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<v Speaker 1>Chapter fifteen A of Considerations on Representative Government. This LibriVox

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<v Speaker 1>recording is in the public domain. Considerations on Representative Government

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<v Speaker 1>by John Stuart Mill, Chapter fifteen A of local representative bodies.

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<v Speaker 1>It is but a small portion of the public business

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<v Speaker 1>of a country which can be well done or safely

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<v Speaker 1>attempted by the central authorities, And even in our own government,

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<v Speaker 1>the least centralized in Europe, the legislative portion, at least

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<v Speaker 1>of the governing body busies itself far too much with

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<v Speaker 1>local affairs, employing the supreme power of the state in

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<v Speaker 1>cutting small knots which there ought to be other and

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<v Speaker 1>better means of untying. The enormous amount of private business

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<v Speaker 1>which takes up the time of Parliament and the thoughts

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<v Speaker 1>of its individual members, distracting them from the proper occupations

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<v Speaker 1>of the Great Council of the Nation, is felt by

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<v Speaker 1>all thinkers and observers as a serious evil, and, what

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<v Speaker 1>is worse, an increasing one. It would not be appropriate

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<v Speaker 1>to the limited design of this treatise to discuss at

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<v Speaker 1>large the great question, in no way peculiar to representative government,

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<v Speaker 1>of the proper limits of governmental action. I have said

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<v Speaker 1>elsewhere footnote on Liberty concluding chapter, and at greater length

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<v Speaker 1>in the final chapter of Principles of Political Economy end footnote.

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<v Speaker 1>What seemed to me most essential respecting the principles by

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<v Speaker 1>which the extent of that action ought to be determined.

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<v Speaker 1>But after subtracting from the functions performed by most European

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<v Speaker 1>governments those which ought not to be undertaken by public

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<v Speaker 1>authorities at all, there still remains so great and various

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<v Speaker 1>an aggregate of duties that if only on the principle

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<v Speaker 1>of division of labor, it is indispensable to share them

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<v Speaker 1>between central and local authorities. Not solely are separate executive

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<v Speaker 1>officers required for purely local duties, an amount of separation

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<v Speaker 1>which exists under all governments. But the popular control over

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<v Speaker 1>those officers can only be advantageously exerted through a separate

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<v Speaker 1>organ Their original appointment, the function of watching and checking them,

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<v Speaker 1>the duty of providing, or the discretion of withholding the

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<v Speaker 1>supplies necessary for their operations, should rest not with the

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<v Speaker 1>national Parliament or the national executive, but with the people

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<v Speaker 1>of the locality. That the people should exercise these functions

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<v Speaker 1>directly and personally is evidently inadmissible. Administration by the assembled

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<v Speaker 1>people is a relic of barbarism, opposed to the whole

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<v Speaker 1>spirit of modern life. Yet so much has the course

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<v Speaker 1>of English institutions depended on accident that this primitive mode

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<v Speaker 1>of local government remained the general rule in parochial matters

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<v Speaker 1>up to the present generation, and having never been legally abolished,

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<v Speaker 1>probably subsists unaltered in many rules or parishes. Even now.

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<v Speaker 1>There remains the plan of representative sub parliaments for local affairs,

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<v Speaker 1>and these must henceforth be considered as one of the

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<v Speaker 1>fundamental institutions of a free government. They exist in England,

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<v Speaker 1>but vary incompletely and with great irregularity and want of system.

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<v Speaker 1>In some other countries, much less popularly governed, their constitution

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<v Speaker 1>is far more rational. In England there has always been

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<v Speaker 1>more liberty but worse organization, while in other countries there

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<v Speaker 1>is better organization but less liberty. It is necessary, then,

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<v Speaker 1>that in addition to the national representation, there should be

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<v Speaker 1>municipal and provisional representations. And the two questions which remain

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<v Speaker 1>to be resolved are how the local representative bodies should

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<v Speaker 1>be constituted and what should be the extent of their functions.

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<v Speaker 1>In considering these questions, two points require an equal degree

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<v Speaker 1>of our attention how the local business itself can be

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<v Speaker 1>best done, and how its transaction can be made most

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<v Speaker 1>instrumental to the nourishment of public spirit and the development

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<v Speaker 1>of intelligence. In an earlier part of this inquiry, I

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<v Speaker 1>have dwelt in strong language. Hardly any language is strong

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<v Speaker 1>enough to express the strength of my conviction on the

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<v Speaker 1>importance of that portion of the operation of free institutions,

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<v Speaker 1>which may be called the public education of the citizens.

