The names of boroughs which were merged in the counties, of boroughs whose representation was reduced, of new boroughs, and of those which were given additional members, are appended.

The new county divisions, and particulars of the divisions of boroughs, will be found in the Alphabetical List of the constituencies.

MERGED BOROUGHS.

The following list gives the names of the boroughs which have ceased as such to return any members:

COUNTY GOVERNMENT.

Under the Local Government Act, 1888, a County Council was established in every County in England and Wales, the duties of which body include all the administrative and financial business of the county formerly transacted by the Magistrates in Quarter Sessions.

A brief account is here given of the constitution of the new authorities and of the machinery by which they are elected.

A.-CONSTITUTION OF COUNCIL.

The Council consists of a Chairman, County Aldermen, and County Councillors. They are elected and conduct their proceedings similarly to existing Town Councils in boroughs, with some exceptions.

The County is divided into Electoral Divisions, each returning one Councillor. The Electoral Divisions are arranged so that the population of each is as nearly equal as possible, regard being had to the proper representation of rural and urban districts and to the distribution and pursuits of the population.

Boroughs with over 50,000 inhabitants are constituted administrative counties of themselves, and their Town Councils are the sole authority under the Act; the enrolled burgesses in other municipal boroughs elect a certain number of represen tatives to the Council of the County in which they are situated, who are not, however, entitled to vote on any expenditure to which the boroughs are not assessed.

London is constituted an administrative county, and each existing metropolitan parliamentary division is an Electoral Division and elects two Councillors. The quorum of a County Council is one-fourth of the whole.

CHAIRMAN.-The Chairman is elected by the Council from among the Aldermen or Councillors, or persons qualified to be such.

He holds office for one year, and may receive such remuneration as the Council think reasonable.

He is ex-officio a Justice of the Peace for the County.

COUNTY ALDERMEN.-The County Aldermen are elected by the Council and constitute one-third of the number of Councillors.

A person is disqualified for election as an Alderman unless he is a Councillor, or qualified to be a Councillor.

A County Alderman may not as such vote in the election of a County Alderman.
The term of office of a County Alderman is six years.

In London the number of Aldermen must not exceed one-sixth of the number of Councillors.

COUNTY COUNCILLORS.-The number of Councillors for each county is determined by the Local Government Board.

The Councillors are elected triennially, and all will retire together.

A Councillor who is chosen to be an Alderman vacates his office of Councillor. Bankruptcy, or absence from the county for 12 months, disqualifies an Alderman or Councillor.

B.-QUALIFICATION OF ELECTORS.

In Municipal Boroughs the enrolled Burgesses choose the Councillors to represent them on the County Council, and in the other parts of the county the qualifications entitling an Elector to be registered, and when registered to vote, are defined by the County Electors' Act, 1888, substantially as follows:

PERSONAL. An Elector may be a man or a woman, but must be of full age, not subject to any legal incapacity, and must not, within 12 months prior to July 15th, have received parochial (non-medical) relief.

OCCUPATION.-An Elector must for 12 months prior to July 15th,

(a) have been in occupation, joint or several, of a house, warehouse, counting-house, shop, or other building in the parish; or

(b) must during the same period have been an occupier, as owner or tenant, of some land or tenement in the parish, of the yearly value of not less than £10.

Joint occupation under (a) qualifies, irrespective of the value of the premises, and also under (b) if the value is sufficient, when divided, to give £10 for each occupier.

The occupation of part of a house qualifies where that part is separately occupied for the purposes of any trade, business, or profession.

Where a person succeeds to qualifying property by descent, marriage, etc., the occupation and rating of the predecessor in title qualifies the successor.

If a person has occupied different property in the County in immediate succession during the twelve months, he is entitled to be registered in the parish in which the last-occupied qualification is situated.

N.B.-Non-resident owners and lodgers are not entitled to vote in the election of County Councils, nor are voters under the Service Franchise.

RESIDENCE.-A County Elector must have resided in the County, or within seven (in the case of London, 15) miles of its boundary, for twelve months prior to July 15th (or in the case of the £10 qualification, six months). He or she may, however, let the house furnished, for not more than four months during the year, without losing the vote. RATING. The voter, or someone else, must, during the twelve months prior to July 15th, have been rated in respect of the qualifying property to all poor rates made during those twelve months; and all such rates (including County rates) as have become payable up to the preceding 5th January must be paid on or before July 20th.

PUBLICATION OF LISTS.

The overseers publish the Lists of County Electors in conjunction with the Lists of Parliamentary voters on August 1st. They are printed in three Divisions:1. Persons entitled to vote both as Parliamentary voters and County electors. 2. Parliamentary voters only. (This Division chiefly comprises occupiers under the Service Franchise.)

