The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-06-27 00:00:00

day, July 31, at Ruthin ; Flintshire, Thursday, Au,gust
at Mold ; Cheshire, August 5, at the Castle of the City of.
Chester, and the same day at the Guildhall of the city.

FINANCIAL POSITION OF BIRKENHEAD,.

ON Wednesday, a special meeting of the Birkenhead
Commissioners was held for the purpose of laying rates
for the township for the ensuing financial year. Mr. Rie„
the chairman, laid before the meeting the following state-
ment of the financial position of the township

DEBTS.
To Price's Trustees for purchase of Woodside
Ferry .e103,373
Purchase of Monks' Ferry
Mortgage on market 5,000
Bonded debt .. 19!,623
Arrears of interest . 61,511
Open debts, bearing interest chargeable on the
revenues of the Township .

Making a total of .i'388,362

ASSETS.

Woodside Ferry
Monks' Ferry .
Market
Slaughter-houses .....
Lands unsold
Lodges in Park

£103,373
19,010
5,000
8,500
150,287
4,000

Or a total of
ORDINARY ANNUAL REVENUE.
Improvement Bate, at Is. 6d.
Lighting and Watching Rate, at 15......,,
Sewerage, at 6d.
Market Rents, &c
Slaughter-houses and Sundry Rents....

.4290,17 D

... 45,617
• • • 3,419
• .. 1,356
• .. 1,249
• • 218

Total
ORDINARY ANNUAL EXPENDITURE
Various Township Expenses .
Interest on Market.
Interest on Monks' Ferry .

.4'9,400
242
826

Total £10,586
This, the Chairman observed, gave them an annual sur-
plus of, in round numbers, £2,000, which, with £1,50()
received from the ferry in the past year, (after paying
working expenses, interest to Price's trustees, new boat,
and reserving £1,500 to commence the new year with)
gave them £3,500, and adding to that the assistance re-
ceived from the bank to the amount of £332, made alto-
gether £3,832, which enabled the township to pay 2 per
cent interest on its bonded debt. They started the new
year with a debt on the improvement rate of about £2,400,
of which £BOO, for road making, was recoverable, leaving
a net deficiency on that account of about £1,600. But
through there being nearly that amount to the credit of
the ferry, their banking account would be made about
square. After alluding more minutely to the several items.
Mr. Rae stated the following to be the
PRESENT POSITION OF THE TOWNSHIP.
Ordinary Annual Surplus, including £l5OO from
the Ferry, applicable to payment of interest
on the Bonded debt, say equal to 2 per cent
on debt
.4'3,832
Actual Interest due on debt at 5 per cent . 9,581

Making an annual deficiency of £5749
Ordinary Surplus incumbered by open debts al-
,
ready referred to
And present debt on Improvement Rate

. £7,600
• 2,400

Or in round numbers .4'10;000
To clear this off would take two-and-a-half years of
the surplus revenue, and pay no interest on the bonded
debt in the meanwhile. There were two courses which
he would recommend to the serious attention of the
Finance Committee—either to induce the bondholders
to allow them to spread the payments over a series of
years, or by some means to obtain a loan to clear them off
at once. In looking at their future prospects, he might
remark that, were these debts disposed of, the finances
of the township would be relieved of an incumbrance
that weighed upon its credit more heavily in one sense
than the bonded debt itself, and the future would wear
a very different aspect. Even assuming the annual' de-
ficiency as above to be £5,700, they might anticipate an
increase of 15 per cent on the ferry receipts and the rates,
which, if realised, would amount to precisely that sum.
The Chairman afterwards stated, in answer tol some
inquiries, that the total cost of the market was £37,800.
He then went on to say that the assesment on property
in Birkenhead for the present year was £90,314, on
property in Claughton, £668, making an aggregate of
£96,922. Last year the aggregate assessment was
£95,171, thus showing an increase for the present year
of £1,751. •

The various rates, as proposed by the Finance Committee,
were then put and carried, namely, improvement rate,
ls.6d. in the pound, lighting and watching ls. and
sewerage 6d, or altogether 35., of which 2s. 74d. will be
paid by the tenants, and 42d. by the landlords of the
property in the township.