The local government in this country and most countries in Europe is carried out by Corporations of Cities and Boroughs, the head of which is a mayor or corresponding official. One of the most important duties of local government is the preservation of law and order, and for this purpose, in former times, the mayor was usually authorized by charter to enlist men or ‘sergeants’ as they were called, later to be called ‘sergeants-at-mace’. These men were armed with a mace which was both a weapon and a staff of office. Originally a weapon only, it was later replaced by a ceremonial equivalent. There was usually also, from the fourteenth century and probably earlier, a ‘Great’ or mayor's mace, carried by the mace-bearer, usually a sergeant, which represented the authority of the mayor and was carried before him on formal occasions. Both of these types of mace exist in their ceremonial form today and are carried on formal occasions, although the sergeant's former duties have to a great extent now been taken over by the police. The sergeant's maces are small, averaging about one pound: the mayor's are larger, usually about ten pounds. The powers of these sergeants were, of course, limited to within the boundary of the city or borough to which they belonged.