APPENDIX, No. i. The Examination of W. D. DIGGES, Efq.; taken on Oath, the 26th & 27th of January, and 5th & 6th of May ib' 08. This Examinant faith, npH AT he is Exarriinator of AuCtion Duties in Ireland. He was firft appointed JL to check the AuCtion Duty in Dublin by Board's letter in the year 1 803, and in March 1S07 was appointed Examinator of AuCtion Duties by corr. mifiion, and placed on the Eltablifhinent with a falary of 200 per annum, and £.% o per annum for a Clerk. The Books kept in his office are, the Notice Book, the Ledger, the General Duty Book, the Report Book, and the Certificate Check Book. All notices for Audtions, and all Catalogues, Declarations and Accounts of fale in Dublin, are delivered at the office of Examinant by the Auctioneers; and from the Country diftriCts are tranfmkted monthly by the different ColleCtors, who fhould alfo tranfmi'c monthly to Examinant a return of all licenfed Auctioneers in their diftriCts. On receiving the notices and catalogues from Auctioneers in Dublin, he caufes them to be entered in a Book called The Notice Book, from which they are transferred to an account opened for each Auctioneer in the Ledger, and fpecifying the declarations and " fale accounts, as well as the notices received by Examinant. If the Auctioneer does not come within the period prefcribed by Law, either to make the declaration required, or to pay the Duty on the fale, the neceffary informations are filed to enforce the penalties confequent on the negleCt. The notices, catalogues, declarations and fale accounts received from the Country, are all kept feparate according to the feveral diftriCts, and examined, computed and compared with the monthly returns required to be made by the Collectors to this Examinant, of their receipts of Auction Duty during the month, to fee that every Auction, of which notice had been ferved, was accounted for. In cafe the notices from the Country are not followed either by declaration or fale account, Examinant applies to the Board, and informations are filed againft the defaulters. When Examinant difcovers any erfor in the computation, or any inaccuracy in the documents, he reports the fame to the Bc- ird. There is a fupernumerary Gauger attached to his office, whofe duty it is to check by perfonai vifus she AuCtion fales, which are daily held in Dublin : the Officer on the fucceeding morn- ing after his vifits, enters his obfervations in a book kept for that purpofe in the office of this Examinant, by which means Examinant is enabled to fee whether . the Officer has vifited che fales, for which notice had been delivered, and alfo in fome degree to check the accounts afterwards brought in by the different Auctioneers. When an Auctioneer delivers in his fale account, it is left for a day or two for examination, after having been verified upon oath before Examinant by the Auctioneer. The account is claffed, and the Duties computed according to the claffes, and afterwards returned to the AuCtionecr, with a certificate of the amount of Duty ; the account and certificate of the amount of Duty ; the account and certificate are taken by the Auctioneer to the Examinator of Excife, from whofe office, after recomputation, they are returned to the office of Examinant. The certificate is then delivered to the Auctioneer, who takes it to the Collector's office and pays the Duty, but the fale account is retained in this Examinant's office ; and ifany error is afterwards difcovered in the account, this Examinant rectifies it, either by furcharging the Auctioneer with the Duty fbort charged, or reporting an overplus of Duty paid, in order that it may be allowed ro the Auctioneer, as the cafe may be. The ColleCtor of Excife of Dublin diltriCt makes out and tranfmits to Examinant a monthly Voucher of the AuCtion Duties received by him during the month ; of thefe Vouchers there are duplicates, which are checked by Examinant with the fale accounts received, and vvirh • the certificates iffued during the month; after this examination he counterfigns and returns them to the ColleCtor, who keeps one and tranfmits the other to the Exami- nator of Excife, who thereon certifies quarterly to the Accountant- General the amount of Auction Duty to be charged to the ColleCtor. In the country diftriCls . the Auc- tioneer produces the fale account of the AuCtion tothe Officer of his walk, who computes