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<v Speaker 1>Now of this operation, the local administrative institutions are the

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<v Speaker 1>chief instrument, except by the part they may take as

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<v Speaker 1>jurymen in the administration of justice. The mass of the

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<v Speaker 1>population have very little opportunity of sharing personally in the

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<v Speaker 1>conduct of the general affairs of the community, reading newspapers

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<v Speaker 1>and perhaps writing to them. Public meetings and solicitations of

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<v Speaker 1>different sorts addressed to the political authorities are the extent

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<v Speaker 1>of the participation of private citizens in general or politics

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<v Speaker 1>during the interval between one parliamentary election and another. Though

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<v Speaker 1>it is impossible to exaggerate the importance of these various liberties,

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<v Speaker 1>both as securities for freedom and as means of general cultivation,

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<v Speaker 1>the practice which they give is more in thinking than

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<v Speaker 1>in action, and in thinking without the responsibilities of action,

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<v Speaker 1>which with most people amounts to little more than passively

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<v Speaker 1>receiving the thoughts of someone else. But in the case

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<v Speaker 1>of local bodies, besides the function of electing, many citizens

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<v Speaker 1>in turn have the chance of being elected, and many,

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<v Speaker 1>either by selection or by rotation, fill one or other

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<v Speaker 1>of the numerous local executive offices. In these positions, they

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<v Speaker 1>have to act for public interests, as well as to

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<v Speaker 1>think and to speak, and the thinking cannot all be

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<v Speaker 1>done by proxy. It may be added that these local functions,

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<v Speaker 1>not being in general sought by the higher ranks, carry

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<v Speaker 1>down the important political education, which they are the means

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<v Speaker 1>of conferring to a much lower grade in society, the

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<v Speaker 1>mental discipline being thus a more important feature in local

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<v Speaker 1>concerns than in the general affairs of the state. While

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<v Speaker 1>there are not such vital interests dependent on the quality

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<v Speaker 1>of the administration, a greater weight may be given to

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<v Speaker 1>the former consideration, and the latter admits much more frequently

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<v Speaker 1>of being postponed to it than in matters of general

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<v Speaker 1>legislation and the conduct of imperial affairs. The proper constitution

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<v Speaker 1>of local representative bodies does not present much difficulty. The

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<v Speaker 1>principles which apply to it do not differ in any

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<v Speaker 1>respect from those applicable to the national representation. The same

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<v Speaker 1>obligation exists as in the case of the more important

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<v Speaker 1>function for making the bodies elective, and the same reasons

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<v Speaker 1>operate as in that case, but with still greater force

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<v Speaker 1>for giving them a widely democratic basis, the dangers being less,

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<v Speaker 1>and the advantages in point of populace, our education, and

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<v Speaker 1>cultivation in some respects even greater. As the principal duty

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<v Speaker 1>of the local bodies consists of the imposition and expenditure

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<v Speaker 1>of local taxation, the electoral franchise should vest in all

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<v Speaker 1>who contribute to the local rates, to the exclusion of

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<v Speaker 1>all who do not. I assume that there is no

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<v Speaker 1>indirect taxation, no Octroe duties, or that if there are,

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<v Speaker 1>they are supplementary only those on whom their burden falls,

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<v Speaker 1>being also rated to a direct assessment. The representation of

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<v Speaker 1>minorities should be provided for in the same manner as

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<v Speaker 1>in the National Parliament, and there are the same strong

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<v Speaker 1>reasons for plurality of votes. Only there is not so

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<v Speaker 1>decisive an objection in the inferior as in the higher

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<v Speaker 1>body to making the plural voting depend, as in some

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<v Speaker 1>of the local elections of our own country, on a

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<v Speaker 1>mere money qualification. For the honest and frugal dispensation of

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<v Speaker 1>money forms so much such a larger part of the

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<v Speaker 1>business of the local than of the national body, that

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<v Speaker 1>there is more justice as well as policy, in allowing

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<v Speaker 1>a greater proportional influence to those who have a larger

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<v Speaker 1>money interest at stake. In the most recently established of

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<v Speaker 1>our local representative institutions, the boards of Guardians the Justices

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<v Speaker 1>of Peace of the district ex officio, along with the

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<v Speaker 1>elected members in number limited by law to a third

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<v Speaker 1>of the whole in the peculiar constitution of English society,

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<v Speaker 1>I have no doubt of the beneficial effect of this provision.

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<v Speaker 1>It secures the presence in these bodies of a more

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<v Speaker 1>educated class than it would perhaps be practicable to attract

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<v Speaker 1>thither on any other terms. And while the limitation in

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<v Speaker 1>number of the ex officio members precludes them from acquiring

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<v Speaker 1>predominance by mere numerical strength, they as a virtual representation

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<v Speaker 1>of another class, having sometimes a different interest from the rest,

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<v Speaker 1>are a check upon them. Class interests of the farmers

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<v Speaker 1>or petty shopkeepers who form the bulk of the elected guardians.

