Passing on to more modern times, we find Hertfordshire occupying a peculiar position in regard to local government and administration in that it possessed a kind of _imperium in imperio_ in the shape of what was known as the Liberty of St Alban; in other words, a large area on the western side of the county originally under the jurisdiction of the abbots of St Albans, who had the power of inflicting the death-penalty. Originally there was a separate Commission of the Peace for the Liberty, so that a Justice for the County had no jurisdiction in the former unless he had been specially inducted. This arrangement was found, however, to be inconvenient, and the Liberty, as such, was abolished, although it was taken as a basis for the splitting of the county into a western and an eastern division for judicial purposes. The chief officers of the county are the Lord Lieutenant and the High Sheriff; the former (who in Hertfordshire is always a nobleman) being the direct local representative of the sovereign, and having the appointment of magistrates and the officers of the territorial forces, while the latter (who is a commoner) is the head of the executive department in the administration of justice. The Lord Lieutenant holds office for life, or during the sovereign’s pleasure, but the Sheriff is appointed annually by the Crown. Deputy Lieutenants are supposed to act, in case of need, for the Lord Lieutenant. Formerly the greater part of the business of the county was conducted by the Justices of the Peace, or Magistrates, at Quarter Sessions, but most of this is now transferred to the County Council, which, as previously stated, often meets in London. This County Council, which was first established in 1888, is composed of Aldermen and Councillors; the latter of whom are elected, while the former are what is called “co-opted,” that is to say, selected by the Council itself, either from its own body, or from the general public. The duties of the County Council include the maintenance of high roads and bridges; the appointment and control, in conjunction with the magistrates, of the police; the management of reformatories and lunatic asylums; and, in a word, the general carrying out of the laws enacted by Parliament.