My subject this afternoon is complex. Nevertheless geographers must concern themselves with the current problems of Society and of the State however difficult the task may be. Geographical questions concerning the boundaries of local government areas have interested British geographers in the past and are of pressing importance to-day. Nearly thirty years ago Sir Halford Mackinder asserted that "the Oceanic peoples must strive to root ever more firmly their own organisation by localities, each locality with as complete and balanced a life of its own as circumstances may permit of," and added that this is "precisely what the real Freedom of Men requires?scope for a full life in their own locality." 1 These words are as true as when they were first written. It is not possible to give an adequate geographical account of the many problems connected with the boundaries of local government areas in the short space of one lecture: I can only draw a picture in outline. Nor is it possible to say anything very original as most of the ground has been covered already, notably by Professor C. B. Fawcett in his Trovinces of England' (1919). My own previous work on the subject is contained in a paper on "Practical regionalism in England and Wales," 2 and Professor E. G. R. Taylor opened a discussion on "The geographical aspects of regional planning" 3 to which I sent a contribution. Both these papers were mainly concerned with the division of the country into large units, and I feel it is now very necessary for geographers to consider the boundaries of the smaller administrative areas as well as to re-examine those of the larger ones. The problem of local government areas, large and small, should be treated as a whole. There is no doubt that the present system of local government areas in England and Wales is in many respects out of date: the needs of local administration have long outgrown the existing framework of boundaries. In the words of The Times (9 April 1948) "the petrol engine, the telephone, vast shifts of industry and population have transformed the human map of England while leaving the local government map essentially unchanged." It would be difficult to make radical changes in the boundaries of local govern? ment areas without reorganizing the system as a whole. The problem is not merely a matter of revising the existing boundaries: it is a question of creating new types of unit more consonant with the geography of the country as it is at the present day. Unfortunately, while there is almost complete agreement on the necessity for change of some kind, there is extreme diversity of opinion as to the design of any alternative structure. 1 H. J. Mackinder, 'Democratic ideals and reality/ pp. 254 and 266, London, 1919. 3 Geogr.J. 94 (1939) 29-443 Jbid. 99 (1942) 61-80.