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<v Speaker 1>A similar commendation cannot be given to the Constitution of

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<v Speaker 1>the only provincial boards we possess, the Quarter Sessions, consisting

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<v Speaker 1>of the Justices of Peace alone, on whom over and

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<v Speaker 1>above their judicial duties some of the most important parts

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<v Speaker 1>of the administrative business of the country depend for their performance.

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<v Speaker 1>The mode of formation of these bodies is most anomalous,

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<v Speaker 1>they being neither elected nor in any proper sense of

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<v Speaker 1>the term nominated, but holding their important functions like the

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<v Speaker 1>feudal lords to whom they succeeded virtually by right of

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<v Speaker 1>their acres, the appointment vested in the crown, or speaking

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<v Speaker 1>practically in one of themselves, the Lord Lieutenant being made

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<v Speaker 1>use of only as a means of excluding anyone who,

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<v Speaker 1>it is thought would do discredit to the body, or

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<v Speaker 1>now and then one who is on the wrong side.

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<v Speaker 1>In politics, the Institution is the most aristocratic in principle

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<v Speaker 1>which now remains in England, far more so than the

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<v Speaker 1>House of Lords, for it grants public money and disposes

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<v Speaker 1>of important public interests, not in conjunction with a popular assembly,

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<v Speaker 1>but alone. It is clung to with proportionate tenacity by

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<v Speaker 1>our aristocratic classes, but is obviously at variance with all

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<v Speaker 1>the principles which are the foundation of representative government. In

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<v Speaker 1>a county board, there is not the same justification as

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<v Speaker 1>in boards of guardians for even an admixture of ex

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<v Speaker 1>officio with elected members, Since the business of a county

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<v Speaker 1>being on a sufficiently large scale to be an object

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<v Speaker 1>of interest and attraction to country gentlemen, they would have

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<v Speaker 1>no more difficulty in getting themselves elected to the board

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<v Speaker 1>than they have in being returned to Parliament as county members.

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<v Speaker 1>In regard to the proper circumscription of the constituencies which

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<v Speaker 1>elect the local representative bodies, principle which when applied as

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<v Speaker 1>an exclusive and unbending rule to parliamentary representation, is inappropriate, namely,

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<v Speaker 1>community of local interests is here the only just an

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<v Speaker 1>applicable one. The very object of having a local representation

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<v Speaker 1>is in order that those who have any interest in

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<v Speaker 1>common which they do not share with the general body

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<v Speaker 1>of their countrymen may manage that joint interest by themselves,

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<v Speaker 1>and the purpose is contradicted if the distribution of the

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<v Speaker 1>local representation follows any other rule than the grouping of

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<v Speaker 1>those joint interests. There are local interests peculiar to every town,

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<v Speaker 1>whether great or small, and common to all its inhabitants.

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<v Speaker 1>Every town, therefore, without distinction of size, ought to have

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<v Speaker 1>its municipal council. It is equally obvious that every town

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<v Speaker 1>ought to have but one. The different quarters of the

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<v Speaker 1>same town have seldom or never any material diversities of

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<v Speaker 1>local interest. They all require to have the same things done,

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<v Speaker 1>the same expenses incurred, And except as to their churches,

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<v Speaker 1>which it is probably desirable to leave under simply parochial management,

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<v Speaker 1>the same arrangements may be made to serve for all paving, lighting,

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<v Speaker 1>water supply, drainage, port and market regulations cannot, without great

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<v Speaker 1>waste and inconvenience, be different for different quarters of the

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<v Speaker 1>same town. The subdivision of London into six or seven

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<v Speaker 1>independent districts, each with its separate arrangements for local business,

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<v Speaker 1>several of them without unity of administration even within themselves,

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<v Speaker 1>prevents the possibility of consecutive or well regulated cooperation for

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<v Speaker 1>common objects, precludes any uniform principle for the discharge of

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<v Speaker 1>local duties, compels the general government to take things upon

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<v Speaker 1>itself which would be best left to local authorities. If

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<v Speaker 1>there were any whose authority extended to the entire metropolis,

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<v Speaker 1>and answers no purpose but to keep up the fantastical

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<v Speaker 1>trappings of that union of modern jobbing and antiquated foppery,

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<v Speaker 1>the Corporation of the City of London. Another equally important

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<v Speaker 1>principle is that in each local circumscription there should be

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<v Speaker 1>but one elective body for all local business, not different

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<v Speaker 1>bodies for different parts of it. Division of labor does

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<v Speaker 1>not mean cutting up every business into minute fractions. It

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<v Speaker 1>means the union of such operations as are fit to

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<v Speaker 1>be performed by the same persons, and the separation of

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<v Speaker 1>such as can be better performed by different persons. The

