is 23 8 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE TIIE Mr. James Lane. 16 February 1838. ou 070 Chairman.] What sort of complaints were made ?- Individuals have come before' the grand jury to complain that the returns were not altogether as they to^ V hat happened before the grand jury when those complaints were made? — The grand jury investigated them, and somet. mes made alterations, and at Then the attention of the grand jury has been called to those irregulari- ^ O^ And in some instances they have been corrected and in some instances the grand jury did not think fit to make any alteration .— Exactly so. 983. Mr. Serjeant Jackson.] Is there any record of those proceedings before ^ O& T" Are you Jble to guess in how many instances such complaints have come before the grand jury?— I do not think for the last three or four years any com- plaints have come before them, but previous to that there were several. It does not come within my department at all, but I am generally with the grand jury when they are sitting upon anything of the kind, and I do not recollect any for the last two or three years. 985. Then do you mean that for the last two or three years matters have been more regularly transacted ?— I think they have been more looked into by the public at large. 986. Do you think that the supplementary valuation ordered by the grand jury in 1832 led to more attention being directed to the subject than had been before, so as to bring under rating premises that ought to be rated ?— It led people that had not been rated before, and who were rated then, to look more into it, and to see that they were not worse treated than their neighbours. But it was in conse- quence of the necessity of making the thing as public as possible that the grand jury in 1837 ordered the return of the premises exempted to be printed. 987. Has this been done after the last two assizes ?— It was only done at the spring assizes. 988. Mr. Beamish.'] Do you remember Mr. Wherland being employed by the grand jury to revise the returns of the parish constables ?—^ Yes. 989. What was the result of his revision?— At the time that he revised he brought in a great many that had been returned as poor. 990. He brought in a great many to the rates that the parish constables had exempted?— Yes, he did. 991. Mr. Serjeant Jackson.] Can you supply the Committee with a list of those? — No. 992. Did not Mr. Wherland return the result of his examination to the grand jury?— Yes ; but they went to the clerk of the Crown. 993. Has he that document?— I should think so. 994. Who is the clerk of the Crown ?— Mr. Johnson. 995• And you have no doubt that that document is preserved amongst the records of the clerk of the Crown ?— Certainly. 996. Then there are persons whose names appear in the parish valuation books of the assizes of the summer of 1830, the spring and summer of 1831, the sprint and summer of 1832, and the spring and summer of 1833, who are returned at those assizes as poor."— At every assizes. 997- They were exempted by the grand jury from taxation in consequence of that return :— 1 hey were. 1 998 Were those deficiencies made good afterwards by a presentment upon the ^ 15Ctl0fthe0^ Ttaereturni that I have were previous to making beS mvhlekhetrS W<? ^ y° U after the assizes ?~ After the assizes, and oeroie my making my applotment. 1 ev v° u pon^ the '' comm anit v^ n0Nn„ CCeSsity f°'' after adiustment good the not charge ) 0; an* Persons returned "> ™ in that way I did " puui a[ any othei ot the assizes mentioned before ; that