The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-15 00:00:00

ASSEMBLED

We, the undersigned, of your speeial Revenue Com-
mittee, to whom, by resolution of your honourable Court,
of the 21-t day of May last, it was referred " to examine
into the amount and particulars of the revenue, the ex-
peediture, and liabilities of the various funds and estates
of tke Corporation. for the purpose of considering and
reporting to the Court whether some more economi-
cal mode of meeting its obligations may not be adopted,
instead of effecting temporary loans at the high rate of
interest which the existing state of the money-market re
quires fur all neceesary advances for short periods," do cer-
tify that immediately after appointment we met to con-
eider the matters referred to us, and were furnished by
Mr. Chamberlain, and the other officers of the Corpora-
tion, with such information as wo required from their
various departments, from which we were speedily
enabled, by our reports of the 25th and the 27th of June
last, to answer that part of the reference which related
to the best mode of dealing with the outstanding tempo.
racy loans that had been raised by the Corporation.
If the solo object of your honourable Court in ap-
pointing your committee had been that which is ex-
pressed in the furegoiog r eference, we should have con-
sider etl our labours had ended with the adoption of our
last report ; but it will be remembered that although
the reference grew out of a report from the-Improvement
Committee, respecting the raising of money, and was
moved without notice, yet the Court was pleased to
suspend its standing orders to permit the appointment
of a Special Revenue Committee with larger functions,
upon the express understanding that full information
would be furnished to the Court as to the financial state
of the corporation, in conformity with a notice of motion
that had been placed on the paper of business by an
henourable member, who was by a special resolution of
the Court added to the committee to assist in conduct-
ing the investigation.
In order that we might give full effect to the inten-
tions and objects of your honourable Court in our up-
p ,intment, we directed the several officers of the Corpo-
ration to lay before us all the accounts specified both in
the order of refereace and the notice of motion, together
with such other documents as we thought necessary ;
and, after maturely considering; the same, we take leave
to report the following results :
The first document submitted to our consideration is
a statement, prepared by Mr. Payne, the principal clerk
to Mr. Coamberlaiu, " showing the revenue and expen-
diture of the City's estate, for the year ending the 31st
Dec., 1856, and distinguishing the ordinary from the ex-
traordinary items both of expenditure and receipts." By
this statement, which we have annexed, it appears that
the total receipts of the corporation during the year
1856 amounted to 254,7411., whereof 227,1251. is classed
by Mr. Payne as ordinary, and 27,616/. as extraordinary
receipts, while 215,944/, is given as the amount of its
ordinary, and 46,391/. is stated to be its extraordinary
expenditure during the year ; thus it should seem that,
although during the year there was a surplus of 11,1811.
of ordinary revenue over the ordinary expenditure of the
corporation, yet there was an Excess of 18,774/. in the
extraordinary expenditure over the extraordinary reve-
nue, leaving upon the entire year's account a general de-
ficiency of 7,5931.
It is obvious that a statement of this description for the
year 1856, or any other single year must necessarily cm-
tain some items on both sides of the account peculiar to
that particular year, which may render it quite unsuit-
able as a guide in making regulations fur leture years.
We reque,ted Mr. Chamberlain to lay before us in a
tabulated form a summary of receipts and payments of
what is termed the City's cash, for ten years, from 1841 to
1856 (both inclusive), to be extracted from the printed
statements of the produce and expenditure of the Ci.y'e
estate, which by the 20th standing order are annually
laid before the Common Council and circulated amongst
;ts members. In this tabulated statement the several
items of orsinary and extraordinary receipt and expen-
diture are likewise separated and placed in juxtaposi-
tion in each year, as in the first account.
Thu total receipts and payments of each of the ten
years will be found added up at the foot of each yearly
column. The sum of the several items for the whole
ten years is given in the two right-hand columns of the
tabulated account, and will show the total amount of
the City's receipts and expenditure, both ordinary and
extraordinary during the whole period. As the account
extends over tee years, the yearly average of each
respective item, as well as of their aggregate amount,
will of course be obtained by striking otf the right-hand
figure from the total amount of pounds in the two right•
hand columns of the account.

We have annexed a copy of the tabulated statement
to this report, from which every member of the Court
will be able, at one glance, not only to ascertain the
aggregate and average amount of every particular branch
of revenue and expenditure during the whole period
embraced in the table, but he may compare and contrast
the amount of each particular branch in any year with
the corresponding branch in every other year. In case
any further explanation shall be required, it can be
readily obtained by referring to the printed annual
etatements, which contain, in detail, the items from
which the abstract ia taken.

