, 1869-04-13

to the draft. The total amount of the Expen-
diture was posted with Sl93, l42, thus exceed
ing the estimated Revenue with 81, 712. 1t
must, however, be kept in mind, that the Bud
get is an estimate of possible Maxima of ex-
penses posted under a number of different
items, and there will therefore always be a
probability, that the actual amounts of expen-
diture in several of the items will not reach the
estimated Maxima, if the Administration, as in
duty bound, uses economy, so that the total
Expenditure for the whole year will be m
what below the total amount of Expenditure
posted in the Budget. This is in accordance
with experience gained in the previous 3 fnan-
cial years 1S65-66 to %1S67-6S, in which the
amount of expenses in the Budgets together
with the Extra-Grants for the said 3 years
amounted on an average to S195,000, but the
actual expenses in those 3 years were on an
average only slS2, 900, so that consequently
the annual amount of expenditure was $4,000
less. Thus there was scarcely any cause for
the present to fear any actual deficiency in the
financial year 1869 70, because the Budget
Expenditure exceeds the Revenue with Sl1,7I2.
For the rest he referred to the remarks to the
Budget, from which will further be learnt the
consideration which in respect to several of the
items had been taken to the Commissions pro-
poSalS, and according to which in the Budget
itself remarks have been made regarding re-
trenchmentS in several of the salaries on vacaG-
cies occurring. Finally he pointed out the de-
sirableness, that the Council could conclude the
discussions on the Budget during the coming
3 weeks before the half of the Councils mem
bers retire at the expiration Of the election
period, as otherwise the adoption of the Budget
might easily be delayed too long, especially
beyond the time prescribed in the Rules of
Business, and thus protract the furtherance Of
other matters.
The Chairman said, that the 1st discussion
of the draft of the Budget itself would take
place in the Councils next meeting, whereas,
according to the order of the day for the pre-
sent meeting, the LIST discussion of the money
bills that had been handed to the members
would take place now.
8, The 1st discussion of the Money-Bil to the
Budget: Item B. 2: the Upper Court =
contents as follows
"Money-Bill: For defraying expenses under
the Budget for the Municipality of st. Croix
for the financial year from the LIST of April 1869
to the 31st of March 1870, the following amount
is hereby granted
sub Item B. 2: the Upper Court:
For Salary to a CopyiSt and for office-expenses,
including wages to a messenger, according to
specified accounts besides the amount Of
$500 fixed in 4 of Law of 18th February
1857 an amount not exceeding $780,, the
hall. .S75.
HIS Excellency explained the reason why
the amounts in the pro posed bill are lower than
in the former years, owing partly to this, that
the salary for the clerk on the engagement of
the new one, had been reduced from $64O to
5000 and that the former personal addition
Sl60 had ceased, partly that a somewhat less
amount for extra-writing had been estimated
than formerly posted.
AS no member expressed a desire to have
the word, the proposal was referred for the End