THE MAYOR’S COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 3145, 19 March 1873, Page 2

THE MAYOR’S COURT.

To the Editor.

Sir,—ln accordance with the promise made in my letter of the 15th inSt,, I now beg to lay before your readers b. Statement of the actual receipts and expenditure of the Mayor’s Court since its establishment in December, 186Q, by Mr Birch, up to December 31st, 1872, and also a separate statement applying to the period over which I have presided up to the same date, viz,, a period of two-and-a-hijlf years, in order to show that the statement made in the City Council at its last meeting is totally incorrect, as showing the net profit to the City applicable to the above-mentioned period. I may say that in this letter I intend only to deal with the figures and the financial aspect of the question, in order to show that, so far as money is concerned, it is a profit to the Corporation. But, to my mind, this is the last and least important phase of the question that should be thought of, in considering the propriety or otherwise of abolishing the Court j and in another letter, if you will permit me, I shall be prepared to argue the questionjift its social aspect, ahd shall take

the liberty, iti a friendly way, of discussing your leader on the subject, as I think a fair, calm, and impartial discussion can do no harm, and may possibly do good. I now proceed to give the total receipts and expenditure of the Court since its establishment in December, 1869, to December 31, 1872, or for a period of three years and twenty-two day', which is as follows :

It will be obsservod that in the above statement of expenditure there are two items, for fittings, furniture, drapery furnishings, painting, Ac., amounting to £162 15s 3d, which were incurred in the fitting-tin and furnishing the Court, and which will serve their purpose for at least, say, nine years, and it would be manifestly unfair to charge the whole of tills amount to the period referred to. I thus claim to add twothirds of this sum, viz., £IOB 10s 2d to the profit shown above ... ... ... ... 108 10 2 In addition to these items there is another of £2l for law-books and Acts of General Assembly, which will answer their purpose for all time, and could be sold for more than they cost (being purchased very cheap) at any moment, and it must bo obvious this sum must also be added ... ... ... ... 21 0 0

Thus we have a net profit, for three years, of £709 15 3 or nearly £237 per annum.

I now append below an exact copy of the return furnished by the Town Clerk to Mr Ramsay, and quoted by that gentleman at the last Council meeting : “ Memo of Mayor’s Court.—Profit and loss account, from July 1, 1870, to December 31st, 1872, two and a-half years : Six months ending December,

Note. —This account is only charging onefourth of Ranger Bains’s salary against it, and nothing has been charged for stationery, as that has been supplied out of “Corporation Account.” I shall now give you a statement of the actual receipts and expenditure during above period, and then show what errors have hem made and what deductions should be made from the expenditure, as not being, in my opinion, applicable, which will show the actual profit on the business of the Court during the two and a-half years I have presided over it: —

* Of this amount £123 11s is applicable to the seven months preceding the period now under review, but which was not paid until I assumed office. Thus instead of £l2B, as alleged, leaving a balance of £222 9 10 To this amount, however, must be added the sum of £123 11 s as above ~ 123 11 0 The reason this amount was not paid during Mr Birth’s time, to which it refers, is that Mr B. appropriated the whole of the fees and fines until I became Mayor, when the General Government having discovered this, compelled us to disgorge. Secondly, the item £2l, for books and Acts, is, for the reasons I have before stated, not fairly chargeable, and I thus add 21 0 0 Thirdly, the whole of the item £3l 10s fpr Auditors’ fees should not be charged, inasmuch as the audit extended over the previous 7 months, and thus I have to add the sum of 7 0 0 I may observe, further, that, in connection with this itcip, it is one which will' iitj i+gipp occur, as the Auditors have now to include the Court audit in that of the City; it having been through an oversight this was not done from the opening of the Court. And fourthly, we have the item of £l2 16s for fittings and furniture which, for the reasons I have before stated, should not be all charged against this period, as they will serve the purposes of the Court for at least other six years ; and thus two-thirds of this amount must ho added to the profit of the period now under review, which amounts to about ... 28 10 0

Tims we have a net profit of ... £lO5 10 10 Instead of LI2B, stated by Mr Raragay tp bp the correct amount, or if \ye chargp the cqsp of the whole of the fittings and furniture, as also the whole of the Auditors’ fees, we still have a profit of L 370 Is; or in the one case an annual profit of about L 164, and in the other about Ll5O,

With regard to the charge of one-fourth of the Ranger's salary to the Court, I may observe that not one-eighth of his time is passed there, as will be sufficiently shown by the perusal of a letter he has, in obedience to my request, sent me, and which 1 forward for publication with this. There is a further sum should be credited to the Court, amounting to about LIS, which is usually paid every year for compiling the Citizens’ Roll, and which work was performed last year by the Clerk of the Court. 1 think, sir, I have sufficiently shown by the above, that at any i ate the financial operations of the Court hate been incorrectly stated. I believe the figures 1 have quoted to be correct, and I have “ nothing extenuated, or aught set down in malice.” The other aspects of the question I shall, as before said, deal with in another letter, —I am, &c., H. S. Pish, Juu. Dunedin, March, 18. To His Worship the Mayor. Sir, —In compliance with your instructions, I beg most respectfully to state that the time occupied by me in attending on the Mayor's Court is at the most two hours per day, and that it has never, to my knowledge, interfered with my duties as Ranger, as 1 commence my duties in the morning sometimes at 5 a,m., and sometimes at 8 a.m. (never later), and finish never before 5 p.m. —sometimes as late as 9 p m. -my rounds of the Belt.

The Ranger also begs most respectfully to inform your Worship that when appointed Hanger, his time was entirely to be devoted to the care of the Town Belt ; and it was so for the first five months, after which the Ranger was called upon to serve toe assessment notices, which he has every year continued to do, the year 1872 occupying the Hanger from the 19th of March to the 14th of May, with the exception of the little time spent in Court. Then there was the kerbing notices the Ranger had to serve, which also occupied a great portion of his time; and latterly, as your Worship is aware, the Ranger has had added to his duties the collecting of the dog and goat tax, which in itself will occupy a large amount of my time, and also to see that all places of amusement within the city are licensed, besides the supervision of the lamps within the city.—l have, &c., R. Bain, Ranger. Dunedin, March 17.

Total receipts under £2,286 17 7 Do. expenditure, as ; — Fittings and fundture £110 0 3 Drapery, furnishing, painting, &c. 48 15 0 Clerk's salary 84.5 1 0 One-fourth Ranger 0 Fain’s salary 112 10 Law books and Acts of Assembly 24 0 0 Auditors 31 10 0 Paid General Government 415 8 1 Printing and statiouery 40 1 6 Cross entry 50 0 0 Coals and charwoman 20 1 8 Witnesses’ costs ... 2 5 0 £1,709 12 6 Profit £577 5 X

1870, loss, £20 13 9 Six months ending June, 1871, profit 19 5 6 Six months ending December, 1871, profit 43 4 1 Six months ending June, 1872, profit 42 5 6 Six months ending December, 1872, profit 44 4 0 £148 19 1 Less above loss 20 13 9 £128 5 4

Total receipts “ expenditure as under — ... 1,605 6 1 Fittings and furniture £42 10 0 Printing 32 5 0 Coals ’ 10 1 8 Witnesses’costs Tjaw books and Acts 2 5 6 of Assembly 24 0 0 Salary, Clerk of Court 730 15 One - fourth Ranger 0 Bain’s salary 93 15 0 Auditors Paid General Go31 10 0 venunent 415 8 1* £1,382 l’> 3