Suchergebnisse

The central problem of the administrative structure of government is that of defining administrative jurisdictions. It is only by carefully describing the spheres of activity of organization units and of their employees that responsibility for administrative errors can readily be located. If duties are clearly defined, and if the relations of particular units to other agencies are generally understood, offending units, together with their responsible personnel, may be called to task for failure to perform their assigned duties or for trespass on the spheres of others. The patency of these facts has led American students of federal administration to devote considerable attention to functional jurisdictions. During the past generation there have been a multitude of proposals for the reallocation of functions among the bureaus, departments, and independent establishments of the federal government. Intent upon these functional concerns, American students have denied or ignored the importance of the territorial definition of jurisdictions.

In the administration of public affairs in Great Britain, several government departments have found it convenient to divide the country into varying numbers of regional districts, each covering a group of counties. These districts vary a good deal in number and in area for the different departments, though in some cases a similar area is used by more than one department. The largest area is Scotland, with an extensive organization of public administration under the Secretary of State for Scotland, and its own judicial system, while other departments also have branch headquarters for Scotland. Northern Ireland forms another important region, with a large degree of autonomy, under a separate parliament; while, as in the case of Scotland, several departments of the United Kingdom have branch headquarters in Belfast. Wales is also a distinct district for several departments.

The physical features controlling the economic development of a region can be classified under the two main headings of geological and climatic controls. All pastoral, agricultural, mining, or industrial life depends essentially on the distribution of minerals, soils, water supply, temperature, and rainfall. There is, however, another geological feature which exercises great influence on human interests, and that is the topography, i.e., the arrangement of mountain and plain, of rivers and lakes, and all the elements which in more precise language build up the science of geomorphology. The present study attempts to show, first of all, what are the main features in southern Ontario, more particularly within a couple of hundred miles of Toronto, which have necessarily greatly affected the settlement of the region. Secondly the evolution of the city of Toronto as determined by the minor topographic features is described in somewhat general terms. It is hoped that this will pave the way to a more complete study of the city in the near future.