We have likewise bad prepared a synopsis of the
tabulated statement omitting the detaiied items, and
showing only the totals of the several years. A copy
of the synopsis we likewise aanex to this report.
From these tables it appears that, during the 10 years,
to which they relate, the receipts amounted to 2, 595,2161.,
whereof 2,007,1.42/. is classed as ordinary, and 587,7731.
as extraordinary receipts. Per Conira, it appears that
during the same period the corporation has expended
2,578,9281., whereof 1,780,111/. is given as ordinary, eel
798,8171. as extraordinary expenditure. The difference
between 2,595,2161., the total amount of the receipts,
and 2,578,9281., the total amount of payments, namely,
16,288/., represents the excess of receipts over payments
during the 10 years. This sum agrees with the cash ba-
lance in the hands of the Chamberlain at the end of that
period, which exceeded by that amount the cash balance
in hii bands at its commencement.

It iikewise appears by these accounts that during these
10 years the corporation has paid of 30,4001. (exclusive
of interest, amounting to 4,2901. 31. Bd.), which it had
previously borrowed on bonds to purchase prop.rty for
the formation of Victoria-street leading to Clerkenwell.
It has likewise laid by 113,0231. out of the surplus ren-
tal of Finsbury estate, which is annually set aside by act
of Common Council, for investment in funded, freehold,
or leasehold property, to replace the loss of income the
corporation would otherwise suffer by the falling in of
the Finsbury lease in 1867. This sum has been from time
to time invested in Government securities, out of which
the sum of 29,5121. 10s. has since been applied to the
purchase of ground in Victoria-street, by authority of the
Common Council. These sums of 30,4001. and 113,0231.
will be found amongst the payments in the tabulated
account, and, together with the 16,2881. cash balance
above referred to, constitute a total of 159,7111. to the
credit side in the City's account.

Oo tlso other hand, amongst the extraordinary receipts
in the tabulated accounts, will be foetid 92,7001., the
amount of monies borrowed to provide for the construc-
tion of Holloway Prison, and 43,0001. raised for pur-
chasiug the site and building the Metropolitan Cattle
Market. These several sums are still outstanding upon
bonds of the Corporation, and the principal and interest
are charged upon its estates and revenues. In determin-
ing what has been the actual expenditure of the Cor-
poration during the ten years, it will be necessary to
treat the total of these two same (535,7001.) as so much
money actually sunk ; and if from this sum we deduct
the 159,7111., we shall have a sum of 375,9891„ which
shows the excess of our corporate expenditure over its
iucomo daring the ten years, on account of what is termed
the City's cash. But, in determining the actual excels
of our corporate expenditure over its income, this
375,989/. must be increased by 540,0001., the amount
raised upon bond forthe formation ofNew Cannon-street.
The principal of this sum has been charged upon the 41.
coal dues, which is the property of the Corporation, and
the interest of the loan is provided out of its annual in-

come.
As the whole of this 540,0001. has been borrowed and
expended during the ten years, and is still an outstand-
ing debt, and does not yield any return, it is impossible
to do otherwise than treat it as part of our corporate ex•
penditure during that period, although it is not to be
found either in the autumnal accounts of the City's
cash, or in the tabular statements taken from them. We
have.therefore added it to the foregoing sum of 375,9391.,
and have to report to your honourable Court that the
expenditure of the Corporation during the ten years
from Ist Jan., 1847, to 31st Dec., 1856, has exceeded
its income by the sum of 915,9891. The sum of 20,0)01
per annum, which appears in the annual accounts of the

City's cab, as a gran-t
by the Common Council for pub-
lic-improvements within the City, is applied in part pay-
ment of interest upon this loan of 540,000/. According

to the ancient practice observed i❑ keeping the accounts
in the chamberlain's office, this fund, and the several
other funds specified in this report as Nos. 4,5, 6,7, 8,
are not considered as City's cash, but treated as trust
funds. They are separately audited, and from to time
reported to the Court by the several committees who act
under its directions.
Haying, in the foregoing statement and the annexed
table, placed before your honourable Court a full account
of the receipts and expenditure of the Corporation, we
now proceed to submit to your consideration " An ac
count of its liabilities at the termination of the last finan-