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36
BOROUGH OF PADDINGTON.
Empire, and it can scarcely be denied that, speaking
broadly, the character of Public Authorities has not
been so commensurate with the importance of their
duties as has been the case with similar bodies in
other towns and cities. It is possible that the explanation
of this state of things is to be found in the
fact that the duties hitherto assigned to Local Authorities
have been comparatively uninteresting, that they
have gradually developed from insignificant beginnings,
and that in spite of great improvement in recent
years, Vestries and Local Boards have not in some
cases acquired much importance in public estimation.
It has always been recognised that the peculiar circumstances
connected with London, involve certain
duties being entrusted to a central Authority, and
certain other duties being assigned to Local Bodies.
These Local Authorities largely owe their origin to
miscellaneous Acts of Parliament passed from time to
time, more with a view to the needs of particular
districts, than with any underlying recognition of
a consistent scheme of London Government as a
whole.
Partly in consequence of their somewhat haphazard
origin, and partly because of the relative unattractive¬ness
of the duties assigned to them, the transactions
ot Local Boards have failed to attract general interest.
Whether these facts are cause or consequence of the