14S MINUTES OF EVIDENCE BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE djl". Mr. Isaac Stewart. < 23 May.) YEARS. - o 3 O o s - J o o- a/ ° - J cfl D r - G P^. S By Order, Thos. Dav. Henry Sherrard, Clerk. Witness.— The basis of the calculation is therein stated as follows:—< c The above tax is levied under an Act of the 47th of his late Majesty George the 3d, c. 74, s. 10, and the basis of the calculation is therein directed as follows ; ' And for the better raising of the said instalments it shall and may be lawful to and for the said grand juries so assembled, or any twenty- four or more of them, and they are hereby em- powered to present, rate, and assess, on all such houses and buildings, any sum or sums of money not exceeding 1 s. in the pound in any one year, on the value of all such houses or other buildings, according to the valuation by which such houses or buildings respectively are now or hereafter may be valued or rated, for or towards the maintenance of the watch establishment of the said district.'" I have read through this for the purpose of showing to the Committee that the Wide- street Commissioners themselves cannot render an account, because they have failed in obtaining the information from the grand jury, they therefore are totally ignorant whether they receive the sum of money from the grand jury collector which they ought to receive, or not. Can you inform the Committee what Acts of Parliament were in force at the time of the Union imposing a duty on coals for Wide- streets, and when that Act ex- pired?— I have just looked at the Act of the 21st and 22d of Geo. 3, which is the first Act by which coals were made liable to a duty for the purposes of this Board; and it was to remain in force until the 25th of May 1788. Then again by another Act of the 23d and 24th of Geo. 3, it was continued to the 25th of May 1810. And by another Act of 49th Geo. 3. c. 72, it is continued in force until 1811; and then again by the 51st Geo. 3. c. 11, to remain in force until the 25th of March 1822. It may be fit for the Committee to consider whether these two latter Acts made since the Union were not a new burthen contrary to the .. Vet of Union, inasmuch as when the Act passed in 1800 this duty was to expire at ^ specific day; therefore any new Act which imposed an additional charge and burthen upon the article must, as I view it, be in contradiction to that Act. I beg to mention also, that I have always heard that Government had guaranteed the payment of the interest of the debt of this Board, because the duty on coals was terminable at a specific period, known to both borrower and lender at the time of the contract; it therefore could be 110 security beyond that period; and had the Act of Union been adhered to the subsequent Acts renewing this duty should not have passed into a law; besides, there was no provision made, that I am acquainted with, for liquidating the debt by means of a sinking or any other surplus fund; and 1 have always understood no new work or valuation was ever undertaken without the consent of Government. You have mentioned the duty of measuring the coals was occasonally done by deputy ; have you any further explanation to give on that subject?— Yes, I have; 1 mentioned the names of Oulton and Allen, who were, as I was informed, master- measurers, and had that duty performed by deputy. Upon this point I wish to explain more