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and improved values of land should he rated to the Metropolitan
Rates in future, the land to be rateable and chargeable upon and
from the same persons, and with the same right of deduction, as
Property Tax under Schedule A."
In April last a Special Committee, consisting of Messrs.
Angus, Baxter, Bowers, Haggis, and Rider, was appointed to
consider the general financial arrangements and the bookkeeping
of the Board. The Committee held several meetings
upon the subject, and, on the 30th May, presented a Report,
of which the following is a copy:—
"May 30th, 1888.
"We, the Special Committee, to whom, on the 25th ult., it was referred
to consider the general financial and banking arrangements, and the
book-keeping of the Board, have to report an under:
1. Wo have examined the present system of book-keeping, and find it
to bo the same, substantially, as has boon in operation from the
establishment of the Board in the year 1856. All accounts arc
entered to a rash (or Treasurer's) account, and to a ledger account
—in the latter under various headings, according to the species of
work—#.//.. Paving, Lighting, Scavenging, Salaries, Ac., Ac. The
totals of these arc carried to a general summary or stat«»ment, and
apportioned to each pArish, according to the incidence of the work;
and, when not susceptible of this method of allocation, they are
charged or credited, as the ca*e may be. according to tho rateable
value of the respective parishes. A condensed Summary or
Abstract of tho whole is also prepared and entered in the Audit
book annually. This book is signed by the Auditors, and the
Abstract in afterwards printed and published, in compliance with
tho requirements of the Metropolis Local Management Act. As,
however, the system is not such as commends itself greatly to our
minds, and as we have no doubt that it could be simplified, and,
at the same time, considerably improved by a professional
accountant accustomed to Corporation Accounts, we recommend
that such an one be employed, at a fee not exceeding ten guineas,
to advise and to assist in tho carrying out of such alterations as
may be desirable.
2. The Clerk has called our attention to the fact that the present
system of charging tho parishes according to the incidence of the
work done is of questionable legality, and has suggested that all
sums, whether debits or credits, should be apportioned according
to tho rateable value of the parishes, in accordance with a decision
of the Court of Queen's Bench, quoted in the foot-note to Sections
158 and 159 of Woolrych's editions of the Metropolis Local
Management Act. Moreover, the Clerk has obtained from a neighbouring
district a copy of counsel's opinion on the point, in which
he (counsel) advises that all sums for defraying the expenses of
the Act should be charged to a common fund, and apportioned
according to the rateable value. This method is obviously the
correct one, and we recommend that it be adopted for the future.
Finances.