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109
District Councils arrive "it must remain incomplete, and entirely
unsatisfactory," because the existing local authorities are
"practically uncontrolled, and no machinery exists for ensuring
any uniformity in the different parts of the county." No one
regrets more than myself the lack of present means to ensure
uniformity; but to say that the sanitary administration of London
is "entirely unsatisfactory" is to assert that which is contradicted
by many patent facts, to some of which I have alluded in the
Retrospect (1856-1889) at page 69. And whilst it is not open
to question that sanitary administration is capable of improvement,
the local authorities generally, can present a great record of
good work effected under powers which the County Council itself
finds inadequate to give effect to its own wishes, teste the foregoing
observations of the Sanitary Committee on the subject of bye-laws.
Much more doubtless will be done with the additional powers that
are likely to be conferred on District Councils; but it is scarcely
in the spirit of fairness to criticise sharply defects of administration
which are admittedly in large measure the result of defects of
law. Too much importance, however, must not be attached to the
reports of the Committees of the Council. Annual Report of the
Council itself, as required by law (Metropolis Management Act,
1855, sec. 200), signed by chairman or clerk, practically there is
none; for the interesting Addresses of the chairman summarising
the year's work of the Council* have no official validity; and the
several Committees, whose reports are interesting and even
valuable in the main, though they have authority to act in the
matters referred to them, have, after all, but a delegated authority,
without the right or the power, separately or in combination, to
speak with the voice of the Council. Unfortunately for the local
authorities these facts are unknown to the public who have been
aught for many a long year to underrate work of the nature and
extent of which they are for the most part supremely ignorant.
* "A Review of the past year's work of the Council, in a series of Addresses
delivered by the Earl of Rosebery, Chairman of the Council, in April and May, 1890
(printed by order of the Council)." Copies of this Review were sent to the Vestry
Clerk, by order of the Council, for distribution among the members of the
Vestry ; but the Vestry made request to the Council for copies of the "Annual
Report of the Proceedings of the Council" to be sent in accordance with the
established use of the Metropolitan Board of Works. The request could not be
complied with " so few copies having been printed."