DISCUSSES ORIGIN OF EUROPEAN WALLED TOWNS

Professor Henrl Pirenne, rector of the University of Ghent, delivered yesterday afternoon the last of his series of lectures on "The Origin of Cities in Western Europe". He continued his account of the use of the walled towns by explaining the part played by the "bourgeois" class in the city life.

"The merchants established in the cities," he said, "need a new set of laws and a new organization, since their social position is also new. It is indispensable for them to obtain a kind of self-government which allows them to establish a state of affairs that considers the necessities of commerce and industry. In many a city the princes resisted their attempts, and then they revolted to establish a 'commune' by force. All municipal constitutions, however, are not 'communes', for many have been brought about peacefully. The details of the city government vary throughout Europe, but everywhere the city presents two essential characteristics: it possesses a court of justice and an administrative council. The 'bourgeois' form a privileged class, like the nobility or the clergy.

"This class has played an important role in bringing forward for the first time the idea of political liberty; it has made parliamentary government possible. In fact, from an intellectual point of view, it has put an end to the exclusive influence of the clergy and has established the rising importance of the lay element, which made possible, the Renaissance."