since, though in a much improved form, it has been known by the name of its original makers.

When a limited number of copies is required, the use of carbon papers can be safely recommended. This is usually termed manifolding. With a powerful machine, suitable paper, and good carbon over a dozen legible copies can be made at one writing, the number depending on the machine and paper used. used. The last copies will be fainter than the first. When it is desired that the carbon copies should be of a permanent nature a special chemical carbon can be obtained.

The process is exceedingly simple. A suitable carbon sheet is interleaved between the sheets of writing-paper, and the whole placed in the typewriter in the usual way. The keys should be struck with a firm, even stroke, more force being used than when writing one copy only. Some typewriters have soft cylinders which are not suitable for making copies. A hard cylinder should be used. A thin linen paper is best for use in carbon copies. By using typewriter carbon the best work can be got.

The making of typewritten carbon copies of writing has now almost superseded the old-fashioned method of making "buff" copies. Manifolding is in extensive use in the legal profession for making copies of all kinds, including precognitions, copies of correspondence, etc. Very little extra time is taken up in placing the carbons between the writing-sheets. It pays, however, to take care in writing, as time is lost in making corrections. Many firms now make one or more carbon copies of each letter instead of press copies. These copies are filed, either with the letter which is replied to, or singly. A copy is also often sent to an agent, traveller, or correspondent, so that exact knowledge may be had of the nature of communications passing between correspondents.

The great saving of time of getting copies by this means, the increasing use of filing systems, and the obvious advantage in being able at short notice to group a correspondence without going through a series of letter books, will probably commend itself more and more to the business world. In addition, the office letter books need not be interfered with. If further copies of correspondence be desired by dividing the work, these can be rapidly got.

While extremely good work can be done in the way of reproducing handwriting by means of duplicating apparatus, it is with the typewriter, by reason of the greater legibility, general uniformity, and compactness that the most efficient work can be turned out.

Fold

No

The stencil paper used is of a different kind, and, in addition, a silk perforating sheet should be used. In preparing the sheets to place in the typewriter, lay down first the fibre sheet; on this lay the stencil, proper side downwards; on this the silk sheet, and lastly a backing sheet. the overlapping edges of the fibre and stencil sheets over the silk backing, and insert all four into the typewriter. With typewriters having ribbons, these should be displaced, or removed, so that the type strike directly on the stencil and not through the ribbon. The types should be cleaned. undue pressure on the stencil should be used, either before it is placed in the machine or when it is there, as the sheets are easily cracked. The writing with a machine is done in the usual way, except that a little more force is used to strike the keys, so that a firm, even stroke may be got. When the writing has been finished, remove the sheets from the typewriter, taking off the fibre sheet from the stencil and removing the silk and backing. Great care should be used in handling the stencil at all times. If any cracks appear, apply some quick-drying varnish to them, taking care

to avoid varnishing over any of the writing. Then place the stencil in the printing-frame, see that it is tightly stretched, put a small quantity of ink on the slate, over which observe it is well spread by passing the roller several times. In very cold weather it may be necessary to warm the slate. Place a sheet of blotting-paper on the baseboard; put the frame down, and press the inked roller over the stencil. At first not sufficient ink may come through, and the writing may be irregular in appearance. This will be remedied by passing the inked roller over the stencil several times in the one direction. If too much ink appears, let some of it be taken off by taking off several copies on odd paper before taking copies which are to be used. The blank sheets may then be put in position for receiving the writing. It is of advantage to mark the position, on the blotting-paper'on the board in which to lay the blank paper. A few hints are of considerable service in this work, although a practical trial is everything in this as in other kinds of reproductive work:

(1) The stencil should always be carefully handled.

(2) It should be stretched tightly in the frame.

(3) All cracks should be varnished over.

(4) If any spots appear on the paper, they can be stopped by putting stamp edging over the place, underneath.

As the copies are rolled off, they should be separately placed in a book composed of sheets of tissue paper. If the book be placed in the letterpress the surface ink is taken off, and the copies can be handled almost at once without fear of smudging.

The paper used for taking copies should, if possible, be soft and not calendar-surfaced. The ink on soft paper is easily absorbed, whereas on hard paper it takes time to dry and is apt to smear. Cards used for this work should be of an unglazed kind, as they have a good deal of handling through the post and otherwise.

Avoid placing the stencil too near the fire. Do not expose it to great heat as the wax surface is easily influenced. The same precaution should be observed with the ink roller, which should also not be allowed to remain resting on its own weight, as it is easily made flat-sided. The type of a machine should always be cleaned before cutting a stencil.