3. County electors only. (This Division is mainly composed of women ratepayers.) The Lodgers' lists remain separate, and are applicable to Parliamentary elections only. There is also a separate list of occupiers residing beyond 7 miles but within 15 miles of the County, and so qualified to be elected as County councillors.

CLAIMS AND OBJECTIONS.

CLAIMS.-Any person who is omitted from the list published on August 1st may claim to have his or her name inserted by serving a "Notice of Claim" upon the overseers on or before August 20th.

OBJECTIONS.-A person whose name appears in any list of County electors or burgesses may object to the name of any other person being retained therein, by giving notice (in the proper form) to the overseers and to the person objected to, on or before August 20th. Lists of such claims and objections are published by the overseers on August 25th. Declarations for correcting any misdescription in the lists may be served upon the Clerk of the Peace not later than September 5th.

REVISION OF THE LISTS.-The Lists of Parliamentary voters and of Burgesses and of County electors will be revised by the appointed barrister between September 8th and October 20th.

The Register of County Electors for Local Government purposes comes into force on January 1st.

C.-QUALIFICATION OF COUNCILLORS.

The qualification of County Councillors is thus defined by the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, as extended to counties:

The Councillors are to be fit (i.e., legally qualified) persons chosen by the County electors.

A person is not qualified to be elected, or to be a County Councillor, unless he (a) Is enrolled, and entitled to be enrolled, as a County elector.

(b) Being entitled to be so enrolled in all respects except that of residence, is resident beyond 7 miles, but within 15 miles of the county, and is entered in the separate non-resident list.

(c) In either of those cases is possessed of real or personal property to the value, in a county having four or more electoral divisions, of £1,000, or in the case of any other county of £500; or is rated to the poor rate in the county, in the case of a county having four or more electoral divisions on the annual (rateable) value of £30, and in the case of any other county of £15.

"Provided that every person shall be qualified to be elected, and to be a County Councillor, who is at the time of election qualified to elect to the office of Councillor, which last-mentioned qualification for being elected shall be alternative for, and shall not repeal or take away any other qualification.

"But if a person qualified under the last foregoing proviso ceases for twelve months to reside in the county, he shall cease to be qualified under that proviso, and his office shall become vacant, unless he was at the time of his election, and continues to be, qualified in some other manner.'

The practical effect of these provisions is that any person who is properly enrolled as a County elector may be elected a Councillor for that county, and need not in that case be qualified for election by property or rating.

Persons who are on the separate non-resident list, residing beyond 7 but within 15 miles of the county, must be qualified by the stated amount of property or rating.

The Local Government Act further provides that peers owning property in the county, and other owners of property in the county who are registered as Parliamentary county voters, shall be qualified to be elected County Councillors.

Clerks in holy orders, and other ministers of religion, may also be elected, if duly qualified.

Disqualifications for Election.-Persons holding any office of profit in the gift or disposal of the Council.

Persons having, directly or indirectly, by self or partner, any share or interest in any contract or employment with, by or on behalf of the Council.

Bankrupts, persons convicted of felony, or corrupt practices.
Coroners for the county.

Women, though qualified to elect, are disqualified for election.

D. THE ELECTIONS.

The Poll at contested elections for the County Council is conducted by ballot, as at Parliamentary elections. (In London an elector may vote for one or both candidates, but may not give his two votes to one candidate.)

The Sheriff of each county is the Returning Officer at the election, unless he is a candidate, when other arrangements are made. In London, the Local Government Board appoints the Returning Officer.

The Returning Officers may appoint deputies for each electoral division.

If the electoral division is a borough, the Mayor is generally the Returning Officer for that division.

The Returning Officer may divide an electoral division into polling districts.

The next general election of County Councillors will take place on November 1st, 1891. The elections for all the divisions of a county are held on the same day, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

The Returning Officers' expenses are payable by the county.

THE NOMINATION.

Every candidate must be nominated in writing by two registered County electors of the electoral division for which he stands, and eight others must assent to the nomination (see Form, post). An elector who is only on the Parliamentary Register is not qualified to sign a nomination paper.

No elector must subscribe more nomination papers than there are vacancies to be filled.

Nomination papers must be delivered by the candidate, or his proposer or seconder, at a place and time to be fixed by the Returning Officer, not exceeding six days before the day of election, and before 5 p.m. of the last day. In a borough, nominations must be delivered to the Town Clerk.

The nomination paper must contain the surname and all other names of the candidate in full, with his abode and description. These particulars must be filled in before the paper is signed. The names of the nominators and assentors should be signed in full. Objections to nomination papers will be heard by the Returning Officer on the following day, and a candidate may appoint a representative to attend on his behalf (see Form, post).

The nomination of a person absent from the United Kingdom is void, unless his written consent given within one month previously, in the presence of two witnesses, is produced at the nomination.

The nominations are to be pubished at least four days before the day of election. A candidate may withdraw by giving written notice not later than 2 p.m. on the day after the last day for nomination.