THE SOCIAL WORK OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES 297

ment of industry and the extension of the road system, it has
forced on the consideration of local authorities the need for

- planned development of land. Under the 1932 Town and Country
Planning Act, the authorities may,—and if the Ministry of Health
requires it, must—prepare schemes for the land in their areas
where new building is proceeding. With the object of preserving
the health, beauty, and historical interest of a district, the scheme

wcan protect trees, open spaces and buildings from interference,
and control the character of new buildings. There are powers to
prevent the disfigurement of the countryside by unsightly
advertisement, and these are extended by an Act of 1935. The
schemes require the Minister's approval, and agreement must be
reached with property owners about compensation for land, or
for hindrance to their plans. People aggrieved by regulations made
under the scheme, may test the necessity and fairness of them by
going to court. Although by now one-third of the area of Britain
is in the process of planning, the legal difficulties and vested
interests cause the work to go slowly, and a good deal of mischief
has already been done; sections of the New Forest, for example,
have suffered severely from the. uncontrolled erection of
bungalows, shops and corrugated iron shacks. If local authorities
are going to make increasing use of their powers, they will need
the advice of competent architects, such as the smaller authorities
are not always able to secure. The Act provides for joint com-
mittees to be formed from several authorities, but the full
development of planning probably requires a larger local authority
than is to be found in the present system.

.PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.

1 The relief of the poor was originally the duty of the Parish,
and later of Guardians, elected ad hoc by Unions of Parishes, The
1929 Act abolished the Boards of Guardians, and transferred
their powers to the County and County Borough Councils. The

r famous Poor Law Act of 1601 recognised that the poor should be
classified according to the cause of their poverty, and the treat-