3ET MO111 2/ J ON THE LOCAL TAXATION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN. 137 The last contract that was made was at 1/. 9 s., when oil was nearly double the price it is at present. At what time was that?— Immediately prior to the establishment of the present system of having the work done under the directions of the Commissioners, and not by contract. What evidence have you of that contract, and the rate at which it was made ?— I have heard it very generally stated in Dublin. You have not seen the contract ?— I have not. Have you ever had occasion to make an application to the Commissioners of Paving to put the law of the 47th of George the Third into execution ?— I have not; but the law expenses of the Board are very heavy; in the return for 1821, the amount is stated at 1,752/. 15$. 5d. Mercurii, 21" die Maii, 1823. THOMAS SPRING RICE, ESQUIRE, IN THE CHAIR. Mr. Andrew Coffey, called in; and Examined. WHAT is your situation?— I am engineer to the water- works at Dublin. How long have you filled that situation ?— Since the commencement of the year 1807. As engineer of the water- works at Dublin, are you apprized of the rates at which the paving board make their charges for the paving of streets broken up under the authority of the water companies ?— Yes. At what rates were the directors of the water- works of Dublin charged at the first establishment of the present paving board ?— In the first instance it was done by contractors for 1 s. a yard, but they fell out with the contractors, and then they paved it with their own people, and charged two shillings a yard. Do you, in your answer, limit the information you have given to the Committee to the present paving board?— To the present paving board. How long did they charge you at the rate of 1 s. a yard?— But a few months or weeks. In what year did they commence charging you 2 s. a yard ?— The same year that the board was established by Act of Parliament, in the year 1S07. By the 47th of the King ?— It was. Have they continued up to the present time, to charge you at the rate of 2 s.— They have. Are you acquainted with the wages of labour in the city of Dublin ?— Yes. During the interval which has elapsed since the year 1807 or 1808, has there not been a fall in labour ?— There has. Is not labour in point of fact, at the present moment lower in Dublin than it was in the war prices of 1812 and 1813?— It is a great deal lower. Can you inform the Committee how much per cent you conceive it is lower ?—• The difference in common labourers may be about 25 per cent. Has there been any reduction made by the paving board in proportion to this re- duction in the price of labour?— None, whatever. In point of fact, is not the rate charged by the paving board, the highest rate or the maximum, which they are entitled to charge under the Act?— Exactly. They never have charged less than the maximum, except for that short period, during which the contract system subsisted ?— No. What is the charge of paving for private individuals?— I could do it well for ninepence per yard ; I have done some work for the commissioners of Excise lately in the interior of their court yard at the custom house, where the paving board has no control, and it did not cost me so much as ninepence per yard. Do you think that is as well done as the average execution of the work under the paving board ?— Fully as well. Mr. John Peters, called in; and Examined. WHERE do you reside?— In Kildare- street, in Dublin. How long have you resided in that city? — All my life time. Have any circumstances of late led you to pay any peculiar attention to the subject of the local taxation of the city of Dublin ?— Yes. rAn What