CO129-270 - Public Offices & Others - 1895 — Page 152

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of State, to write off old irrecoverable arrears, which

has simplified the books.

3.

The collection of Rates for the City of

Victoria has been satisfactory, although the Accounts

were somewhat complicated by exemptions and refunds on

account of houses closed by the Permanent Committee of

the Sanitary Board owing to the outbreak of the Plague.

The Revenue Files as a check on the collections

continue to work well. At the time of the Plague a

large number of people left the Colony and some of them

cannot now be found. The result is that the Revenue

Files for the December Quarter 1893 cannot be absolutely

closed. The arrears for that Quarter, however, are

only about $80. The total arrears to 31st December

1894 are $9,971, but of this about $4,000 will have to

be written off for houses resumed by Government on

account of the Plague.

4. The collection of arrears of Village Rates

still continues to be slow and it is probable that

eventually a large number of small sums will have to be

(2)

written