, 1874-06-06

forming the subject of this communication
When such questions are put on the Order of
the Day the Council would be prepared to use
its time tor discussing them; whereas to-day, if we
were to enter on this matter, we would be kept
from the real Order of the Day. He would
now only beg to add that the question appeared
to him not to be whether the |levying of the feels
legal or illegal if it had been, the right place
to have it decided would be in a Court Of JUS
tlce. Bat the question was rather, if although
the fees aud the whole arrangement have their
origin in a law, if that law was to be considered
antiquated, and requiring to be altered
to which part Of the question His Excellency
referred inthe last part of his communication
lst Member for Frederiksted (SaraavJ had
intended to sly very nearly what had Just been
slid by the honorable Chairman. He would
beg Members of the Colonial Council not to put
questions Of this kind outside the Order Of tho
Day, and he would beg His Excellency not to
be so polite to answer them when 50 put. He
(Sarauw) was intimately acquainted with the
matter, the most Of the other Members were
not, therefore unprepared to discuss this matter
now. He intended, however, to introduce the
matter at a later date 50 that it could come on
the Order Of the Day.
The Council then proceeded to:
/, 2ud Discussion on the Draft of Budget for
S.. Croix for the Financial Year from lst
April I874-3lst March 1878 with Mony
Bills appertaining thereto.
(1st Discussion p.
The Committee Report reads as follows:
We the undersigned, having been charged
by the Colonial Council to report on the Draft
of the Budget for the Municipality of st. Croix
for the financial year from LIST of April 1874 to
3tst March 1875, beg leave to make the fol-
lowing remarks
The revenues are calculated to an amount Of
$174,688,00, the expenditure to $l75, 854.00,
leaving a deficit of SI166.00. This result has
however been arrived at by an extraordinary
measure, lie. by entering in the revenues an
amount Subsidy from the Mother Country ao-
oording to Law 9th May 1861 that hitherto
has been posted in the Ledger Of the Treasury
as a separate fund if we deduct the amount
thus entered, and which cannot be considered as
appertaining to the revenue of the Treasury.
we will find this revenue to be $23,633.0O less,
or only SI5l ,055.00, leaving a deficiency of
1914, 10000, to which is to be added interest on
the capital of the Subsidy as far as it has been
lent out. Ia the remarks to the draft it is said
that the expenditure will not amount to what
it has been calculated at; we hope that
such may be the case, but what we feel
convinced of is, that there is no probability
that the revenue from ordinary sources will
come up to $l50,000.00.
In last years report on the Budget, the Com
mittee that was appointed to report on the
m observed
"In the remarks on The Budget the Gov
Comment again bring forward the old
promises of retrenchment, which circum-
"8tances, however, have prevented their
carrying into effect, but hope that the
Drafts of the Ordinances by which such
"fetrenchments are to be made possible,
'wilI very soon be laid before the Coun-
"oil the Council joins the Government
"iu this hope, and trusts that this will be
"the last time that they will be doomed
'to disappointment in that respect. The
Government observes that a cOnSidera-
able reduction has already teen effected in
'the military expenditure by the new
Ordinance organising the military force
''Without entering into the question wheth-
ser this organisation might not prove to
abe yet too expensive for this Community,
ave cannot omit observing that even within
"the scope of the new Ordinance more
savings might be effected ..........
Gas stated before, the Government has
"reiterated it's promises of retren Ohment
"in the expenditure, but there is another
"nromise nearly connected with this. that