Show LONDON tetter I the metropolis her ifer history GOT ern ment population tiou trades and doffs my our Gor respondent I EDITOR HERALD the earl early y history of london ia is lost in obscurity cu rity ity A city is known to have occupied its ita present site nearly 2000 years ago though it was not a place of much importance at the timo of julius casar about years after CT cakars sars invasion the 11 romans under claudius took possession of the city and called it augustus in honor of the prince in A D 61 the boadicea revolted captured and burned the city and massacred the in inhabitant ts it was booz rebuilt however and continued thereafter a place of some importance when the saxon monarchies were united in the person of egbert london became the C capital I i tal of the consolidated kingdom kingi do ni and as such it had ban since con linued after the battle of hastings the city submitted to william who granted it a charter still extinct the great conqueror it was who commenced BUILDING THE TOWER of london in 1078 under E edward dward I london wax was first divided into wards twenty four in number each of which choose common councilmen and an alderman its growth from that time became very rapid and soon it began to extend itself beyond the old limits and into the adjacent countie counties of essex surrey and kent the government of the city proper however has not extended much beyond its original blunda bounda boundaries its the outside parishes comprising an area at present a great many times larger than the cit city y being governed by separate authorities and possessing separate power powers THE government of the city proper ia u hetcko heterogeneous and complicated rendering it quite difficult to be understood it is practically a borough by prescription in which numerous rights prerogatives roga tives and powers have been vested by biffl different erent princes and perpetuated petua ted from time to time through the guilds aa as they were called a sort of a trades union that early sprang spring up among the wealthier classes of the community these guilds gu ildR formerly organized for the protection and development of trade and manufacture embracing artisans of every class clam soon began to possess themselves of political pow ers and as their wealth ani numbers increased became invested with the rights and prerogatives of the city government in early times the members of these guilds wore habiliments in form and color resembling the lord I L bayors la Sherl irs and from this custom tom they received the name of livery by which they are still known the they now number about and arid are divided into 70 76 guilds or companies com pinies many of whom are very wealthy TUEY CONTROL not only the government of the city but many of the leading commercial and stud industrial institutions of the city and metropolis t za rell the direct authority of the city government is vested in tho lord loid mayor the court of aldermen twenty five in number and members forming the court of common council the lord mayor is chosen annually from amona among the aldermen but is 11 eligible to reelee re elee elec tion the right of nominating namina ting two aldermen worthy of election to the dignity is restricted to those freemen of the city who have been admitted into the livery of their respective spec tive guilds or companies TUB TIN COURT OF or ALDERMEN then decide which of the two ia is to be promoted the candidate for the Alayo mayoralty ralty must also have been sheriff and the senior sheriff is gen brally advanced to this dignity the aldermen who hold their ol 01 office for life are elected one from each of the 26 divisions or wards ward s of the tb e city and all resident freemen are entitled to vote in the election for their ward whether they be liveryman liverymen Livery men or not the members of the common council are chosen annually by tho rate payers of the various vari oua wards the above is the government of the city i of london proper which covers an area of about acres and haa has a population of people the ori original inal city cit as enclosed within the walls was bout about one tenth this size the government of london within what Is known as the metropolitan po litsin area consists of the city corporation po ration the metropolitan board of works and 38 ostrica and district boards while various authorities too numerous nume rou to mention menti onex exercise acrel at jurisdiction on special matters over the whole area of the metropolis or in separate localities THE population of the metropolis s london according to the census of 1881 was at sit that time probably irwill it will now approximate five millions it then contained nearly houses and covered an area of one hundred square miles it employs e empl about cabs of various ace dc script ions for the special accommodation of its traveling public besides thousands of busses and hundreds of street cars the metropolitan railway under ground annually carries about sixty millions of people and yet the street pavements are a constantly and densely thronged thron ged with pedestrians that the least excitement such as a fire or row blocks all traffic and I compels tho the traveling public to go 00 om distance around through h a i de streets and alleys to reach resel their destination it iw hai nearly miles of water piping si it like amount of gas mains mains and miles of sewer sewers her iler inhabitants consume thou thousand sald hi head ad of cuttie cuttle and one oneace ar A one half lu millions sheep annually her ifer death rate in round numbers amount to CO 80 thousand per peran annum nuro and her births to thousand her present trade aggregates about ONH OND DOLLARS and her wealth cannot be estimated she annually expends over 20 mil lion fion dollars for the relief of her poor one hundred bundred thousand of whom daily receive assistance from hr public charities lon londona dons average daily consumption of coal in winter is ton which in certain states of the atmosphere produces a thick cloud of smoke that entirely excludes the aig light bt of the sun for days and nd VI with th t the approach of stor storms ms or fops toga descends dez feuds as a thick impenetrable and par partly aly poisonous mass of darkness during the fall and winter fo fogs ara are almost of daily occurrence and so dark and impenetrable do they become that traffic is almost entirely stopped and bm busin ineis cs measurably suspended during its continuance busses and cabs have to be lighted through the streets and pedestrians are sometimes compelled to rel rely y on guides u i des who pilot them about wi with th 91 lanterns sterns or barnin burning torches charging a small pittance for their services services today to day wo have been compelled to use ue the gag gas in order to see to write or read and the room is full of smoke and fog with the windows and doors all closed to chow show tho the evil EFFECTS or THESE FOGS roas even upon the native population I quote quota the following from a recent statistical report upon this subject during tho the fogs of 1879 80 isthma increased per cent bronchitis per cent aind and in the week ending february tb 1882 the death rate owing to the dense fogs rose from per cent to per cant cent discard of the respiratory organs rising to the corrected weekly average of this class of diseases being tho the evil is mainly due to the smoke of domestic fires I have just learned that a roan man has been instantly killed at penton ville tho the adjoining parish by being run over by an omnibus the papers in in co coTi mentin upon the present toga fogs refer to the casualties casu altie so frequently occurring during temo sea seasons souA and insist upon pon loiue nica eures of safety y being adopted T the I le chronicle advises in addition to the street lamps which arc are kept constantly st all t I y burning at such times two larger reflector lamps upon all passenger conveyances and adds that these fogs which frequently prevail herein here in winter not only bids bida objects at a few yards distance but often shut out the daylight day light so effectually that at nine in the tile morning it is a as dark as it is at the tame me bour in the evening respectfully your yours jos josa A W I LONDON nov ja 1882 I |