interests of the tenants, and took care that they rendered their legal
services. The surnames Smith, Baker, Butcher, Carter, and many others,
preserve the remembrance of the various trades which were carried on in
every village, and of the complete self-dependence of the community.

We have inherited many customs and institutions from our Saxon
forefathers, which connect our own age with theirs. In recent years we
have established parish councils in our villages. Formerly the pet
theory of politicians was centralisation; everything had to be done at
one centre, at one central office, and London became the head and centre
of all government. But recently politicians thought that they had
discovered a new plan for carrying on the internal affairs of the
country, and the idea was to leave each district to manage its own
affairs. This is only a return to the original Saxon plan. In every
village there was a moot-hill, or sacred tree, where the freemen met to
make their own laws and arrange their agricultural affairs. Here
disputes were settled, plough lands and meadow lands shared in due lot
among the villagers, and everything arranged according to the custom of
the village.

Our county maps show that the shires are divided into hundreds. This we
have inherited from our Saxon forefathers. In order to protect
themselves from their neighbours, the Saxon colonists arranged
themselves in hundreds of warriors. This little army was composed of
picked champions, the representatives of a hundred families; men who
were ready in case of war to uphold the honour of their house, and to
fight for their hearths and homes. These hundred families recognised a
bond of union with each other and a common inheritance, and ranged
themselves under one name for general purposes, whether for defence,
administration of justice, or other objects.