a n^ wq ON THE LOCAL TAXATION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN.. 159 NEWPORT, AND MOSTLY BOUGHT BY THEM DIRECT FROM THE SHIP. THEY GET NOW THE MARYPORT COAL, WHICH IS THE HEAVIEST AND THE WORST DESCRIPTION OF COALS. THE CON- SUMERS NOT HAVING IT IN THEIR POWER, AS FORMERLY, TO GO TO THE SHIPS TO BUY COALS, THEY ARE NOW OBLIGED TO TAKE THEIR COALS FROM THE COAL- FACTORS, WHICH ARE WEIGHED ON " THE QUAYS OR IN THEIR STORES, AND THE COALS HAVE BEEN MUCH DEARER SINCE THE ACT PASSED. SINCE I LEFT DUBLIN, THERE WAS A MR. JAMES LYONS ( WHO HAS THE CONTRACT FOR BARRACKS IN THE VICINITY OF CORK) CAME TO DUBLIN TO TRY IF HE COULD FREIGHT VESSELS FROM WHITEHAVEN TO GO TO CORK, TO DELIVER COALS FOR THE SUPPLY OF THE BARRACKS THERE, ACCORDING TO THE CUSTOM OF DUBLIN MEASURE, AS HE WAS A GREAT SUFFERER BY BUYING BY WEIGHT IN CORK, AND OBLIGED TO DELIVER BY MEASURE, AND WHICH I THINK IS CONCLUSIVE AGAINST SELLING COALS BY WEIGHT, IF THERE WAS NO OTHER OBJECTION TO THAT MODE OF VENDING THEM, AND OF WHICH 1 HAVE STATED MANY. Mr. George Nugent, CALLED IN ; AND EXAMINED. Mr. Richard Quit on. ( A 6 May.) HAVE YOU AT ANY TIME ACTED AS SECRETARY TO THE LORD MAYOR OF DUBLIN?— YES, IN THE YEAR 1820 AND 1821. WHO IS THE ESCHEATOR OR CLERK OF THE MARKETS IN DUBLIN?— THE LORD MAYOR. BEFORE WHOM ARE ANY EXAMINATIONS UPON CHARGES OF DEFICIENT MEASURES IN COALS BROUGHT?— WHEN COALS ARE SEIZED IN THE STREETS FOR DEFICIENT MEASURE, THEY ARE, I BELIEVE, ALWAYS BROUGHT BEFORE THE LORD MAYOR, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ASCERTAINING IF THEY ARE SO OR NOT. I THINK THE MAGISTRATES MIGHT POSSIBLY EXERCISE THAT POWER, BUT I BELIEVE THEY SCARCELY EVER DO. IN THE COURSE OF THE TIME THAT YOU WERE SECRETARY TO THE LORD MAYOR HOW MANY CASES OF THAT SORT CAME BEFORE HIM ?— I THINK NOT MORE THAN EIGHT OR TEN. WERE ANY OF THOSE COALS SO SEIZED CONDEMNED FOR BEING DEFICIENT IN MEASURE?— I BELIEVE EVERY TON SEIZED WAS CONDEMNED FOR DEFICIENT MEASURE. DIT IT APPEAR TO YOU WHETHER THE COALS SO SEIZED CAME FROM SHIPS, OR FROM COAL- YARDS?— THEY APPEARED TO COME FROM COAL- YARDS. THE LORD MAYOR ADMINISTERED AN OATH TO THE FACTOR WHEN HE ATTENDED. IN ONE CASE THE FACTOR STATED, THAT THE COALS WHICH WERE SEIZED AND BROUGHT BEFORE THE LORD MAYOR WERE GOING TO HIS COUNTRY HOUSE ; AND WHEN EXAMINED AS TO THE FACT, IT APPEARED, THAT INSTEAD OF GOING IN THE DIRECTION OF HIS COUNTRY HOUSE, THEY WERE GOING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION TO WHERE IT LAY. DURING THOSE YEARS WERE THERE ANY COMPLAINTS MADE ON THE SUBJECT OF CORN ?— THERE WERE SEVERAL. WHAT WAS THE NATURE OF THOSE COMPLAINTS?— ONE DESCRIPTION OF COMPLAINT, AND WHICH WAS VERY GENERAL, WAS, THAT THE CORN DELIVERED WAS NOT ACCORDING TO THE SAMPLE, AND THE OTHER WAS DELIVERING SHORT WEIGHT; AND FREQUENTLY THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF DIFFICULTY IN ASCERTAINING THE FRAUDS, FOR THE CARRIERS, IN MOST INSTANCES, STARTED THE CORN INTO THE PURCHASER'S STORES OR BINNS, IN THEIR ABSENCE, WITHOUT WAITING FOR THE PURCHASER'S EXAMINATION OF EITHER THE CORN OR THE WEIGHT. IT IS THE GENTRY OF DUBLIN WHO ARE MOST DEFRAUDED IN WEIGHT, FOR IT IS WELL KNOWN THEY HAVE NEITHER SCALES OR WEIGHTS AND EVEN IF THEY HAD, THEY COULD NOT GET THEIR SERVANTS TO USE THEM. THEY GAVE FALSE SAMPLES?— YES, THEY DELIVERED BY FALSE SAMPLES, AND SOMETIMES DEFICIENT WEIGHT, AND SOMETIMES BOTH TOGETHER. DID YOU EVER KNOW ANY COMPLAINT BROUGHT BEFORE THE LORD MAYOR ON THE SUB- JECT OF HAY ?— YES ; HAY IS WEIGHED BY A MACHINE IN SMITHFIELD ; IT IS PACKED OR PUT ON CARTS THE DAY OR THE EVENING BEFORE, AND IT IS SUBJECT IN RAINY WEATHER TO ABSORB THE WET WHICH MAY FALL ON IT FROM THE TIME IT IS LOADED UNTIL IT IS SOLD IN THE MARKET THE NEXT DAY, MORE PARTICULARLY IN THE WINTER SEASON. WE HAD FREQUENT COMPLAINTS OF THIS NATURE, WHICH THE CLERKS OF THE MARKET ( WHO I BELIEVE ARE VERY ATTENTIVE TO THEIR DUTY) COULD NOT REDRESS; AND MANY DIFFICULTIES STAND IN THE WAY OF THE LORD MAYOR DOING IT EITHER. HAY IS SOLD BY WEIGHT?— IT IS. ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY DIFFICULTY THAT STANDS IN THE WAY OF DETECTING FALSE WEIGHTS IN THE CITY OF DUBLIN ?— THERE IS. THERE MAY POSSIBLY BE FORTY OR FIFTY PLACES IN A LINE OF STREET, OR ALONG THE QUAYS, WHERE WEIGHTS ARE IN USE. AS SOON AS THE LORD MAYOR OR CLERK OF THE MARKET ENTER INTO A YARD OR PLACE WHERE THERE IS A NUMBER OF WEIGHTS TO BE ASCERTAINED, AND WHILE THEY ARE DETAINED THERE, IF THERE ARE ANY FRAUDU- LENT WEIGHTS IN THE OTHER YARDS OR PLACES IN THE SAME LINE, THEY ARE AIL REMOVED OUT OF THE WAY. 5 4 9 - I i magistrates, Mr. George Nugent.