full sized they leave the water and spend a quiescent pupal
stage on the land before metamorphosis into the sexually mature
insect. Sialis lutaria is a well-known British example. In
America there are two genera, Corydalis and Chauliodes,
which are remarkable for their relatively gigantic size and
for the immense length and sabre-like shape of the mandibles.
ALDERMAN (from A.-S. ealdorman, compounded of the
comparative degree of the adjective eald, old, and man),
a term implying the possession of an office of rank or
dignity, and, in modern times, applied to an office-bearer
in the municipal corporations and county councils of England
and Wales,and in the municipal corporations of Ireland and
the United States. Among the Anglo-Saxons, earls, governors
of provinces and other persons of distinction received this
title. Thus we read of the aldermannus totius Angliae, who
seems to have corresponded to the officer afterwards styled
capitalis justiciarius Angliae, or chief-justice of England;
the aldermannus regis, probably an occasional magistrate,
answering to the modern justice of assize, or perhaps an officer
whose duty it was to prosecute for the crown; and aldermannus
comitatus, a magistrate with a middle rank between what was
afterwards called the earl and the sheriff, who sat at
the trial of causes with the bishop and declared the common
law, while the bishop proceeded according to ecclesiastical
law. Besides these, we meet with the titles of aldermannus
civitatis, burgi, castelli, hundredi sive wapentachii, &c.
In England, before the passing of the Municipal Corporations
Act, their functions varied according to the charters of the
different boroughs. By the Municipal Corporations Act 1835,
and other acts, consolidated by the Municipal Corporations Act
1882, the aldermen are elected by the councillors for six
years, one-half going out every three years. The number
of councillors in each borough varies according to its
magnitude. One-fourth of the municipal council consists of
aldermen and three-fourths of councillors. In the counties,
too, the number of aldermen is one-third of the number of
councillors, except in London, where it is one-sixth. In the
municipal corporations of Scotland there is no such title as
alderman, the office-bearers of corresponding rank there being
termed bailies. The corporation of the city of London was
not included in the Borough Reform Act, and the antiquated
system remains there in full force. The court of aldermen
consists of twenty-six, twenty-five of whom are elected for
life by the freemen of the respective wards, who return two
persons, one of whom the court of aldermen elect to supply the
vacancy. The city is divided into twenty-six wards; twenty-four
of these send up one alderman each, the other two combine
to choose a twenty-fifth. The twenty-sixth alderman serves
for the independent borough of Southwark (q.v.) and is
appointed by the other aldermen, who generally select the
senior from among themselves when a vacancy occurs. The lord
mayor is elected from such of the aldermen as have served the
office of sheriff; of these the Common Hall, which consists
of the freemen of the different wards, select two, and the
aldermen elect one of these to the mayoralty. The court of
aldermen has the power of appointment to certain offices,
exercises judicial functions in regard to licensing and in
disputes connected with the ward election, has some power of
disposal over the city cash and possesses magisterial control
over the city, each alderman being a judge and magistrate
for the whole city, and by virtue of his office exercising
the functions of a justice of the peace. The aldermen are
members of the court of common council, the legislative body
of the corporation, which consists in all of 232 members,
the remainder being elected annually by the freemen. In the
United States aldermen form as a rule a legislative rather
than a judicial body, although in some cities they hold
courts and possess very considerable magisterial powers.
ALDERNEY (Fr. Aurigny), one of the Channel Islands, the
northernmost of the principal members of the group, belonging to
England. It lies in 49 deg. 43' N. and 2 deg. 12' W., 9 m. W.
of Cape La Hague on the coast of Normandy. The harbour, on
the north coast in the bay of Braye, is 25 m. from St Peter
Port, Guernsey, by way of which outer communications are
principally carried on, and 55 m. S. by E. of Portland
Bill, the nearest point of England. The length of the
island from N. E. to S. W. is 3 1/2 m., its average breadth 1
m., its area 1962 acres, and its population (1901) 2062.
The strait between the island and Cape La Hague, called
the Race of Alderney (French Raz Blanchard), confined by
numerous rocks and reefs off either coast, is rendered very
dangerous in stormy weather by conflicting currents. Through
this difficult channel the scattered remnant of the French
fleet under Tourville escaped after the defeat of La Hogue in
1692. To the west is the narrower and also dangerous channel
of the Swinge (Sinige), between Alderney and the uninhabited
islets of Burhou, Ortach and others. West of these again are the
Casquets, a group of rocks to which attaches a long record of
shipwreck. Rocks and reefs fringe all the coasts of Alderney. The
island itself is a level open tableland, which on the south-west
and south falls abruptly to the sea in a majestic series of
cliffs. The greatest elevation of the land is about 300
ft. Towards the north-west, north and east the less rocky
coast is indented by several bays, with open sandy shores, of
which those of Crabby, Brave, Corblets and Longy are the most
noteworthy. South-west of Longy Bay, where the coast rises
boldly, there is a remarkable projecting block of sandstone,
called La Roche Pendante (Hanging Rock) overhanging the
cliff. Sandstone (mainly along the north-east coast),
granite and porphyry are the chief geological formations.
