Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 120, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 May 1916 — Definition of “City.” [ARTICLE]

Definition of “City.”

In England the term “city” from early times was usually (but not always) applied to a cathedral town, and for several centuries it was understood to have a half legal meaning of “an important town which is or has been an episcopal see.” This sense, however, never became fixed as a mat ter of law, and the title of city is now occasionally conferred by royal authority on important boroughs that are not episcopal Bees, such as Leeds. In Canada a city is supposed to be a municipality of the highest class, varying in character in the different provinces. In the United States the name denotes a municipality ranking higher in population, than a town, borough or village, but in many states, especially in the West, the name relates to the form of government, and often, also, the title is used in anticipation.