View report page

17
your issue of Saturday under the above heading, upon
the proceedings taken at the last meeting of this
Vestry on a letter from the Fulham District Board of
Works, inviting the Vestry to appoint delegates to a
conference to urge upon the Ministry, before the
Municipality of London Bill be settled, the necessity
of providing for the continuance of local self-government.
Mr. Store states that this Yestry declined the
invitation on the ground that "the Ministry would not
be influenced by, or pay attention to, the opinions or
suggestions of any of those who have borne the burden
of local administration." Whence Mr. Storr derives
his information I am at a loss to know. The reason
given by him was certainly not given at this Yestry.
The feeling of the Vestry was that it was too late to
influence the Government in shaping their measure,
seeing that the Conference could hardly meet before
the introduction of the Bill into Parliament, and the
Yestry therefore passed a resolution to take no action
until the Billisbefore them, and they become acquainted
with the proposal of the Government.
This Yestry are as anxious as any Board can be that
full local self-government should be preserved to the
local governing bodies of the Metropolis, believing, as
they do, in "local men for local affairs," and that any
scheme for the future government of London, to be
useful and satisfactory, should embody this principle.
They feel, and have long felt, that what is wanted is
a greater development of this principle—greater power
—a greater development of the municipal spirit and
status in administrative areas, their duties and functions
being analogous to those of provincial municipalities,
many of which are not to be compared with the London
parishes as regards wealth and population.
This Yestry hope, and have reason to believe, from