Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/42

 34] ENGLISH HI8T0EY. [feb.

ratable value exceeding 500,000/. The municipal franchise would be determined by the Metropolis Management Act. Each municipality would consist of a mayor, aldermen and councillors — the aldermen to bear the same proportion to the councillors as in the provinces; to hold office for the same period as elsewhere ; the elections to take place in November instead of in May. There would be no ex-offido link between the London County Council and the new bodies. The powers at present discharged by the Vestries and District Boards, and those exercised by the Baths and Washhouses Commissioners, the Libraries Commissioners, and the Burial Boards, would be transferred to the new authorities. They could promote or oppose bills in Parliament, subject to the provisions of the Borough Funds Act. Machinery was provided to enable the County Council to transfer other powers by agreement, sub- ject to the revision of the Local Government Board, and muni- cipalities other than the recipient had the right of objection. ^Where the County Council had transferred certain powers to more than half the municipalities throughout London, it might call upon the remainder to take them also. Henceforth, every ratepayer would be called upon for his rates in a single demand note, clearly setting forth all the objects for which the rate is demanded. Each municipality would have one rating authority only, to which every local body having the right to expend rates should send its precept direct. The lighting and sewer rate would be abolished. The present system of auditing accounts would remain unaltered. An order in council would fix the number of aldermen and councillors in the several municipali- ties, but the total would not exceed seventy-two. Every muni- cipality would be divided into wards, settled by order in council. The general impression created by Mr. Balfour's exposition of the bill was that it went a very little way to bringing about a central Government for London. On behalf of the Opposition, Mr. H. Campbell-Bannerman feared that political considerations would influence the election of the new bodies just as much as in the County Council elections. He looked also with misgiving and suspicion upon the contemplated transference of powers from the County Council to the new bodies, and Mr. Courtney (Bodmin, Cornwall) expressed the hope that the bill was " a pre- paration for something of far greater importance/'

The Address having been voted, the Government at once put down supply for the first available day (Feb. 24), and presented a supplementary estimate of 885,000/. for the expenses of the Army in Egypt. The amount expended on the Nile Expedition having been 391,000/. of which 215,000/. had been spent for the benefit of Egypt and had been repaid by that country. This furnished Mr. Morley (Montrose Burghs) with his long-wished for opportunity of arraigning the Egyptian policy of the Govern- ment. The success of the advance to Khartoum had, he said, in nowise diminished his opinion as to its inexpedience. The