Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/486

LONDON. 428 LONDON. Jilics and many other (•(iiinniiditios in the world. The aiiioiint of foivi{;ii mi]j|i1)i's liiuuf;lit in for consuinplion in the .MiUoiiolitaii District is greater than the total imports of many larfje seaports. Vegetables are brought in from as far away as Spain and the Canary Islands. Then London, the eentre of the railroad .system of the island, is the hirgest distriliuting ])oint for com- modilies purchased in the neighlHiring European countries for consumi)tiiMi througliout lireat Britain. Nearly all I'.ritisli im])orts also that are of high value and small bulk eome to London for distril)ution either inland or to foreign coun- tries. London is the chief liritish nuirket for most colonial wares, and some other foreign and colonial products, such as spices, indigo, cacao, jute, tin, hides, fur. ivory, precious stones, petroleum, and spirits. It is tlic largest market for tea and codee, but is surpassed by Liver- j)Ool in imports of raw cotton, rice, and tobacco. More than one-third of tlic entire liritish im- port trade falls to London. ' It is second to Liverpoid in the e.xpovt of British manufac- tures and other products, but controls more than one-half of the country's export forwarding trade. The most important and bulkiest article among London's imports is wool, which is sent direct to the metropolis from Australia, the Cape of Good Hope, and Argentina, to be sold at auction at the ool Exchange, the largest of the world's ■wool markets. Great quantities of the fibre are reshipped to the European mainland, and impor- tant amounts are sent to the I'nited States. The larger part of the foreign and colonial commodi- ties reshipped from London go to other Euro- pean ports. iNuiisTUiES. More than 1.000,000 persons are engaged in manufacturing jmrsuits. Although London is not preeminent in special lines of pro- duction, as Birmingham, Leeds, and Sheffield are, it is still the leading manufacturing city of the Kingdom. The industries are widely dis- tributed through the metropolis, but the great region of factories extends in a semicircle to the east and south of the City of London, from Clerkenwell through Spitalliidds. Bethnal Green. Mile End, Rotherhithe. and Soutlnvark to Lam- beth; thus the .Surrey side of the Thames, as well as the East End to the north of the river, is well represented in the manifold manufac- tures of the metropolis. About '20.000 men. in round numbers, are engaged in making machin- ery. '20,000 in,the manufacture of furniture, 30.000 in the printing industry, .SO, 000 in making clothes, and over 0000 in weaving silk. Wall-paper, glass, pottery, musical and surgical instruments, jewelry, clocks, watches, and goldsmithery are conspic- uous for the quality and quantity of their prod- uct. The leather, sadillcry. and other leather- wares of London. ]irodiced chiefly on the south side of the Tliames. have made a great reputa- tion; and about 200 breweries turn out an as- tonishing quantity of beer and ale, the national beverages. Most of the breweries have sunk ar- tesian wells and obtain an ample supply of pure water. Over 000.000 persons are employed in the building, fitting, and furnishing of houses. Lon- don was the great shipbuilding centre in the days of wooden vessels; but now that iron and steel have largely supplanted wood, the industry is nnich reduced, as more northern ports have the advantage of being nearer to iron and coal. Hun- dreds of other industries give employment ta thousands of working people. EiNAKCE. London is still the chief money centre of the world. The business of the great bankers is on Lond>ard Street and in its neigh- borhood. The eentre of the banking business of llu' country is the Bank of England, the chicj' bank of deposit and circulation in Europe, housed in a plain, low building, covering four acres, and almost devoid of ornamentation eco|)t at the northwest corner, which was copied from a Komaii temple. A detailed account of this institution will be found in the article Bank, Baxki.ng. The private and joint-stock banks number nearly 200. most of which are members of the Clearing House, where a dailv exchange of drafts and checks is elTeeted. The .'iOOO members of the Stock Ex- change, near the Bank of England, buy and sell all the stocks and shares which are sanctioned by the governing conunittee. The enormous aecunuilation of capital in the chief cities of the Kingdom results in great eager- ness to find favorable opi)ortunities for invest- ment. Surplus funds tend naturally to London, where there is a constant demand for money to float enterprises in all iiarts of the world. It is to London that colonial projects, railroad and harbor development schemes, wildcat undertak- ings, and countless other enterprises, legitimate and illegitimate, from all quarters, look for the necessary fimds. Many agents of London money- lenders and companies are scattered all over the world, looking for new fields for exploitation or in<iuiring into the merits of numerous enterprises tliat are seeking financial assistance. Informa- tion as to the prospects for safe investment in all parts of the world is constantly flowing into London. The money centres of other European countries have their agents in London, and keep closely in touch with this unequaled centre of finance. (Government. The governmental system of London has been evolved from centuries of experi- ence as to the special needs of the metropolis, and difTcrs greatly from the local government of any other city in the Kingdom. The British Gov- ernment exercises the central control. Parlia- ment defines the duties and powers of the local authorities and the areas over which their fiuir- tions are exercised. Certain departments of tlu' Government supervise and control the acts of the various local authorities. The consent of the Board of Trade, for example, must be ob- tained for any extension of the electric-lighting system. The Board of Education has power to withhold the Government grant unless the effi- ciency of the school system in each district is kept up to a certain minimum. Xo park or com- mon may be inclosed without the consent of the Board of Agriculture. The Local Government Board, also a department of the general Govern- ment, has the widest supervision of the acts of the local authorities, and especially over the finances of the city. The local bodies cannot raise a loan without the consent of this board or a special act of Parliament. The ancient City of London has its ovm gov- ernment, handed down from the Middle Ages; its own sheriff, police, and courts; controls the bridges that connect it with South London, and exercises authority over most of the London markets, as they are in its territory. Its chief authorities are the Lord Mayor, twenty-six alder-