THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 1877.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2595, 2 May 1877, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 1877.

The statement of receipts and expenditure for the Borough of Thames during the year ending 31st March, 1877, has been published; for the information of the burgesses, as provided by law. Of; the total receipts amounting to £11,768 osßd, a sum of £7542 Os lid was received as subsidies from the Colonial and Provincial Government and from subscriptions and voluntary contributions, leaving only £4225 19s 9d to be considered as ordinary municipal revenue, derived from rates, licenses, and fines and:fees leviable or recoverable under the B^ye • laws. This suggests the question, what would the Borough have done but for the timely assistance of the Colonial Government in wiping off the overdraft,, which of itself amounted to the sum of £6762 11s lOd? This, although called a subsidy, was in. 'fact a free gift, and there will be not much chance in the future of obtaining money so easily. It is true the subsidy from the Government,, together with the publicans' license fees::w,hich will be collected during the next three months,, will tot up a respectable sum; but some economy will have to be practised to make both ends meet. Under the heading of "expenditure" there are Several items about which further information would be acceptable. "Salaries and allowances to Mayor," £607 4s 2d " has been understood, by some at first sight to mean that that amount has been absorbed by the Mayor.: A moment's reflection would be 'sufficient to remove this impression, and show that the salaries of the Town Clerk, Collector, &c., must be included ; but it might be as well to make matters plainer even at the risk of: making the publication of ■ the balance sheet a trifle more expensive. The item "Law expenses, £206 14s 3d," seems unnecessarily large, and some explanation is urgently required to satisfy burgesses on this head, as is also the case with the item " Waterworks, £334 8s Id." We fail to understand the items " gas, telegrams and petty cash, 2 valuations and 1 rate, and sundries." Surely the petty cash might well include sundries. These items are important, embracing an expenditure of £211 11s 4d.' This expenditure of the Borough requires investigation. Out of an expenditure of £11,768 0s Bd, only £3,222 7s 3d has been spent

on the formation and maintenance of streets and footpaths and in drainage ; while £3,496 l<ls Bel has gone in salaries, office charges, law expenses aud other ways, including bank intorest and some items for which we refer readers to the published balance sheet. The balance of the expenditure consists of the overdraft of £5048 18a 9d, which was mostly expended during last financial year, and left as a legacy to be included in the statement under notice. The statement of assets and liabilities calls for no special remark. It is more satisfactory than the statement of expenditure, as it shows a good balanco in favor of assets, although there is already the nucleus of a respectable bank overdraft. The moral to be deduced from these remarks is, that if it is worth while to publish a statement at all it is desirable to give details which people can understand. The Municipal Corporations Act may be complied with by such a statement as that published, but the burgesses are not satisfied, and as they want to know, it would *be better to give full particulars rather thanvague items which excite suspicion and grumbling.