Several different kinds of duplicators are now on the market, differing in construction and in some details in the working. In some a cloth is used. A variation in the make of duplicating machines is now being sold of a type known as circular or rotary machines, which the makers claim can do a large number of copies quicker than the flat duplicators.

No circular which is reproduced from or produced after the fashion or in imitation of a typewritten document, may be sent as a book packet unless

(a) Such circular is posted by being handed in at a head or branch post office;

(b) Special attention is called to its nature; and

(e) At least 20 copies of such circular are posted at the same time. JAMES LEISHMAN.

Municipal Accounting and Book-keeping.-Prior to the beginning of the nineteenth century the scope of municipal government was very narrow, and in fact its operations did not extend much beyond what was necessary to maintain the civil power of the town. Its financial administration was confined, except in the case of a few of the larger cities, to what in England is known as the "Borough Fund," and in

Scotland as the "Common Good." Real municipal activity, as we know it now, began in the first half of the nineteenth century, when powers for watching, lighting, cleansing, draining, and the levying of Assessments therefor were first given to Burghs generally. These powers were administered for many years by a statutory body designated Police Commissioners, the administration being afterwards transferred to the Town Councils. Since then their field of operations has increased enormously. An almost continuous stream of legislation has given them wider and more varied powers, so that the police administration, in addition to watching, lighting, cleansing, and drainage, now includes the construction and maintenance of roads and streets, the provision of public parks, public baths, wash-houses, public libraries, fire brigades, and numerous other services in connection with sanitation and the care of the public health. For all these purposes the Local Authority has power to levy, and does levy, assessments.

These enlarged and extended powers, put into operation for the benefit of an ever-increasing urban population, have entirely transformed within recent years the work of Local Authorities, and as the work has increased in variety and magnitude, the corresponding financial operations have assumed an importance which necessarily calls for careful and accurate accounting and book-keeping. This great advance in the volume of municipal work has not been confined to what may be called general police purposes. There is another channel into which municipal activity has, with the consent of the Legislature, recently entered with great zest, namely, that of carrying on extensive commercial or trading undertakings. In this category are included gas-works, electric-light works, and tramways. Water, though not exactly of the same trading nature, may also be included. The administration of these services by the municipality has increased to such an extent that the financial aspects of this enterprise have been keenly criticised, and considerable discussion has arisen as to the soundness of the published financial results. The policy of municipal trading, as well as the extent to which it should be carried on, has been called in question. A Joint Select Committee of the House of Lords and House of Commons appointed to inquire into the subject took evidence at great length in the year 1900, and was reappointed to take further evidence in the year 1903. In the latter year they issued an interim report dealing with the subject so far as it relates to accounting and auditing. In the course of their report they

state :

Paragraph 6.-The first branch of the subject with which the Committee decided to deal was that of Municipal Accounts, with regard both to the form in which they are prepared, the systems under which they are audited, and the right of access to them possessed by the ratepayers. The evidence taken has been mainly directed to these questions.

Paragraph 7.-Whatever view may be taken of the proper limits, if any, which can be set to municipal trading, it is clearly important that wherever it exists ratepayers should be not less fully and continuously informed of the success or failure of each undertaking than if they were shareholders in an ordinary trading

company.

Paragraph 8.-In a large number of cases this is undoubtedly done. But there is in some instances evidence to a contrary effect, and, in view of the ever-increasing number and magnitude of municipal undertakings, it is most desirable that a high and uniform standard of account-keeping should prevail throughout the country.

The consideration of the subject of municipal accounting naturally falls into three sections, namely, (§ 1) Accounts for Municipal Ordinary Purposes, including the "Common Good" and the Assessment Accounts; (2) Municipal Trading Accounts; and (§ 3) Miscellaneous Accounts.

The first point for consideration in dealing with accounts for ordinary purposes is, What is the best form in which these may be stated and published? They must be accurate, they should be clear, and they should conform to at least a liberal interpretation of the recognised canons of accounting science. They should also be full, but at the same time concise, and, looking to their publicity, they should be prepared on popular lines -that is to say, they should, as far as possible, be in a form readily understood by the general public. No account intended for public digestion need contain the two technical terms "By" and "To." These terms do not convey any information to the lay mind, and if the account has the proper headings they are quite unnecessary.

