CITY OF LONDON

THE LAW AND THE CITY ... ... ...

'THE HOUSE' .,.

LONG AFTER WREN ...

BANKS AND THE COMMON MARKET... PROSPECT FROM TOWER GREEN Douglas M. Reid Lothbury Louis Wulff Peter H. Dickinson D. Wilsher

The Law and the City

By DOUGLAS M. REID

FOR a thousand years the law in the City of London has been maintained by its Alder- men. They are very special people. They are appointed for life. They sit alone.

It all seems much the same as in the general police-court system in Britain. In-reality there is a vital difference and it lies in the selection and powers of the magistracy. Elsewhere in England It is only the stipendiary magistrate, the profes- vtional lawyer, who adjudicates by himself. All 'tither magistrates, the normal justices of the peace, must sit two or more together to try a 'tase. Why, then, does a magistrate, who is not professional lawyer, sit in solitary dignity in the City of London? The answer lies in the almost unbroken tradition, custom and usage which goes back to the earliest times. The magistrate is an Alderman of the City of London.

Each Alderman represents a ward. In the year 1206 there were twenty-four wards. In 1394 Farringdon was divided, so that 'Farringdon Without' became an additional ward. In 1550 the City purchased the rights of the Crown at Southwark, thus creating the twenty-sixth ward, `Bridge Without.' That number has continued to this day and the same old names go on.

The Aldermen's unique position lies in their being elected for life. There was a short period in the fourteenth century when attempts were made with annual elections, but 'owing to the incon- venience arising from an entire change of Alder- men' the system slipped comfortably back to the old custom. Indeed, it is more than a custom. It is laid down by the Act of Parliament of March, 1394, and this law has remained in force for more than five and a half centuries. The main civic government was organised by the Aldermen and we see co-operating with them the two Sheriffs. As the strength of the corporate body of the City of London grew, so the Alder- men exercised functions that were both judicial and administrative. It is natural to wonder how the surging demands of the people throughout the country fitted in with all this. There appears to have been no difficulty because there wete two Other quite different planes in which full activity worked in the best interests of the whole com- monalty—in the Livery Companies and the Common Council.

The Livery Companies were originally the trade guilds. There are now over eighty of them. They proceeded in their lawful way to 'organise their individual trades throughout the centuries, combining the functions of master and crafts- man. They built headquarters for each trade in fine halls. They flourish today and in some cases still control or influence their trades, of which the Goldsmiths and the Fishmongers are ex- amples. But they do not come much into our story of the administration of law in the City. They run parallel. But they touch on it in two important things. It is the liverymen who elect the Lord Mayor. And the Aldermen are all liverymen. The total in the livery today is prob- ably 12,000.

The Common Council were originally the probi hombres, the best men of the wards. Ever since the twelfth century they have been assembled to deliberate sand assist in the govern- ment of the City. The Common Council is all- powerful today and administers the spending of a vast sum of money, having as its principal task for the time being the planning and re- building of the City. It is elected by the people. The Common Council can be understood as a normal local legislative body.

We have looked at these two quite separate governing or professional organisations, the Common Council and the Livery, because they are the background of it all. It was necessary to note them to lead up to the essential difference between the Aldermen of London and all other aldermen. It lies in the manner of their election. When death or resignation causes a vacancy for the Alderman of a ward there is an election by the ordinary local government electors of the ward. The candidate must be a freeman, which means that he is a liveryman or has been regis- tered as a freeman (which is easily done for a small registration fee). He must not be the Alderman of another ward. So, speaking gener- ally, anyone can be proposed for Alderman.

The declaration of the result is not the end of the matter. The elected candidate has to be confirmed by the Court of Aldermen. There have been three cases in fairly recent years in which the elected candidate has not been approved. No one even knows why. The Court of Aldermen consists of all the Aldermen. Presumably they have their rules of blackball or whatever it may be. Suffice it to say that the result emerges as their unanimous decision. If it is adverse, a new election has to fake place. If the elcciorate are obdurate and re-elect the rejected man again, the process is probably repeated. But it does not go on for ever. The Court of Aldermen, after these abortive elections, can choose an Alderman themselves and appoint him, and he becomes the lawfully appointed Alderman. In recent cases it has not been necessary. Another candidate has been elected and accepted.

There are two main reasons for this strange procedure: the appointment of a man for life, to adjudicate alone, and the fact that the Lord Mayor is chosen from the Aldermen. The Lord Mayor of London has duties of a national character. He presents himself for approval by the Sovereign. He entertains the Sovereign on high occasions. He takes an important place in the ceremony of the Coronation. He presides at the great banquets to visiting Heads of State from foreign countries. He must be prepared to set aside a large sum of money for the expense of his year of office. The Lord Mayor of London is a high dignitary of England. He must be chosen with great _care, and the critical choice is made when he is appointed as an Alderman. He then sees the duty that lies ahead of him and can estimate the years that will pass when in his turn he will become Lord Mayor.

The whole machinery of civil law is largely similar to that throughout England, with its own traditions and customs. All this has been maintained with little change through days of turmoil and civil war in the kingdom, through times of peril or of want. Horse traffic and the supply of the great markets through the cen- turies, sailing ships from distant countries make glamorous pictures, while the sordid lives of many are well drawn by Dickens. The days of the vicious living-in system, under which many thousands of clerks worked in warehouses and lived in them for a few shillings a week, dis- appeared with the First World War.

The days of widespread lawlessness, of forgers and coiners, of thieves and murderers have largely gone. No longer is there a large resident popu- lation in the City of London. It may not exceed 5,000. But during the work-day it may well be 600,000. Through all the changes the ancient framework of the City has adapted itself and yet remained little changed. We, of England, may well be proud of the government and free- dom of our Capital City.