The jury which inquired into the deaths consequent on the
burning of the Exeter Theatre, have returned a verdict of " Acid. dental death," but consider the Magistrates and architect much to blame, the Magistrates for licensing an unsafe building, and the architect for not providing proper means of exit. They recom- mend that Parliament should legislate for the inspection of theatres,—that is, in fact, should appoint State Inspectors to see that buildings in which crowds are gathered are decently safe from fire. We agree ; but we want to know how this recom- mendation, and a hundred others like it, are consistent with the praise poured on local self-government. It seems to us that the democracy is demanding on all sides, and in all affairs, guidance from an educated, powerful, and centralised bureaucracy. What is an Inspector except a Prefect appointed to a particular work, instead of a par- ticular territory ? We are replacing the old local magnates, -civic and rural, by civilians, picked, paid, and competent. The change may be a good one—we think it is, in some ways—bat it is government by the people ; it is not government through them.
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