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that this alteration would be, in a measure, a return to the
ancient principle of election by wards, that the District
assessed would be directly represented on the Board, and
that the adoption of the same area for a twofold purpose
would be a step in the direction of simplifying the existing
confusion with regard to areas for different local government
purposes in the Metropolis. The Yestry accordingly opposed
the suggestion of the St. Pancras Yestry, and asked the
Education Department to adopt the Rating District as the
electoral area in any Bill which might be introduced to vary
the present Electoral Districts of the School Board.
The views expressed above in opposition to the proposal of
the St. Pancras Yestry, apply with equal force to the proposal
of the School Board for London (embodied in the
School Board for London Election Bill) to increase the
number of Electoral Districts, as these districts would be
arbitrary divisions, in scarcely one instance agreeing in
boundary with a local area for any other purpose whatsoever.
In the opinion of the Vestry, the various diverse areas for
different local purposes form one of the weakest points in
the existing system of local government of London, and to
increase this diversity would only add to the confusion.
IMPUTATIONS ON THE METROPOLITAN BOARD
OF WORKS.
In the course of the summer, letters were received from
various Yeetries and District Boards, calling attention to
certain statements which had appeared in the public press,
reflecting upon the manner in which the Metropolitan Board
of Works had dealt with their surplus lands, and suggesting
the appointment of a Royal Commission to enquire into the
whole subject. The question was taken into consideration