16th Jan.
Some months ago' Lord Avebury wrote an article in the " Contemporary Review" with the express purpose of showing that the incursion of municipalities into the region of "private" trading was nob a thing either to be desired or defended, He adduced the stock arguments against the spread of what he considered the pernicious system, under which towns and cities depend upon their own efforts rather than a the goodwill of private individuals or joint stock companies. He pointed out the narrowing of private enterprise which municipal trading must entail, but he did not notice apparently that capital barred out in one direction will immediately seek an outlet in another, and thus, even supposing his argument to be sound, municipal trading would merely alter the direction of the capital current without diminishing its volume. He deplored the increase of local debt, whereas it has since been shown that though local debts do exist to the tune of some £262,000,000, they have largely been incurred for improvements, while on the strictly remunerative portion an average closely approximating five per cent net profit is being earned. There is, moreover, a time when from the action of sanitary funds the extinct tion of capital is gradually brought about, since interest is paid and capital redeemed from profits earned. "Municipal undertakings," says their defender, Mr. Robert Donald, "are always self-supporting, and generally leave surplus profits, which go to relieve the rates."
Lord Avebury was anxious that no further burdens should be laid upon municipal councillors, and no farther tax upon their time. But Mr. Donald goes into details to show that in all the progressive towns of England there is no difficulty in geting the right kind of man to take upon his shoulders the burden of municipal work, which, he says,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.