It is obvious that, at so late a period in the Quarter, it must have been next to impossible, with the limited staff at the disposal of the Treasurer, for that officer to have had filled up and served 4900 notices of Rates, the receipt of which was due the same quarter, especially during a change in the Colony and "at that time unable to serve more than 50 notices a day."
My Lords dwell upon this part of the subject, because it appears from the Report of the Committee that the Arrears for the year ending 31st July, 1864, amounted to $33,500 while during the ensuing 12 months they had only increased to $42,039.
In the reply to this Letter the following Number should be quoted.
* 260
"Such as that of Hong Kong, unless strong measures are resorted to in order to check it; but far from any assistance having been given to the Treasurer to enable him to deal with it, his second representation, dated the 4th of July, 1864, as to the insufficiency of his staff does not appear to have been attended to more than his first; while the view of the Court of Summary Jurisdiction in respect of the Warrants which it issued at the instance of the Treasurer for the recovery of the Rates, is stated to have been "that the execution of such Warrants was subordinate to the ordinary functions of the Court," and no check of any nature was exercised over the business of this kind received by its Bailiff in the execution of such Warrants.