Royal Commission on the City of London
Encyclopedia
The Royal Commission on the Corporation of the City of London was a Royal Commission
, established in 1853, which considered the local government arrangements of the City of London
and the surrounding metropolitan area.
Three commissioners were appointed by letters patent
under the Great Seal on 20 June 1853, to enquire into the existing state of the Corporation of the city of London. The commissioners were Henry Labouchere
, Sir John Patteson and George Cornewall Lewis. The secretary was J D Coleridge
The commission's report was sent to the Home Office
on 28 April 1854.
The findings of the report led to the creation of the Metropolitan Board of Works
by the Metropolis Management Act 1855
. The call to create municipal boroughs based on parliamentary representation was rejected.
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
, established in 1853, which considered the local government arrangements of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and the surrounding metropolitan area.
Three commissioners were appointed by letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
under the Great Seal on 20 June 1853, to enquire into the existing state of the Corporation of the city of London. The commissioners were Henry Labouchere
Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton
Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton PC was a prominent British Whig and Liberal Party politician of the mid-19th century.-Background and education:...
, Sir John Patteson and George Cornewall Lewis. The secretary was J D Coleridge
John Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge
John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge PC was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He held the posts, in turn, of Solicitor General for England and Wales, Attorney General for England and Wales, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Lord Chief Justice of England.-Background and...
The commission's report was sent to the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
on 28 April 1854.
Report
The commission's report ([1772] HC (1854) xxvi) made thirty-two recommendations:- A governing charter be granted to the City of London. The city had no charter as such, being regulated by an inspeximus of Charles IICharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
which recited previous charters without detailing them. Consequently, there was uncertainty to the exact rights, powers and privileges of the corporation. - The method of election of the Lord Mayor should be altered to conform with the Municipal Corporations Act 1835Municipal Corporations Act 1835The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...
. - The method of electing aldermenAldermanAn alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
should be reformed: each alderman should be elected for a six-year term by the burgesses, with one alderman elected in each ward. As in municipal boroughMunicipal boroughMunicipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
s, aldermen would be ex officio justices of the peaceJustice of the PeaceA justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
. - Stipendiary magistrates for the city should be appointed in a similar way to the rest of England.
- The Court of AldermenCourt of AldermenThe Court of Aldermen is an elected body forming part of the City of London Corporation. The Court of Aldermen is made up of the twenty five Aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor...
should be abolished, with its powers transferred to the Common Council. - The number of wards of the city should be reduced, to between 12 and 16. The new wards would be of broadly similar area and population, with boundaries fixed by local inquiry.
- The size of the Common Council would be reduced, and it would absorb the Court of Aldermen. The new Common Council would have three common councilmen and one alderman for each ward.
- The electors for council elections should be all occupiers with a rateable value of 10 shillings or more, with no additional qualification.
- Elections in "Common Hall" should be abolished: this would end the influence of the livery companiesLivery CompanyThe Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...
on the corporation. - The common council should continue to elect two sheriffs for the county of MiddlesexMiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. - The Lord Mayor's court and Sheriff's Court should be consolidated.
- The Court of Hustings should be abolished.
- The Court of St Martin's-le-Grand should be abolished.
- The prohibition on anyone not a freeman of London to carry on a trade or handicraft in the city should be lifted.
- The corporation should no longer be entitled to "metage" or duty on all fruit, grain and "measurable goods" landed on either side of the River ThamesRiver ThamesThe River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
from StainesStainesStaines is a Thames-side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and Greater London Urban Area, as well as the London Commuter Belt of South East England. It is a suburban development within the western bounds of the M25 motorway and located 17 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in...
to Yantlet creek in Kent. - The Fellowship of Porters should be dissolved.
- Brokers should not be admitted as aldermen.
- All street tolls on carts entering or leaving the city should be abolished.
