| £ | s. | d. | |
Sewerage and Drainage | 1168 | 17 | 1 | |
Metropolis Improvements | 411 | 5 | 2 | |
General Purposes, viz.:— | ||||
| Salaries, Wages, &c. | 271 | 16 | 8 |
| Printing, Stationery, &c. | 45 | 14 | 6 |
| Rent, Taxes, &c. | 23 | 9 | 0 |
Repayment of Loans, &c.,special:— | ||||
| Principal | 283 | 12 | 5 |
| Interest | 272 | 17 | 5 |
Ditto ditto, general:— | ||||
| Clergy Mutual, £140,000 | 255 | 15 | 2 |
| Bank of England, £400,000 | 351 | 14 | 10 |
| Clergy Mutual, £42,000 | 31 | 16 | 1 |
| Contingencies | 40 | 0 | 11 |
| £3156 | 19 | 3 | |
This estimate, however, having been printed and sent to the various vestries and district boards, underwent considerable discussion and some modifications, the principal of which latter, were, that instead of including the whole cost of the new buildings in Spring Gardens in the precepts for 1860, it was determined to spread it over three years; an item of £20,000 for deodorization was reduced to £10,000; the amount for special charges was reduced by £5,000; and the sum of £2,000 was substituted for £5,000 for minor improvements. These alterations, with a credit of £364 10s. 10d. (the remaining portion of the £3053 16s. 3d. adverted to in former reports), had the effect of diminishing the amount required from this parish to £2239 10s. 9d., and it was thus apportioned by the precept dated 11th May, 1860:—
| £ | s. | d. | |
| The Whole Parish | 1004 | 13 | 3 |
| The Counters Creek District | 518 | 19 | 1 |
| The Ranelagh District | 715 | 18 | 5 |
| £2239 | 10 | 9 |
In September, the third precept for the Main Drainage rate was received, amounting to £2928 2s.; and in the following February the ordinary precept for 1861, £2580 1s. 4d.; therefore within the period comprised in this report this parish has been required to provide for metropolitan purposes the large sum of £7,747 14s. 1d.
The orders made by the vestry in pursuance of these precepts, and the rates made by the board of guardians thereunder, are shewn in the following table:—
Date and amount ofOrder of Vestry. | Date and amount ofRate made by Guardians. | Rateable value ofproperty charged. | Gross amount ofRate. | ||||||||
WHOLE PARISH. | |||||||||||
1860, July 2 | £1004 | 13 | 3 | Oct. 3rd | ¼d. in the £ | £219,477 | 10 | 0 | £228 | 8 | 9⅜ |
1861, Apr. 9 | £1499 | 12 | 6 | May 1st. | 2d. in the £ | £220,927 | 0 | 0 | £1839 | 3 | 8 |
RANELAGHDISTRICT. | |||||||||||
1860, July 2 | £715 | 18 | 5 | Oct. 3rd | 1d in the £ | £184,992 | 0 | 0 | £770 | 9 | 1½ |
1861, Apr. 9 | £600 | 16 | 11 | May 1st | 1d. in the £ | £186,421 | 0 | 0 | £776 | 3 | 10 |
MAINDRAINAGE.—WHOLE PARISH. | |||||||||||
1860, Oct. 23 | £2300 | 0 | 0 | Oct. 31 | 3d. in the £ | £219,477 | 10 | 0 | £2741 | 5 | 3¾ |
The metropolitan board of works early in February of the present year determined to re-introduce into parliament the bill for amending the Metropolis Local Management Act, containing the same provisions as were in the bill of last session, with the exception of the introduction of certain clauses for the re-apportionment of the Rock Loan; but in consequence of the strong opposition to those clauses, the board deemed it expedient to withdraw them from the bill, and to embody them in a separate bill, and the two bills were accordingly introduced into the House of Commons. The first of them, after great delays, passed through the House of Commons on the nineteenth of July, 1861, and was read a first time in the House of Lords on the twenty-second of that month, but in consequence of the advanced period of the session, it was found impossible to procure its passage through the required stages in order to its becoming law this year. The bill No. 2, having relation to the Rock Loan, being strongly opposed by certain members of the House of Commons, was withdrawn.
With respect to the abortive bill of 1860, the solicitors of the metropolitan board reported: “We think it will be nearly correct to estimate the expense to the board, exclusive of printing, &c. by the printers of the board, and expenses of that kind, at about £1650.” It is to be hoped that the failure of 1861 will be somewhat less costly.
The vestry of Chelsea have at various times responded to the invitation of the metropolitan board for suggestions during the preparation of the several bills for amending the Metropolis Local Management Act; for convenience of reference, their labours in this respect will be found in the Appendix No. 19, (pages 77 to 103).