CIVIC GOVERNMENT.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 119, 20 April 1932, Page 7

CIVIC GOVERNMENT.

GREAT CONFERENCE IN LONDON An army of municipal dignitaries from all over the world will invade London in May, when the First International Congress of Local Authorities will be held under the patronage of the King. Mayors and burgomasters by the score; aldermen by tho hundred; and dozens upon dozens of municipal officials are to bring their minds to boar upon the manifold problems of civic government, especially in relation to the practical working of local authorities and the training and recruiting of local government officers. Reports on several subjects have already been received from 31 different countries, and the preparations for the gathering are proceeding apace and without regard to cost, despite the hard times (writes a London correspondent). It is felt that London must do the thing properly, even if it may involve some crimping and saving afterwards.

The conference is, of course not without its amusing possibilities/ How are the delegates, for example, to make themselves understood? What can be expected from a babel ? This question has been faced in advance, and the difficulty will be overcome by a simultaneous translation of all speeches by microphonic apparatus. Thus Germans, French, Dutch, Austrian, Norwegian and other spokesmen will not only be able to exchange opinions with the Lord Mayor of London, but be assured of a common understanding. Language is no longer a barrier against garrulity.

So vast will be the influx that the various delegations will be entertained in piecemeal fashion, so to speak. They will be divided into groups, of twenty or thirty, and “parcelled out” to the different—and very numerous—municipalities in and around London. The programme of luncheons, banquets, receptions, and tours read most impressively, and it appears that the visitors are to be taken as far afield as Birmingham and Manchester, so that they may see with their own eyes the wonders of the industrial north, which, as every Englishman will tell you, is the backbone of the country. Lord Derby is chairman of the organising council, and is determined to make the congress as successful as every other venture with which ho has been associated. With all his organising ability, however, he is experiencing some difficulty in raising the necessary funds, for there is not a municipal authority in England which cannot plead abject poverty.