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Among many sports grounds, the two best known cricket grounds are Lord's, near Regent's Park (M.C.C.— Marylebone Cricket Club—and Middlesex county matches, Oxford v. Cambridge university matches, Eton v. Harrow school matches, etc.), and the Oval in Kennington (Surrey county matches, etc.). At these two grounds there also take place any "test" matches played in London by teams representing England against overseas sides. International Rugby football matches (among others) are played at Twickenham ; and the final ties of the English Associa tion football cup, of late years, at Wembley stadium, the vast arena originally erected in connection with the British Empire exhibition
(0. J. R. H. ; H OR.) Vestries.—The middle of the 19th century found the whole local administration of London still of a mediaeval character. Moreover, as complete reform had always been resisted, homo geneity was wanting. Greater London (in the sense in which that name might then have been applied) was governed by the in habitants of each parish in vestry assembled, save that in some instances parishes had elected select vestries under the provisions of the Vestries Act, 1831. In neither case had the vestry powers of town management. To meet the needs of particular localities, commissioners or trustees having such powers had been from time to time created by local acts. In 1855 these local acts
bered 25o, administered by not less than 30o bodies either self elected, or elected for life, or both, and therefore in no degree responsible to the ratepayers. There were two bodies having jurisdiction over the whole metropolis except the City, namely, the officers appointed under the Metropolitan Building Act of 1844, and the Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers, appointed under the Commissioners of Sewers Act, 1848. Neither was responsible to the ratepayers.
To remedy this chaotic state of affairs, the Metropolis Management Act, 1855, was passed. Under that act a vestry elected by the ratepayers of the parish was established for each parish in the metropolis outside the City. The vestries for larger parishes were constituted by the local au thorities; smaller parishes were grouped under district boards. A central body, the Metropolitan Board of Works, having jurisdic tion over the whole metropolis (including the City) was also established, the members of which were elected by the Common Council of the City, the vestries and district boards, and the previously established local board of Woolwich (q.v.). The area of the metropolis for local government purposes was for the first time defined. The Metropolitan Board of Works was given certain powers of supervision over the vestries and district boards, and became the authority for main drainage and for the admini stration of the Building Acts, and subsequently had many addi tional powers and duties conferred upon it. The vestries and dis trict boards became the authorities for local drainage, paving, lighting, repairing and maintaining streets, and for the removal of nuisances, etc.
An objection to the Metropolitan Board of Works soon became manifest, inasmuch as the system of election was indirect. Moreover, enquiry by a royal commis sion disclosed the inefficiency of the board in certain respects, and also indicated the existence of corruption. Reform followed immediately. In 1888 the Local Government Act, dealing with the area of the metropolis as a separate county, created the Lon don County Council as the central administrative body, possessing not only the powers of an ordinary county council, but also exten sive powers of town management, transferred to it from the abolished Board of Works. Here, then, was the central body,
under their direct control, which inhabitants of London had hitherto lacked. The council consists of 124 councillors elected triennially by the ratepayers, and 20 aldermen elected by the councillors and holding office for six years. A chairman, vice chairman, and deputy-chairman are elected in council.
The question of subsidiary coun cils remained to be settled after the act of 1888. The wealthier metropolitan parishes became discontented with the form of local government to which they remained subject, and in 1897 Ken sington and Westminster petitioned to be created boroughs by the grant of charters under the Municipal Corporation Acts. Instead, the London Government Act of 1899 was evolved. It brought into existence the 28 Metropolitan boroughs, so that the county of London may be regarded from the administrative stand point as consisting of 29 contiguous towns, counting the City of London. One of these, Westminster, became later a city in itself. As regards the distribution of powers and duties between the county council and the borough councils, and the constitution and working of each, the underlying principle may be briefly indicated as giving all powers and duties which require uniformity of action throughout the whole of London to the county council, and powers and duties that can be locally administered to the borough coun cils. Councils consist of a mayor and aldermen and councillors in proportion as one to six. The commonest numbers, which can not be exceeded, are Io to 6o. (See separate article on each bor ough.) Elections are triennial.
The legislation of 1855, 1888 and 1899 left the government of the small area of the City in the hands of an unreformed corporation. Here the mediaeval system, in spite of any anomalies with respect to mod ern conditions, has resisted reform, and no other municipal body shares the traditions and peculiar dignity of the City Corporation.
This consists of a lord mayor, 25 aldermen and 205 common coun cilmen, forming the Court of Common Council, which is the principal administrative body. Its scope may be briefly indicated as including (a) duties exercised elsewhere by the borough coun cils, and by the London County Council (although that body is by no means powerless within the City boundaries) ; and (b) peculiar duties such as control of markets and police. The elec tion of common councilmen, whose institution dates from the reign of Edward I., takes place annually, the electors being the ratepayers, divided among the 25 wards of the City. An alderman (q.v.) of each ward (save that the wards of Cripplegate Within and Without, share one) is elected for life. The lord mayor is now elected by the court of aldermen from two aldermen nominated in the court of common hall by the livery, an elec torate drawn from the members of the ancient trade gilds or livery companies (q.v.), which, through their control over the several trades or manufactures, had formerly an influence over the government of the city which from the time of Edward III. was paramount.