Vr. William Harty> May.) 14S MINUTES OF EVIDENCE BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE djl". What has been the result of that inquiry ?- It has been a conviction that great nrmr exists respecting the subject, and that the more minutely we inquire and inves- tigate it, th^^^ shall be disposed to think the tax exorbitant, or liable to much ftbWould vou therefore recommend no change in the present system?— Certainly, I would recommend changes, but they would be in Acts of Parliament, not in acts ° f State tbe^ hanoes which you would propose?— The changes that appear to me specially necessary are three, two of which would affect all the local taxes, and would contribute to give relief, with respect to all, and the third respects the grand jury cess alone; the changes that I should recommend are, Jirst, in the principle upon which the local taxes should be applotted, modifying or changing that principle, it bein" founded on the very unequal asessment of minister's money. Do vou allude to a new assessment?— I will, if necessary, explain that to the Committee hereafter, but I am now merely mentioning the three changes ; the change in that respect is absolutely necessary, not so much as lessening the amount of the tax itself, hut as it would enable the tax to be levied so as to bear more equally, and therefore less oppressively on the citizens. The second change would be with' respect to the mode of collecting all the local taxes ; and the third change would consist either in altering the existing law, by which commitments to the Dublin prisons are regulated, or by passing such Act as may lead the county of Dublin to bear its due proportion of the expense; there are also minor modes by which relief could be afforded in economizing in the presentments, and especially by enabling purchases to be made with rpady money. What grand juries are entrusted with the power of presenting for the grand jury cess ?— I here are two presenting term grand juries, the Easter and the Michaelmas; and there are four sessional grand juries. Will you state the distinction between the presentments made by the term and the sessional grand juries?— Originally there had been little or no distinction, for all the term grand juries could present, and all the sessional grand juries could pre- sent for every object in common ; whence arose a great deal of confusion; so that the jurisdiction of each, with regard to presentments, is now clearly regulated ; and the regulation now is, that the sessions grand juries present for all expenses con- nected with the prosecution of offenders, and the maintenance of the sessions house as a court of justice. Do you mean the prosecution of prisoners at sessions ?— Yes, at the sessions ; the term grand juries present for the prosecution of prisoners at commission ; the session grand juries also present for the rent of rooms for the accommodation of the officers of the gaol guard; and the term grand juries present for roads and bridges ( not over the Liffey) and for the maintenance of prisoners, the payment of all officers, the repairs and building of prisons, and all the other objects from which sessions grand jury are now precluded. Have the commission grand juries any power of presenting or raising money?— None; their jurisdiction is altogether criminal. Have the grand juries a very extensive discretion in passing contracts ?— Their discretion, as far as it exists at all, is strictly limited by law, that is, they can pre- sent for nothing that they are not authorized'to do by Act of Parliament; but take the presentments for any one year, examine each presentment in detail, and sup- posing the amount to be 25,000/. in a year, 1 will venture to say, that < 5,000/. of it is not at discretion, and their discretion over even that 5,0001. is very limited. What are the objects for which presentments are usually made by the term grand juries ot Dublin r— I he term grand jury presentments, in fact, embrace all others, because the presentments made by the sessions grand jury, come before the term grand jury and the court finally to be fiated, in order that the whole may be collected by the same collectors; the objects for which the presentments are made may be whinh n ' tvvelve distinct heads : first, the sessional presentment, the nature of disnpnirt f n ir A th<? fr* are P^ entments for certain hospitals and andP of r Anna Liffey tS 13 for I) 0Unda § e Paid * collector of the cess and y \ V f- Stl'eet tax' ( the A » na Liffey tax is now abolished;) ? he slrS - ? aCtMUn ,0f th° Se tW0 taxes 10 ^ i- tain officers, which come unde eXpenS6/ attGndinS the trial ^ prisoners at commis- walls' to nrotert rprfai fol , co; o » ei\^ r inquests; the sixth head is for roads, and ofW atam roads from the encroachments of the sea, which are sources CXpU1Se' the seventh head embraces all repairs, new works and rents paid