The Express.
London, England, 1850-03-05 00:00:00

AUDIT OF RAILWAY ACCOUNTS BILL.

Earl 011.ANVILLE said that some of their lavishly* at
the b. fining as the session questioned him as to the lama
lama a the government ea the subject of the auditing of rail-
way accounts, end he then stated that they only waited to
Low what aurae would be taken by the riilerey directors
and others interested. It new appeared that the railway
directors were not likely themselves to bring forward a mea-
sure which at the close of the lest sessionihey had amounted
their latent/ea to introduce, and it appeared right to the go-
mrament that they should so longer delay soma information
as to the coarse which they latended to pursue ea thissubjeet.
lie was about to ask Weil lordships to give a first 'mange to
a bill for the audit of railway amounts. It was usual for their
lordship. to allow a bill to be reed a first time, as a matter
of course; and he would mot, therefore, go into any aria-
meat to snow that the present mode of auditing,railway ae
courts was not a good one, or that the measure proposed by
the government was the best adapted for the purpose. At
the same time, be theta ht it right that he should state the
principal provisions of the Intl which he held in his hand.
The object of %hi bill was, wi h the smallest possible
amount of iaterfereme, to secure an independent and con-
Siamese audinag of railway 'comets ; and thsvad of the pre.
seat system, Irr which each company, ewe • year, appointed
two auditor', t err reopened to establish one pernuuvat
amoral board, whom duty it would be matinnowsly to audit
all the accounts of the various railways in the kingdom.
The machinery by which this board would be fleeted was as
follows t—Esitts railway company, at a emend or
panel seeder, or at the first annual regret
medlar WWI the peening of the bill, would elect one
delegate; that the several delegates should elect a chairman;
and that their rotes should be in proportion to the amount
of capital they represented. The delegate representise atom.
pony, whine paid up capital did not amount to 2,000,0001.,
would be ealitled to ase vote ; where the capital amounted
to 2 000,0001, and was loss thin 6,000,0001., the delegate
would have two votes ; where the capital was 6,000,0001.
and nadir 7,000,0001, three votes; and when it was above
10.000,0001., the delegate would have tour votes. The
delegates at their first meshing would proceed to nominate
• chairman sad the otter members of a board, ler the pur-
pose of aunties railway acemats. This audit board, when
sleeted, should be irremovabl., except by the vote of two-
thirds of the del-gates, *sectioned by the commissioners of
railways. As to the duties which would devolve en this
beard, it wee proposed that they should have the power,
and be called to report haltyser/y to inch
isonspeny, whether their financial trenmetions seemed to be
properly ordered ; whether tne accounts of rew ipts and en-
penditare ham been correctly set forth ; whether the heeds
of romans sad capital are sufliciently distinct: whether the
dividend declare(' is injurious to the capital of the railway ;
sad whether the law charges are properly toed. It would
also be their day to sabmt all there reports, together with
as memai of thole own expenditure, to parliament at the
begin:nag of each year. And in order to enable them to
perform these duties, they would have the power to call
before them the oaten at the railway companies; to in-
spect, by themselves or their ofilons, all books doeumente,
and vouchers, which sateht be necessary to enable them to
give a comet baleen, sheet of the railway accounts. It was
proposed 'list the expenses incurred by this bill should be
defrayed in the following manner :—ln the first plate,
10,0001. would be eubseribed by the railway companies, and
paid into the Bank of England, to the credit of an account
to be opened in the name of " the auditors of railway ac-
counts." It was proposed afterwards that the expenditure
of the railway auditors ihou'd be audited in the lams
manner as the public ammunta, by the commissioners for the
auditing of the public menial. The railway auditors would
hays to prepai• an estimate of their ace-unto for the ensuing
half-year, which would be certified by the said commis
Messrs for auditing the public **counts. I t would be open
to the delegates ct railway companies to object to any items
of expenditure ; and if they did ea object, an appeal would
be toads to the c nentiesioners of rsi.wsyo, whose decision on
the disputed points would be foal. These were the prin-
cipal points to which he thought it necessary to call their
lordships' attention; eo.d he would conclud- by moving that
the Dili which he had laid oa the table be read a first
time. (Hear, hear.)

Lord MON rEAOLE ezpressei his satisfaction 014 hi
nobie friend and his co-leagues hrd undeztakin to solve this
&Mesh problem.
The bill was thew read a first time.
NATIONAL EDUCATION.—TUE MANAGEMENT