There are a few streams, but water is obtained mainly from
wells. Trees are scarce. The town of St Anne stands almost in
the centre of the island overlooking and extending towards the
harbour. Here are the courthouse, a gateway commemorating
Albert, prince-consort, the clock tower, which belonged to
the ancient parish church, and the modern church (1850),
in Early English style, an excellent example of the work of
Sir Gilbert Scott. The church is a memorial to the family
of Le Mesurier, in which the hereditary governorship of
the island was vested until the abolition of the office in
1825. There is a chain of forts round the north coast from
Clanque Fort on the west to Fort Essex on the east; the largest
is Fort Albert, above Brave Bay. In 1847 work was begun on
a great breakwater west of the harbour, the intention being
to provide a harbour of refuge, but although a sum exceeding
one and a half million sterling was spent the scheme was
unsuccessful. The soil of Alderney is light, fertile and
well cultivated; grain and vegetables are grown and early
potatoes are exported. A large part of the island is under
grass, affording pasture for cattle. The well-known term
``Alderney cattle,'' however, has lost in great measure
its former signification of a distinctive breed. Alderney
is included in the bailiwick of Guernsey. It has a court
consisting of a judge and six jurats, attorney-general,
prevot, greffiero and sergent; but as a judicial court
it is subordinate to that of Guernsey, and its administrative
powers are limited to such matters as the upkeep of roads.
For its relations to the constitution of the bailiwick,
and for the history of the island, see CHANNEL ISLANDS.
ALDERSHOT, an urban district in the Basingstoke parliamentary
division of Hampshire, England, 34 m. S.W. by W. of London,
on the London & South-Western and the South- Eastern & Chatham
railways. It was a mere village till 1855, when Aldershot
camp was established. Pop. (1891) 25,595; (1901) 30,974. Its
germ is to be found in the temporary camp on Chobham Ridges,
formed in 1853 by Lord Hardinge, the commander-in-chief, the
success of which convinced him of the necessity of giving
troops practical instruction in the field and affording the
generals opportunities of manoeuvring large bodies of the three
arms. He therefore advised the purchase of a tract of waste
land whereon a permanent camp might be established. His
choice fell on Aldershot, a spot also recommended by strategic
reasons, being situated on the flank of any army advancing upon
London from the south. Nothing came of Lord Hardinge's proposal
till the experience of the Crimean campaign fully endorsed his
opinion. The lands at Aldershot, an extensive open heath
country, sparsely dotted by fir-woods and intersected by the
Basingstoke canal, were then acquired by the crown. Wooden
huts were erected in 1855, and permanent buildings to replace
them were begun in 1881. Under the Barracks Act 1890, and the
Military Works Act of 1897 and 1899, large sums were provided
for completing the work. The former division of North and
South camps and permanent barracks no longer obtains. North
camp is now named Marlborough Lines, with a field artillery
barrack and five infantry barracks called after Marlborough's
victories. South camp is now named Stanhope Lines, after Mr
Stanhope, who was secretary of state for war when the Barracks
Act 1890 was passed and the reconstruction commenced in
earnest. They contain barracks for the Royal Engineers and
Army Service Corps, the general parade, which stretches east
and west, and five infantry barracks called after battles
(other than those of Wellington), of the wars with France,
1793-1815. There are also barracks for the Royal Army Medical
Corps. The old permanent barracks (which were built for the
most part about 1857) have been renamed Wellington Lines, with
cavalry and artillery barracks; and three infantry barracks
called after Wellington's victories in the Peninsula. For
the sick there are the Connaught Hospital in the Marlborough
Lines, the Cambridge Hospital in Stanhope Lines, and the Union
Hospital in Wellington Lines, besides the Louise Margaret Hospital
for women and children and the isolated infection hospital.
The drainage of the station is all modern, and the sewage is
disposed of on a sewage farm under the direction of the war
department. The water supply is partly from the Aldershot Water
Company, and partly from springs and reservoirs collecting
water from a reserved area of war department property.
Most of the barracks can accommodate not only the units they are
constructed for, but also detachments going through courses of
instruction. The total of men, women and children for
whom quarters are provided is at times as high as 24,000.
Besides the regimental buildings there are a large number of
buildings for garrison purposes, such as quarters and offices
for general, staff and departmental officers, with the warrant
and non-commissioned officers employed under them; the supply
depot with abattoir and bakery; the ordnance stores; barrack
stores for furniture and bedding, shops and stores for R. E.
services; the balloon establishment; the detention barracks;
fire brigade stations; five churches; recreation grounds
for officers and men; schools; and especially the military
technical schools of army cooking, gymnastics, signalling,
ballooning and of mounted infantry, Army Service Corps,
Royal Army Medical Corps and veterinary duties. The work of
these schools is, however, only a small part of the military
