24: Local Government
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The French Revolution was condemned by Britain, and the voices raised
in its favour in Wales were few. The excesses of the Revolution, and
the widespread fear of a Napoleonic invasion, caused a strong
reaction against progress. The years immediately after were years of
great suffering, but the very suffering prepared the way for the
progress of the future, because it made men willing to leave their
own districts and to move into the coal and slate districts, where
wages were high enough to enable them to live.
The first demand was for political enfranchisement. In 1832, in
1867, and in 1884 the franchise was extended, and every interest
found a voice in Parliament. But, with the exception of the sharp
struggle between the tenant and landlord after the Reform Act of
1867, the effects of enfranchisement on Wales have been very few.
Two Acts alone have been passed as purely Welsh Acts—the Sunday
Closing Act, and the Intermediate Education Act. In Parliament, the
voice of Wales is weak even though unanimous; it can be outvoted by
the capital or by four English provincial towns. Until quite
recently its semi-independence—due to geography and past history—
was looked upon as a source of weakness to the Empire rather than of
strength. Its love for the past appeals to the one political party,
its desire for progress to the other, but its distinctive ideals and
its separate language are looked upon, at the very least, as
political misfortunes. Education and justice have suffered from
official want of toleration; the appointment of a County Court judge
who could not speak Welsh, within living memory, has been justified
by Government on the ground that Englishmen resident in Wales object
to being tried by a Welsh judge.
Far more important to Wales than the Reform Acts are the Local
Government Acts which followed them. When the Reform Act of 1884
added the agricultural labourer to the electors of representatives in
Parliament, every interest had a voice. A further extension of the
franchise would not affect the balance of parties, it was thought;
and a British Parliament has no time or desire to think of sentiment
or theoretical perfection. 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. One thing the
peasants had been allowed to do—they could build schools and
colleges, churches and chapels. They had filled the country with
these—their architecture, finance, government, are those of the
peasant. The religious revivals had left organisers and
institutions. Four or five religious bodies had a system of
institutions—parish, district, county, central. All these were
thoroughly democratic in character. When the Local Government Acts
were passed, there was hardly a Welshman of full age and average
ability who had not been a delegate or in authority; and those of
striking ability, if they could afford the time, continually sat in
some little council or other and watched over the interests of some
institution.
It was from among these trained men that the councillors for the new
county, district, and parish senates were elected. The work of the
councils, especially that of the County Council, has been very
difficult; and when the time comes to write their history, the
historian will have to set himself to explain why the first councils
were served by men who had extraordinary tact for government and
great skill in financial matters. In the lower councils the village
Hampden's eloquence is modified by the chilling responsibility for
the rates, but the Parish Councils have already, in many places, made
up for the negligence of generations of sleepy magistrates and
officials.
With a great difference, it is true, Wales under local government is
Wales back again in the times of the princes. The parish is roughly
the maenol, the district is the commote or the cantrev, the shire is
the little kingdom—like Ceredigion or Morgannwg—which fought so
sturdily against any attempt to subject it.
The local councils were fortunate in the time of their appearance.
They came at a period characterised by an intense desire for a better
system of education, and at a time of rapidly growing prosperity. A
heavy rate was possible, and the people were willing to bear it. The
County Councils were able to build over seventy intermediate schools
within a few years; and that at a time when both elementary and
higher education made heavy demands on what was still a comparatively
poor county. The District Councils were able to lower the amount of
outdoor relief considerably, and without causing any real hardship,
for they had knowledge of their districts as well as the philanthropy
that comes naturally to man when he grants other people's money. The
Parish Councils have become the guardians of public paths; they have
begun to provide parish libraries, and the little parish senate
educates its constituency and brings its wisdom to bear upon a number
of practical questions, such as cottage gardens and fairs.
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