ntracts. But in the first London County Council the Society, then a
tiny body, was not represented.

At the second election in 1892 six of its members were elected to the
Council and another was appointed an alderman. Six of these were members
best known to the public as Trade Unionists or in other organisations,
but Sidney Webb, who headed the poll at Deptford with 4088 votes, whilst
his Progressive colleague received 2503, and four other candidates only
5583 votes between them, was a Fabian and nothing else. He had
necessarily to resign his appointment in the Colonial Office, and
thenceforth was able to devote all his time to politics and literary
work. Webb was at once elected chairman of the Technical Education
Board, which up to 1904 had the management of all the education in the
county, other than elementary, which came under public control. The
saying is attributed to him that according to the Act of Parliament
Technical Education could be defined as any education above elementary
except Greek and Theology, and the Board under his chairmanship--he was
chairman for eight years--did much to bring secondary and university
education within the reach of the working people of London. From 1892
onwards there was always a group of Fabians on the London County
Council, working in close alliance with the "Labour Bench," the Trade
Unionists who then formed a group of the Progressive Party under the
leadership of John Burns. Under this silent but effective influence the
policy of the Progressives was largely identical with the immediate
municipal policy of the Society itself, and the members of the Society
took a keen and continuous interest in the triennial elections and the
work of the Council.

* * * * *

All this concern in local administration did not interfere with the
interest taken by the Society in parliamentary politics, and one
illustration of this may be mentioned. The Liberal Party has a
traditional feud with Landlordism, and at this period its favourite
panacea was Leasehold Enfranchisement, that is, the enactment of a law
empowering leaseholders of houses built on land let for ninety-nine
years, the common practice in London, to purchase the freehold at a
valuation. Many Conservatives had come round to the view that the
breaking up of large town estates and the creation of numerous
freeholders, would strengthen the forces upholding the rights of
property, and there was every p