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THE VESTRY,
of
The United Parish of St. Margaret and St. John
the Ebangelist, Westminster.
ANNUAL REPORT
For the Year ended Lady-day, 1892.
WHEN Sir Benjamin Hall's masterly Act received the
Royal Assent thirty-six years ago, the legislature
undoubtedly saw good reasons for imposing upon the
Metropolitan Vestries and District Boards the obligation to
publish an annual report of their proceedings at the close of
every financial year, Up to that time it had been the custom
for the different local boards and commissions (whose name
was legion) to meet and deliberate with closed doors. The
local newspapers which now report more or less completely
the principal matters of interest coming before the various
local authorities, did not exist; and the enquiring ratepayer
bad not within his reach at the free public libraries
the printed minutes of the Vestry's proceedings, as he now
has. To these causes may be attributed the fact that but
thirty reports have been sold to ratepayers during the last
four years, although householders are informed by a memorandum
on the rate demand-notes that such can be obtained
for the sum of twopence per copy. The 198th section of
the Metropolis Local Management Act remains, however,
upon the statute book, and with it the duty of making an
annual report to the ratepayers. The Vestry have therefore
ordered, for the sake of economy, that the different
matters which have engaged their attention during the
past year be touched upon as succinctly as possible, leaving
their work to be judged, without further explanation, from
the usual financial and statistical statements and tables,
B