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£1,430, which, added to the sums above-mentioned,
made the Poor Rate precepts as sent by that Board
to the Yestry £68,939, to meet which the Poor
Rate of £69,970 was levied.
The precept of the School Board for the year
1897 amounted to the sum of £20,533 10s. 10d.,
which is collected as part of the General Rate.
It will thus be seen that of the £118,820 raised
during the year, the sum of £86,070 was required
by bodies beyond the control of the Vestry; or in
other words, of the total rates of 6s. 1d. in the
pound for the year, 4s. 5d. was for other bodies,
and 1s. 8d. for the local administration, paviug,
lighting, dusting, slopping, &c.
An average of 1,188 summonses have been issued
for the recovery of the rates in each quarter of the
year. This appears a large number, but it is quite
evident that a very large proportion of the persons
summoned are content to wait for the summons,
treating it as the "final demand" for payment,
preferring to pay the small fee of 1s. charged for
the summons and hearing, and to hold their money
as a matter of convenience, as long as possible.
That this is so is patent from the fact that only
five per cent. of those summoned attend the hearing,
the bulk of the remainder paying without further
proceedings being necessary.
An average of 26 committal warrants per quarter
were granted in respect of non-payment of rates,
the majority of the cases being those of persons who
set the Vestry at defiance, and have no goods on
the premises on which distress can be levied; and
it may be taken that practically the same persons