rents.  The other large ground landlords are the Trustees of the Grammar School, the Trustees of the Colmore, Gooch, Vyse, Inge, Digby, Gillot, Robins, and Mason estates, &c., Earl Howe, Lench’s Trust, the Blue Coat School, &c.  The Corporation of Birmingham is returned as owning 257 acres, in addition to 134 had from the Waterworks Co., but that does not include the additions made under the Improvement Scheme, &c.  The manner in which the estates of the old Lords of the Manor, of the Guild of Holy Cross, and the possessions of the ancient Priory, have been divided and portioned out by descent, marriage, forfeiture, plunder, and purchase is interesting matter of history, but rather of a private than public nature.

Local Notes and Queries.—­The gathering of odd scraps of past local history, notes of men and manners of a bygone time, and the stray (and sometimes strange) bits of folklore garnered alone in the recollections of greybeards, has been an interesting occupation for more than one during the past score or two of years.  The first series of “Local Notes and Queries” in our newspapers appeared in the Gazette, commencing in Feb., 1856, and was continued till Sept., 1860.  There was a somewhat similar but short series running in the columns of the Journal from August, 1861, to May, 1862.  The Daily Post took it up in Jan., 1863, and devoted a column per week to “Notes” up to March, 1865, resuming at intervals from 1867 to 1872.  The series now (1884) appearing in the Weekly Post was commenced on the first Saturday (Jan. 6) in 1877.

Local Taxation.—­See “Municipal Expenditure.”

Locks.—­The making of locks must have been one of the earliest of our local trades, as we read of one at Throckmorton of very quaint design, but rare workmanship, with the name thereon of “Johannes Wilkes, Birmingham,” towards the end of the 17th century.  In 1824 there were 186 locksmiths named in the Directory.

Lodger Franchise.—­Considering the vast amount of interest taken in all matters connected with local Parliamentary representation, and the periodical battles of bile and banter earned on in the Revision Courts over the lists of voters, it is somewhat curious to note how little advantage has been taken of the clause in the last Reform Bill which gives the right of voting to lodgers.  The qualification required is simply the exclusive occupation of lodgings which, if let unfurnished, are of the clear yearly value of L10; and there must be many hundreds of gentlemen in the borough residing in apartments who would come under this head.  Out of a total of 63,221 electors in 1883 there were only 72 who had claimed their right to vote.  In many other boroughs the same discrepancy exists, though here and there the political wire-pullers have evidently seen how to use the lodger franchise to much better effect, as in the case of Worcester for instance, where there are 59 lodger voters out of a total of 6,362.—­See “Parliamentary Elections.”