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<v Speaker 1>executive duties of the locality do indeed require to be

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<v Speaker 1>divided into departments for the same reason as those of

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<v Speaker 1>the state, because they are of diverse kinds, each requiring

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<v Speaker 1>knowledge peculiar to itself and needing for its due performance

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<v Speaker 1>the undivided attention of a specially qualified functionary. But the

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<v Speaker 1>reasons for subdivision which apply to the execute ution do

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<v Speaker 1>not apply to the control. The business of the elective

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<v Speaker 1>body is not to do the work, but to see

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<v Speaker 1>that it is properly done, and that nothing necessary is

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<v Speaker 1>left undone. This function can be fulfilled for all departments

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<v Speaker 1>by the same superintending body, and by a collective and

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<v Speaker 1>comprehensive far better than by a minute and microscopic view.

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<v Speaker 1>It is as absurd in public affairs as it would

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<v Speaker 1>be in private that every workman should be looked after

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<v Speaker 1>by a superintendent to himself. The government of the Crown

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<v Speaker 1>consists of many departments, and there are many ministers to

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<v Speaker 1>conduct them. But those ministers have not a parliament a

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<v Speaker 1>peace to keep them to their duty. The local, like

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<v Speaker 1>the national parliament, has for its proper business, to consider

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<v Speaker 1>the interest of the locality as a whole, composed of parts,

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<v Speaker 1>all of which must be adapted to one another, and

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<v Speaker 1>attended to in the order and ratio of their importance.

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<v Speaker 1>There is another very weighty reason for uniting the content

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<v Speaker 1>control of all the business of a locality under one body.

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<v Speaker 1>The greatest imperfection of popular local institutions, and the chief

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<v Speaker 1>cause of the failure which so often attends them, is

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<v Speaker 1>the low caliber of the men by whom they are

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<v Speaker 1>almost always carried on. That these should be of a

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<v Speaker 1>very miscellaneous character is indeed part of the usefulness of

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<v Speaker 1>the institution. It is that circumstance chiefly which renders it

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<v Speaker 1>a school of political capacity and general intelligence. But a

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<v Speaker 1>school supposes teachers as well as scholars. The utility of

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<v Speaker 1>the instruction greatly depends on its bringing inferior minds into

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<v Speaker 1>contact with superior a contact which, in the ordinary course

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<v Speaker 1>of life is altogether exceptional, and the want of which

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<v Speaker 1>contributes more than anything else, to keep the generality of

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<v Speaker 1>mankind on one level of contented ignorance. The school, moreover,

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<v Speaker 1>is worthless and a school of evil instead of good, if,

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<v Speaker 1>through the want of due surveillance and of the presence

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<v Speaker 1>within itself of a higher order of characters, the action

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<v Speaker 1>of the body is allowed, as it so often is,

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<v Speaker 1>to degenerate into an equally unscrupulous and stupid pursuit of

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<v Speaker 1>the self interest of its members. Now, it is quite

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<v Speaker 1>hopeless to induce persons of a high class, either socially

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<v Speaker 1>or intellectually, to take a share of local administration in

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<v Speaker 1>a corner by piecemeal, as members of a paving board

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<v Speaker 1>or a drainage commission. The entire local business of their

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<v Speaker 1>town is not more than a sufficient object to induce

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<v Speaker 1>men whose tastes incline them, and whose knowledge qualifies them

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<v Speaker 1>for national affairs, to become members of a mere local body,

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<v Speaker 1>and devote to it the time and study which are

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<v Speaker 1>necessary to render their presence anything more than a screen

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<v Speaker 1>for the jobbing of inferior persons under the shelter of

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<v Speaker 1>their responsibility. A mere board of works, though it comprehend,

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<v Speaker 1>the entire metropolis is sure to be composed of the

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<v Speaker 1>same class of persons as the vestries of the law

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<v Speaker 1>and perishes. Nor is it practicable or even desirable that

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<v Speaker 1>such should not form the majority. But it is important

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<v Speaker 1>for every purpose which local bodies are designed to serve,

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<v Speaker 1>whether it be enlightened and honest performance of their special

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<v Speaker 1>duties or the cultivation of the political intelligence of the nation,

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<v Speaker 1>that every such body should contain a portion of the

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<v Speaker 1>very best minds of the locality, who are thus brought

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<v Speaker 1>into perpetual contact of the most useful kind with minds

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<v Speaker 1>of a lower grade, receiving from them what local or

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<v Speaker 1>professional knowledge they have to give, and in return inspiring

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<v Speaker 1>them with a portion of their own more enlarged ideas

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<v Speaker 1>and higher and more enlightened purposes. End of Chapter fifteen.

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<v Speaker 1>A recording by Bill Burst