14S MINUTES OF EVIDENCE BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE djl". Wr. your own appointment ?- I had; because my father had been vestry clerk be- Samuel Wray. fore me. . V _ / Do your official duties necessarily make you acquainted With all the transactions of that parish ?— They do ; I attend all the parochial meetings, and I enter the minutes of their transactions. Do you recollect the state of the parish of St. Michan, before the year 1793 ?— I do. What power did the parishes then possess of taxing themselves, and for what purposes did they tax themselves ?—' The parishes had the power of taxing themselves for the watchmen, the lamp lights, and the grand jury cess; that cess was imposed by the grand jury, and applotted and collected by the parishioners themselves. Had° they the management of the paving?— No, I think not; nor had they any control over it within my memory. They managed the parish cess, and they had the appointing of the collectors of those different cesses which I have mentioned. How were those powers usually exercised, were they generally liable to abuse ?— They were generally liable to abuse. Did the parish collectors on many occasions prove defaulters ?— They did. Were their securities made answerable to the full amount ?— 111 some cases not; I recollect an instance of a collector, who was deficient in his accounts of almost all the taxes that I mentioned ; I mean the grand jury cess, the watch cess, and some others; and the parishioners in vestry agreed to accept from his bail, 50/. in lieu of the entire deficiency. What was the amount of the debt due by St. Michan's parish to the grand jury, when the Act of 1793 came into force?— The amount of the debt due by St. Michan's parish, when the collection of the grand jury cess was taken out of their hands was 1,363/. 18s. 0id. What was the amount of the Easter applotment on your parish, under the first warrant from the grand jury, after the passing of the Act in 1793 ?— 1,265/. 1 \ d. What is now the usual amount of the half year's applotment on your parish, under the grand jury cess?— On an average, generally between seven and eight hundred pounds. Do you conceive, that in the present mode of collecting the money, by collectors appointed by the grand jury, that there is less likelihood of defalcation than under the old system ?— I think there is, most assuredly. Do you know any circumstances besides what you have stated, which would lead you to conclude that the parishes are not likely to manage the public money for the public benefit?— I am of opinion that the parishes are not likely to manage the public money for the public benefit, in consequence of my knowledge of the mismanagement which they practised formerly, when they had " the management of the public money; the watch of the city of Dublin was very inefficient; the persons appointed directors of the watch and the collectors of the cesses which I mentioned, generally obtained those situations by canvassing among the lower orders of the parishioners ; some of the directors were old men who had retired from business, and they were unable, in the opinion of many persons, and in my opinion, to per- form the duty of directors of the watch: the constables were frequently old and infirm persons, and very unfit to be constables, and the watchmen were very often their servants, who worked for them during the day, and acted as watchmen during the night; the parochial watch was so inefficient that the streets of Dublin were very unsafe, they were also very badly lighted; one could scarce go out after sunset without danger of being robbed in the streets. Did you know Mr. William Smith, of your parish ?— I did. was he not chairman of the parochial deputies ?— He was. When you state that Mr William Smith was chairman of the parochial deputies, to what parochial deputies do you allude?— Deputies appointed by different parishes, to prepare a petition to Parliament concerning the window tax. J hen the deputies to whom you refer, are not the deputies who have now Sain! yCrnS Parhament> resPecting the grand jury taxes of the city?— Was not Mr. Smith transported ?— He was State the reasons of it? - It was for felony, which he committed in the church, having robbed the poor at a charity sermon. a ln* lZT hlS STral cha!' aCter^' previously to that discovery ?- It was that of a man always complaining about government and taxation. Was