- The City of LondonCity of London PoliceThe City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, England, including the Middle and Inner Temple. The service responsible for law enforcement within the rest of Greater London is the Metropolitan Police Service, a separate...
and Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan policeMetropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
Forces should be amalgamated. - The Conservancy of the Thames should be transferred from the Corporation to a new Thames Navigation Board consisting of the Lord Mayor, First Lord of the Admiralty, President of the Board of Trade, First Commissioner of WoodsFirst Commissioner of Woods and ForestsThe Commissioners of Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues were established in the United Kingdom in 1810 by merging the former offices of Surveyor General of Woods, Forests, Parks, and Chases and Surveyor General of the Land Revenues of the Crown into a three-man commission...
and the Deputy Master of Trinity HouseTrinity HouseThe Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
. - The exclusive privileges of the company of Watermen and Lightermen on the Thames should be abolished.
- The Corporation's accounts should be consolidated, as there was "an unnecessary complexity in the keeping of the city accounts and in the administration of its affairs is produced by the multiplication of departments and separate funds."
- The money and securities of the Corporation should be lodged in the Bank of EnglandBank of EnglandThe Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
. - Auditors should be appointed in a manner consistent with Municipal Corporations Act 1835.
- The provisions of the 1835 legislation in relation to mortgages on land and to making annual returns should be extended to the city.
- The Honourable The Irish SocietyThe Honourable The Irish SocietyThe Honourable The Irish Society is the organisation created by royal charter consisting of members nominated by livery companies of the City of London, set up to colonise County Londonderry during the plantation of Ulster. Notably it was involved in the construction of the city of Londonderry,...
should be dissolved, and its properties administered as a trust established by parliament, with trustees appointed by the Lord Chancellor of IrelandLord Chancellor of IrelandThe office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801 it was also the highest political office of the Irish Parliament.-13th century:...
. - The boundaries of the City of London should not be altered, but its control over the Borough of SouthwarkSouthwarkSouthwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
should be ended. - The remainder of the metropolis should be divided into districts for municipal purposes. The boundaries of the districts should correspond with the seven metropolitan parliamentary boroughs: FinsburyFinsbury (UK Parliament constituency)The parliamentary borough of Finsbury was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1885, and from 1918 to 1950. The constituency created in 1832 included part of the county of Middlesex north of the City of London and was named after the Finsbury...
, GreenwichGreenwich (UK Parliament constituency)Greenwich was a parliamentary constituency in South-East London, which returned Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1997 by the first past the post system.-History:...
, LambethLambeth (UK Parliament constituency)Lambeth was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Lambeth district of South London. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.-History:...
, MaryleboneMarylebone (UK Parliament constituency)Marylebone was a parliamentary constituency in Middlesex, England from 1832 to 1885. The parliamentary borough formed part of the built up area of London, and returned two members to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, SouthwarkSouthwark (UK Parliament constituency)Southwark was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Southwark district of South London. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the English Parliament from 1295 to 1707, to the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, Tower HamletsTower Hamlets (UK Parliament constituency)Tower Hamlets was a parliamentary borough constituency in, Middlesex, England from 1832 to 1885. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
and WestminsterWestminster (UK Parliament constituency)Westminster was a parliamentary constituency in the Parliament of England to 1707, the Parliament of Great Britain 1707-1800 and the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801. It returned two members to 1885 and one thereafter....
. The districts would be governed by a "municipal body". - A Metropolitan Board of Works should be established consisting of a number of members deputed from the "municipal bodies" and the Common Council.
- The coal duties of the corporation of London should be transferred to the Metropolitan Board.
- The Metropolitan Board should be empowered to levy a rate for public works of "general metropolitan utility".
- No works should be performed by the Metropolitan Board without the sanction of the Privy councilPrivy councilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
.
The findings of the report led to the creation of the Metropolitan Board of Works
Metropolitan Board of Works
The Metropolitan Board of Works was the principal instrument of London-wide government from 1855 until the establishment of the London County Council in 1889. Its principal responsibility was to provide infrastructure to cope with London's rapid growth, which it successfully accomplished. The MBW...
by the Metropolis Management Act 1855
Metropolis Management Act 1855
The Metropolis Management Act 1855 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Metropolitan Board of Works, a London-wide body to co-ordinate the construction of the city's infrastructure. The Act also created a second tier of local government consisting of parish vestries...
. The call to create municipal boroughs based on parliamentary representation was rejected.