London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Westminster 1889
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, The United Parishes of St. Margaret and St. John, Westminster]
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Your Sub-Committee find that the sums paid to the credit of the Vestry in respect of summons fees have been as under:—
| Year ended at Lady-Day | Collectors | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr A Aldin | Mr J White | Mr C Richardson | Mr W Briant | Mr T E K White | Mr W E Waterman | |||||||||||||
| £ | s | d | £ | s | d | £ | s | d | £ | s | d | £ | s | d | £ | s | d | |
| 1881 | 5 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 1882 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1888 | 2 | 7 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 1884 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 4 | ||||||
| 1885 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 188(3 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1887 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1888 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 4 | |||||||||
| 1889 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 16 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 4 | |||
For each of these years the sum of £12 12s 0d was paid to
the clerk to the Justices byway of " gratuity for the
services rendered by him upon the hearing of the cases,"
and £1 0s 0d to the court keeper of the Sessions House
for preparing the room
Your Sub-Committee find that when the accounts for 1882-3
and 1883-4 were examined by the Chartered Accountants
and the Elected Auditors in 1885, the following references
were made to the subject of summons fees:—
Chartered Accountants' Report, dated 29th April, 1885
There does not appear to be any check upon these;
the collectors sometimes allowing the amounts
and not being called upon to state from whom
they have received them, and who have been
excused the payment It is the system in some
parishes to have special receipts for these summonses
Elected Auditors' Report, dated 8th July, 1885
Whilst fully recognising the desirability of instituting
a check upon the accounts in this particular, we
venture to suggest that serious inconveniences
might be found to arise by the withdrawal from
the collectors of the discretionary power, in certain
cases, of remitting or allowing the cost of
summonses with which they are now entrusted,
and which they are not shown to have exercised