Parliament has already had to delegate legislative powers to other
bodies than colonial legislatures; and county councils, borough
councils, district councils, and parish councils share with it in
various degrees the task of legislating for the country. They can, of
course, only legislate, as they can only administer, within the limits
imposed by Act of Parliament; but their development, like the
multiplication of central administrative departments, indicates the
latest, but not the final, stages in the growth and specialization of
English government. A century and a half ago two Secretaries of State
were all that Great Britain required; now there are half-a-dozen, and a
dozen other departments have been added. Among them are the Local
Government Board, the Board of Education, the Board of Trade, the Board
of Agriculture, while many sub-departments such as the Public Health
Department of the Local Government Board, the Bankruptcy Department of
the Board of Trade, and the Factory Department of the Home Office, have
more work to do than originally had a Secretary of State. It is
probable, moreover, that departments will multiply and subdivide at an
ever-increasing rate.
All this, however, is merely machinery provided to give effect to
public opinion, which determines the use to which it shall be put. But
its very provision indicates that England expects the state to-day to
do more and more extensive duty for the individual.
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