairman must be a fit person, elected by the council from
their own body or from persons qualified to be councillors. He may
receive such remuneration as the council think reasonable. He is by
virtue of his office a justice of the peace for the county. Having
elected the chairman, the meeting proceeds to the election of
aldermen, whose number is one-third of the number of councillors,
except in London, where the number is one-sixth. An alderman must be a
councillor or a person qualified to be a councillor. If a councillor
is elected he vacates his office of councillor, and thus creates a
casual vacancy in the council. In every third year one-half of the
whole number of aldermen go out of office, and their places are filled
by election, which is conducted by means of voting papers. It will be
observed, therefore, that while a county councillor holds office for
three years, a county alderman holds office for six. The council may
also appoint a vice-chairman who holds office during the term of
office of the chairman; in London the council have power to appoint a
paid deputy chairman.

Officers.

It may be convenient at this point to refer to the officers of the
county council. Of these, the chief are the clerk, the treasurer, and
the surveyor. Before 1888 the clerk of the peace was appointed in a
county by the _custos rotulorum_. He held office for life during good
conduct, and had power to act by a sufficient deputy. Under the act of
1888 existing clerks of the peace became clerks of the councils of
their counties, holding office by the same tenure as formerly, except
in the county of London, where the offices were separated. Thereafter
a new appointment to the offices of clerk of the peace and clerk of
the county council was to be made by the standing joint-committee, at
whose pleasure he is to hold office. The same committee appoint the
deputy-clerk, and fix the salaries of both officers. The clerk of the
peace was formerly paid by fees which were fixed by quarter sessions,
but he is now generally, if not in every case, paid by salary, the
fees received by him being paid into the county fund. The county
council may also employ such other officers and servants as they may
think necessary.

Business.

Subject to a few special provisions in the Local Government Act of
1888, the business of the county council is regulated by the
provisions laid down in the Municipal Corporations Act 1882, with
regard to borough councils. There are four quarterly meetings in every
year, the dates of which may be fixed by the council, with the
exception of that which must be held on the 16th March or some day
within ten days after the 8th of March as already noticed when
treating of elections. Meetings are convened by notices sent to
members stating the time and place of the meeting and the business to
be transacted. The chairman, or in his absence the vice-chairman, or
in the absence of both an alderman or councillor appointed by the
meeting, presides. All questions are determined by the votes of the
majority of those present and voting, and in case of equality of votes
the chairman has a casting vote. Minutes of the proceedings are taken,
and if signed by the chairman at the same or the next meeting of the
council are evidence of the proceedings. In all other respects the
business of the council is regulated by standing orders which the
council are authorized to make. Very full power is given to appoint
committees, which may be either general or special, and to them may be
delegated, with or without restrictions or conditions, any of their
powers or duties except that of raising money by rate or loan. Power
is also given to appoint joint-committees with other county councils
in matters in which the two councils are jointly interested, but a
joint-committee so appointed must not be confounded with the standing
joint-committee of the county council and the quarter sessions, which
is a distinct statutory body and is elsewhere referred to. The finance
committee is also a body with distinct duties.

Relation of county to boroughs.

In order to appreciate some of the points relating to the finance of a county council, it is necessary to indicate the relations between an administrative county and the boroughs which are locally situated within it. The act of 1888 created a new division of boroughs into three classes; of these the first is the county borough. A certain number of boroughs which either had a population of not less than 50,000, or were counties of themselves, were made counties independent of the county council and free from the payment of county rate. In such boroughs the borough council have, in addition to their powers under the Municipal Corporations Act 1882, all the powers of a county council under the Local Government Act. They are independent of the county council, and their only relation is that in some instances they pay a contribution to the county, e.g. for the cost of assizes where there is no separate assize for the borough. The boroughs thus constituted county boroughs enumerated in the schedule to the Local Government Act 1888 numbered sixty-one, but additional ones are created from time to time.

The larger quarter sessions boroughs, i.e. those which had, according to the census of 1881, a population exceeding 10,000, form part of the county, and are subject to the control of the county council, but only for certain special purposes. The reason for this is that while in counties the powers and duties under various acts were entrusted to the county authority, in boroughs they were exercised by the borough councils. In the class of boroughs now under consideration these powers and duties are retained by the borough council; the county council exercise no jurisdiction within the borough in respect of them, and the borough is not rated in respect of them to the county rate. The acts referred to include those relating to the diseases of animals, destructive insects, explosives, fish conservancy, gas meters, margarine, police, reformatory and industrial schools, riot (damages), sale of food and drugs, weights and measures. But for certain purposes these boroughs are part of the county and rateable to county rate, e.g. main roads, cost of assizes and sessions, and in certain cases pauper lunatics. The county councillors elected for one of these boroughs may not vote on any matter involving expenditure on account of which the borough is not assessed to county rate.

The third class of boroughs comprises those which have a separate court of quarter sessions, but had according to the census of 1881 a population of less than 10,000. All such boroughs form part of the county for the purposes of pauper lunatics, analysts, reformatory and industrial schools, fish conservancy, explosives, and, of course, the purposes for which the larger quarter sessions boroughs also form part of the county, such as main roads, and are assessed to county rate accordingly. And in a borough, whether a quarter sessions borough or not, which had in 1881 a population of less than 10,000, all the powers which the borough council formerly possessed as to police, analysts, diseases of animals, gas meters, and weights and measures cease and are transferred to the county council, the boroughs becoming in fact part of the area of the county for these purposes.

It will be seen, therefore, that for some purposes, called in the act general county purposes, the entire county, including all boroughs other than county boroughs, is assessed to the county rate; while for others, called special county purposes, certain boroughs are now assessed. This explanation is necessary in order to appreciate what has now to be said about county finance. But before leaving the consideration of the area of the county it may be added that all liberties and franchises are now merged in the county and subject to the jurisdiction of the county council.

Finance.

The county council is a body corporate with power to hold lands. Its revenues are derived from various sources which will presently be mentioned, but all receipts have to be carried to the county fund, either to the general county account if applicable to general county purposes, or to the special county account if applicable to special county purposes. The county council may, with the consent of the Local Government Board, borrow money on the security of the county fund or any of its revenues, for consolidating the debts of the county; purchasing land or buildings; any permanent work or other thing, the cost of which ought to be spread over a term of years; making advances in aid of the emigration or colonization of inhabitants of the county; and any purpose for which quarter sessions or the county council are authorized by any act to borrow. If, however, the total debt of the council will, with the amount proposed to be borrowed, exceed one-tenth of the annual rateable value of the property in the county, the money cannot be borrowed unless under a provisional order made by the Local Government Board and confirmed by parliament. The period for which a loan is made is fixed by the county council with the consent of the Local Government Board, but may not exceed thirty years, and the mode of repayment may be by equal yearly or half-yearly instalments of principal or of principal and interest combined, or by means of a sinking fund invested and applied in accordance with the Local Government Acts. The loans authorized may be raised by debentures or annuity certificates under these acts, or by the issue of county stock, and in some cases by mortgage.

The county council must appoint a finance committee for regulating and
controlling the finance of the county, and the council cannot make any
order for the payment of money out of the county fund save on the
recommendation of that committee. Moreover, the order for payment of
any sum must be made in pursuance of an order of the council signed by
three members of the finance committee present at the meeting of the
council, and countersigned by the clerk. The order is directed to the
county treasurer, by whom authorized payments are then made.