Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/86

 78] ENGLISH HISTORY. [mabch

their weight in political life was but vaguely recognised. Mr. Sidney Webb, who presided, said the conference included mem- bers of bodies of every size, from the London County Council and the London School Board to Boards of Guardians, District Councils, Borough Corporations, and even Parish Councils. The object of it was educational, and to give them an opportunity of exchanging experiences, in order that they might be enabled better to discharge their duties as representatives of the electors and ratepayers. The 30,000 local governing bodies, which had all been created within the last seventy years, now administered directly at least 400,000,000Z. of capital, and directly employed about 400,000 persons, representing 4 per cent, of the total population. But all the mighty accomplishments of municipal government during the last seventy years were insignificant compared with what they wanted to see accomplished in the next seventy years. In some quarters a commencement was being made in the problem of better housing as well as the relative question of locomotion. He was not in favour of Socialists on public bodies using their representative positions for promoting general schemes of propagandism, or wide, impracticable proposals. Mr. F. Brocklehurst (Manchester) agreed that many Socialists too often regarded themselves merely as propagandists. He urged that our great municipalities should have an increase of local powers, with less interference by central authorities. Councillor Godbold (West Ham) repre- sented a Socialist majority of a Town Council which had now realised almost the whole of their aims, and was getting somewhat hard up for a programme. Mr. W. Crookes, L.C.C., believed in drawing together into one representative body all the various public functions and public work now spread Amongst various bodies. There should be more generous treatment of labour representatives on public bodies. He was now acting as chair- man of a Board of Guardians which had sent him into the workhouse in 1861. Mr. Shepherd (Bristol) contended that it was the duty of a labour representative to look first after the interests of his own class. Mr. Day (Norwich) maintained that no enterprise or undertaking of a corporation such as a tramway should be carried on with a view to earning profits. The chairman said much depended upon whether any profits so earned went into a common fund in which all the ratepayers shared. After a short adjournment the representatives met in three separate sections, which dealt respectively with educa- tional, poor-law, and municipal questions. Councillor A. Priest- man {Bradford), in the Municipal Section, read a paper on " The Unemployed/ ' and advocated the appointment of a committee in each Town Council, whose duty it should be to press forward this subject. The case of the unemployed was more urgent, and might be dealt with more productively than a solution of the problem of old-age pensions. Old-age pensioners would be apt to become a constant menace to the labour market, whereas the