The Parliament found it had too much to
do, the multiplicity of interests made it impossible to pay effective
attention to them. The result has been that half a century of
extension of the franchise has been followed by half a century of
extension of local government. The County Council Act came in 1888,
and the Local Government Act in 1894.
Of all parts of Britain, Wales had least local government, and needed
most. Its justices of the peace were alien in religion, race, and
sympathy; they were either country squires who had lost touch with
the people, or English and Scotch capitalists who, with rare
exceptions, took no trouble to understand the people they governed,
or to learn their language. The vestry meeting had been active
enough during the early part of the eighteenth century; but religious
difficulties made it impossible for a semi-ecclesiastical institution
to represent a parish. The Tudor policy had separated the people
from the greater land-owners; the iron masters and coal-owners had
not yet become part of the people; there was not a single institution
except the Eisteddvod where all classes met.
In no part of the country was local government so warmly welcomed,
and no part of the country was more ready for it.
Pages:
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125