CORRESPONDENCE.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 57, 5 May 1877, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

[Our correspondence column being open, no responsibility can be accepted m respect to opinions expressed by correspondents.]

A ■ . TO THE EDITOB. Sib,— The working of the County System is one which simply requires to be •understood so as to. be appreciated, and a resume of the mode adopted will, no doubt, interest some of s&ur readers. The members of "the Grand Jury" are the County Council, and .consist of twenty-three men, taken from amongst the highest cesspayers ; m fact from the freeholders who are assessed upon not less than five hundred pounds per ~Shnum. These gentlemen meet a week previous to each assizes, andareballotted for aa/as /a grand jury hy the high sheriff of the county, who then swears them m .as such. . The Chairmaji of this body is he whose • name comes first from the ballot box at one assizes j and the ex-high sheriff at the other. The Grand Jury then proceed'.:tp transact the fiscal business ; i.e. that of a council. Their criminal trying idoes not come on until they have been resworn before the going judge of assize, whose advice they seek should any matter demand it. The officers of the County are first, and most important; the Secretary. to the' Grand Jury, who, if possible, should .'; be a lawyer, or if such cannot be had, a man of good position, high class educa- ' tiohand county experience} is found to iUi the office, as on the Secretary's maniagenient the entire working of the ■ sys* tern depends, therefore the officer is paid .a salary of from £300 to £600 per annum, with offices m court house, &c. The Secretary pays his own clerks, who are not* servants of the county. The duties of the second officer, "the county surveyor " (engineer), are very ; onerous, and must be fulfilled by an, engineer of undoubted professional ability, one who has been duly articled, R 8^ 6 ? 1 " 8 time to his profession m - °^% .branches, namely, engineering an%architecture, and who has passed the £?^i- c ? tifill examination laid down J^Board of Works for candidates fer^office of County Engineer,

Upon the Engineer devolves the all absorbing question of keeping down taxation. Therefore the law sets forth m the Grand Jury Act, that this officer shall travel over every high, or county road, once between assizes, so as to see their state himself, although a deputy, or rather an overseer, takes immediate charge of the work m each barrony. The Surveyor— or Engineer, more properly — has the charge of all county buildings save the Lunatic Asylums, which are under the control of the board of Public Works, and are kept m repair at the expense of the General Government of the country. For the services of such an officer the salary averages £500. The overseers are paid out of the Barroniai funds, and the Engineer pays his own assistants should he require them ; except m special eases where a clerk of works may be deemed absolutely necessary. In the caseof this office, as m the ease of all the others, offices, stationery, &c, are provided by the County at Large, but the officer provides all the requisite instruments suitable for an engineer's office, and these remain his property. The duty of the Engineer is performed m all cases with the approval of the Secretary, between whom a cordial feeling should exist, and when such is the case the County is well served. The Engineer, after he has made the drawings and estimates of works, submits them to the Secretary, who again places them before what is called a " presentment sessions," holden m the Court house of the Barrony where the work is required, the court being composed of the magistrates exofficio, aud of six of the highest ratepayers, rated upon not less than £2oo per annum — men from the petty jury pannel,andthis court decides, or " present " that this work is. necessary, and authorise the levying the amount of the estimate by assessment on the Barrony. This Sessions takes place shortly after the assizes, and when a period of some months has elapsed, the tenders for the various works are opened publicly at a Boad Sessions, holdeu just prior to the coming assizes, when contractors enter into bonds for the performance of the works, these bonds being subject to the fiat of the judge. The monies for these works are not paid until the following assizes, except m the case of special contracts, and then only upon the certificate of the engineer. The various "Barronies" pay a per centage out of their Assessment to the " County at large," so that' the money levied within its boundaries is virtually expended there. The quota paid to the County being for the subscription to the Consolidated Fund, and to the Fund from whence the Grand Jury is supplied with money for works chargeable to the County at large, salaries, &c. When special works are required by the County at large, such for instance as bridges, prisons, &c, the Engineer submits the plans and estimates to the grand jury at the next Assizes, after having had the approval of the Boad Sessions, as before described, and should a majority of thirteen members decide to borrow the estimated sum from the Public Funds, an application is made to tire Board of Works, a bod}-- composed of three eminent Engineers, who examine into the matter minutely with the assistance of their official Engineer and A rc hitect, together with reports from two County Engineers from adjacent Counties, when, should the result be favorable, the government, on the advice of the Board of Works, will advance the requisite amount to the County Treasury, for twenty years, repayable by instalments on the security of the Cess. And here I may remark that without such a body as a "Board of Public Works " the Colony of New Zealand can never hope to get on with the Counties m monetary matters, bad as it will be with thirty-nine Counties, what a chaos one hundred and seventeen must be if all are permitted to separate. The vouchers for payment of all accounts must first be signed by the Engineer, then countersigned by the Secretary, then by the Chairman of the Grand Jury, before the Treasurer issues cheques, so that no log rolling, or any thing unfair can take place. The third officer, is the Treasurer," not third as regards position, for all three must of necessity be men of education, and good social standing before any of them could attempt to seek office. The Treasurer receives the movies from the collectors and accounts to the Finance Committee of the Grand Jury, and a paid Auditor, who examine into the accounts half-yearly, assisted by the Engineer and Secretary, thereby placing defalcation almost beyond possibility on the' part of the Treasurer. Money, is however voted to be paid to the order of the County Surveyor, to be used at his discretion to meet contingencies, such as accidents to bridges, laud slips, &c. The foregoing is the general outline of the grand jury system, as carried out at Home, ancl . the Assessment of the County is based upon the valuation laid down by the late Sir BAchard Griffiths. '.•'•Let the various ridings of this County select suitable, men, 'so as to make up the number of the County Council to twenty- three, thirteen being a quorum, and neither Manchester or Kiwitea will have cause to complain of not being fairly represented; or your own correspondent to wince &t what is done m the "Herald" o&ce, Wanganui. —Yours* &c, Edwakd H. Wright^ Feilding, April 26th, 1877.