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36
into Parliament of the Bill to effect a better equalization
of rates between the several parishes of the
Metropolis. The Bill received the Royal Assent
on the 28th August, 1894, and came into operation
on the 30th September. The principle of the Act
is that a rate of 6d. in the pound per annum forms
the Equalization Fund; the parishes contributing
according to their rateable value, and receiving
according to their population; parishes of a high
rateable value and a small population having
therefore to contribute to the fund, while those of
a low rateable value and a large population receive
a grant from it. The net amount received from the
fund by the Parish of Clerkenwell for the half-year
ending 31st March, 1895, was £1,643 0s 9d.*
Collection of the Rates.—Of the rates made in
the Parish of Clerkenwell, a percentage of about
93½ is actually collected, 6½ per cent being irrecoverable
from allowances to owners who compound,
empty houses, runs, and excusals on the ground of
poverty. It follows therefore that when the Parish
is called upon to satisfy the precept of some
central body, such as the County Council or the
School Board, which is stated to be at the rate of
say 1s. in the pound, an actual rate of nearly 13d.
must be made to produce the amount required.
Parliamentary Representation by the Redistribution
of Seats Act, 1885.—The Parish
of Clerkenwell forms the Central Division
of the Parliamentary Borough of Finsbury, and was
represented in the Parliament of 1886, which was
dissolved in 1892, by Captain Frederick Thomas
*Afterwards increased to .',1,653 14s. 9d., owing to discovery of an error
in the calculation referring to the parish of Camberwell.