1( 32 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE such an improvement?— I do not; the street is already as wide as almost any street Isaac Stewart, in London or Westminster. > ^ Having stated the amount of the debt, can you inform the Committee whether May.) there is any sinking fund provided, or any prospect of this debt being paid off?— I believe there is no such thing as a sinking fund, nor any prospect whatever of the debt being paid off by means of the present income and taxes received by that board. Have you made extracts from their accounts so as to enable the Committee to be aware what the amount of the interest of their debt is, and the amount of their revenue ?— I have; on the one side I have stated the interest of the debt at 13,960/. 9s. 6d.; rents, 1,066/. 6s.,- salaries, 662/. 10s.; law costs, 1,124/. 7s. 1 id.; advertising and stationery, 272/. 2. S. 11 \ d.; contingencies, 20/. 15s. 5d.; those sums being added together, make 17,106/. 115.; and the revenue upon the other side on coals, comes to 12,595/. 7s. 3d.; rents of ground, 800/. 12s. 36?.; club tax, 846/. 9.?. gd.; rents of houses, 1,144/. 5s. 7id.; those sums added together make 15,386/. 14s. io± d. leaving a deficiency of 1,719/. 16s. 1 \ d. Having stated the rents of houses to be 1,144/. 5 s. 7 \ d. are you able to inform the Committee what is the general rate of purchase of that property ; supposing those rents were sold for the extinction of the debt, what would be their value ?— Sixteen or sixteen and a half years purchase. That would amount to about 31,118/. to 31,700/.?— Yes; in addition to the last answer, I have been informed, that some of those rents are mortgaged to persons who have lent them money, as security for part of the debt already mentioned; the ballast office lent them 11,000/. and they have got a mortgage as security. Have you heard any complaints in the city of Dublin, with respect to the con- duct of this board ?— I have heard many complaints, owing to the practice of holding inquisitions on houses, and afterwards not taking them until after the lapse of many years; and their having a right to hold other valuations, or what are called inquisitions, at any time they think proper, whenever the value of the pro- perty becomes reduced, owing to the circumstance of a valuation being had ; and it generally so happens, that property becomes greatly reduced after being valued ; they then, after it has been greatly reduced by means of the first valuation having taken place, and liable to be taken down at any time, on their paying the sum which such premises have been, or may be valued at, thereby making the property conditionally that of the commissioners. Have the cases to which you allude been of frequent occurrence?— Very frequent. Do you consider that in point of fact, Dublin requires any additional expendi- ture of public money, for the improvement of the streets under the control of the Wide- street commissioners ?— I think not; there might be some small alterations necessary, but no material or expensive ones; nor do I consider, upon general principles, that expensive works ought to be undertaken even for necessary im- provements, unless the trade were such as to be capable of affording it, and I do not think the trade of Dublin is in that situation. Having stated your impression that a deficiency in the funds of the commis- sioners is likely to take place, does any remedy occur to you, to provide for that . contingency?— Yes; in the first place I will mention, that a saving might take place out of the present expenditure. In what particulars?— Six hundred pounds might be saved out of the salaries. How would you provide for the duties of the board, if you left only 62/. for salaries ? — The commissioners have no salary; those are for officers, and I appre- hend that if there is no business going forward, and if there are no expensive works going on, that it would be quite unnecessary to keep up an expensive establishment. What other saving do you think practicable ?— I think that 1,000/. might be saved on the law costs. Those legal expenses chiefly accrue in the valuation of houses ?— Yes; and for attending the juries. Then it is by the cessation of the duties of the board that you contemplate the possibility of that saving being made?— Yes. Is there any other saving which you think practicable?— Yes ; in the advertising, stationery and contingencies, which appear now to cost 292 /.; I compute that 119/. would be quite sufficient to answer this purpose ; I will beg leave to mention further, »