View report page

79
District Council would be charged with the administration
of all matters relating, directly and indirectly, to the public
health. The advantages likely to accrue from a complete
re-organisation of local government on these lines are so
obvious, that the Yestry trust that the opportunity of
effecting a complete reform will not be lost.
“MAIN ROADS.”
At the request of the Chelsea Vestry, three members were
appointed to attend a conference on the subject of the future
maintenance of “Main Roads” in London.
The Local Government Act, 1888 (sec. 11), transfers the
maintenance and repair of main roads to the County Council,
power being reserved to the Vestries and District Boards of
the Metropolis (sec. 41) either to retain the powers and
duties of maintaining and repairing the main roads, or to
agree with the Council to carry out the work.
A “Main Road” for the purpose of these enactments is
either a road which was disturnpiked between the 31st
December, 1870, and August, 1878, or one which for sufficient
cause has been declared by the County Authority to be
a main road, and as such repairable at the expense of the
County. At present there are no “Main Roads” in St.
James's, and the total length of such roads in the whole
Metropolis is under 12 miles, but if the County Council
exercise the power vested in them and declare the leading
arteries of traffic to be “Main Roads,” and therefore maintainable
either entirely or partially at the cost of the whole
Metropolis instead of the Parish, it is evident that the burden
of local taxation will be largely shifted. The extent and
manner in which the burden is shifted will depend partly on
the principle adopted by the County Council in declaring