CURRENT LITERATURE.
LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT.
Local and Central Government : a Comparative Study of England, Prance, Prussia, and the United States. By Percy Ashley. (John Murray. 10s. 6d. net.)—Mr. Ashley's book belongs to a class which deserves a welcome from all students of politics. We know far too little of the ways of our neighbours, and are far too distrustful of the comparative method. If Franee or Germany has made an experiment which we are contemplating, it is well to investigate its nature and results before we begin. The recent Blue-book on Foreign Income-tax is the kind of method which we would be glad to see largely followed in our public life. Mr. Ashley provides us with an accurate account of the administration, local and central, of England,— a subject which is often little understood even by those who take official part in it. Local self-government has goes further in this country than elsewhere, but the theory which governs it is unlike that prevailing among our neighbours. English local authorities regard themselves as carrying out the law according to the will of the local inhabitants; in France and Prussia the same authorities carry out the will of the central Government. In England, again, local authorities are given a specific grant of power ; while on the Continent they exercise their discretion subject to the approval of the higher authorities. In England, that is, fresh powers can only be got from the Legisla- ture; abroad, from the higher bureaucracy. Control, again, in England is judicial ; abroad, administrative; and while a remedy against an authority must in England be sought before the ordinary Courts, in France and Prussia the appeal is to special administrative tribunals. We commend Mr. Ashley's intro- ductory chapter as a very full and clear statement of the different theories of local administration. His sketch of the systems in vogue in the four countries he has selected is equally good, and forms, to our mind, a most valuable guide to a difficult subject. With his suggestion for reform in England by means of the grouping of authorities in larger areas we are in full agreement. In addition to his analysis, he provides short historical summaries, and he has an admirable chapter on "Administrative Law," in
which he does full justice to certain merits which the Continental practice undoubtedly possesses. It is too often forgotten by critics of the system that administrative Courts are legal tribunals, and that the system of law which is being built up in them is animated by the true legal spirit. In conclusion, we would specially recommend the chapter on "The Control of Local Finance," a matter of very vital importance today. The accounts of English municipal boroughs are exempted from any Govern- mental audit, and such auditors as are appointed have no power to disallow or surcharge. The only remedy for the ratepayers is an appeal by writ of certiorari to the High Court. There is much to be said for the French system, where local Councils have not only their accounts examined at the end of each year, but are compelled to prepare a budget in advance, which must be approved by the Ministry of the Interior.
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