Common Good Account.-For this the form should be revenue and expenditure, shown under two heads-ordinary and extraordinary-and a Balance Sheet, although this is not quite in accordance with the form prescribed by the Secretary for Scotland, referred to hereafter. Most royal burghs and some parliamentary burghs possess common lands and other territory conveyed to them in ancient times as free grants from the Crown. They also possess the right to levy customs and market dues and to hold burgh courts. From these and other sources flow the revenues of the Common Good, which have in many cases increased largely in value, and are important parts of the burgh's total income. The ordinary revenues consist chiefly of rents, feu-duties or ground rents, casualties, customs, market dues and tolls, court fines, and dues charged on the entry of burgesses. In the form prescribed by the Secretary for Scotland casualties are classed as ordinary receipts. This is correct in those cases where a considerable number of casualties fall due each year, and the amount received therefrom is, on the average, the same one year with another. In other circumstances casualties may not improperly be classed as extraordinary revenue. The Common Good revenues, after meeting the cost of maintenance and repair of Common Good properties and the public burdens thereon, are applied to the cost of the civil administration of the town, and otherwise in promoting the common good of the inhabitants. Under the head of ordinary expenditure should be placed a proportion of the general expenses of management, including salaries and wages, as well as any charge for interest and sinking fund in respect of debt. The balance of general expenses of management is chargeable to the Assessment and other Accounts. Extraordinary expenditure includes the cost of public ceremonies and entertainments, any expense incurred for defending the rights of the burgh not specifically chargeable to or payable out of other funds, and other items of an incidental or casual nature.

The Borough Fund Account in England includes not only the transactions, if any, similar to those recorded in the Scottish Common Good Account, but also the financial operations in connection with watching, lighting, cleansing, and the other primary police services which in Scotland are stated in the Assessment Accounts.

Sums of money for charitable purposes are often bequeathed to Town Councils. Separate accounts for these should be kept and published in a form somewhat similar to that adopted for the Common Good.

Assessment Accounts.-The expenditure under this head is required to provide watching, lighting, cleansing, and the other services previously referred to, and so far as it is not met by annual revenues from municipal properties, by government grants, and from other sources, it is provided out of assessments.

The forms of account should be an Ordinary Revenue Account

("Receipts and Payments" is the form prescribed by the Secretary for Scotland in the Assessment Accounts also), a Capital Account or Capital Expenditure Account, and a Balance Sheet. A Sinking Fund Account may be added, especially if the contributions to Sinking Fund require to be accumulated; if the contributions are applied direct to the repayment of debt a Sinking Fund Account is not essential.

With regard to the Revenue Accounts, much discussion has arisen as to whether they should be made up on the basis of receipts and payments only, or in the form of income and expenditure; in other words, whether they should simply show the cash transactions, or should include as well the revenue accrued but not received, and the expenditure incurred but not paid at the close of the year. In the case of the Balance Sheet, the question as to what should be included as assets and how these should be valued requires to be dealt with. The elucidation of these two points has not until recently received much assistance from such legislative enactments as have dealt with the subject. It has been left to the local authorities themselves, or to their financial officers, to adopt such special forms of account in each case as they thought the circumstances required, and a liberal interpretation of the existing statutes allowed.

Various Acts have been passed from time to time since 1822, regulating the mode of stating municipal accounts without, however, prescribing any specific form.

These enactments did not solve the questions which are under consideration, but their aims could scarcely be attained without making up the accounts on the basis of showing the full income and expenditure-both ordinary and incidental—and including a Balance Sheet of the whole assets and liabilities.

The Town Councils (Scotland) Act, 1900, is the latest addition to the legislation on the subject. In the matter of accounting it supersedes all former Acts and deals very fully with the subject. The sections are as

follows:

Section 91.-Accounts of all property, heritable and movable, vested in the council, showing the nature of such property, and of all rates or assessments levied, and of all money received and expended by or on account of the council, shall be kept in books by the treasurer.

Section 92.-The council shall yearly cause to be made out a just and accurate account of all the moneys received and expended by them on account of the common good and revenue of the burgh, and on account of any rates or assessments levied or collected, or money realised, received, or borrowed by them under the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1892, or any other Act under which they are authorised to levy assessments or uplift or borrow money, for the year ending on the fifteenth day of May immediately preceding, showing from what sources such moneys have been received, and to what purposes the same have been laid out and applied.

Section 93.-The said account shall be so made out as to exhibit a complete State, showing the common good and all other assets, and also the liabilities of the burgh, and the action taken during the year with a view to the extinction of such liabilities by way of payment of instalments or annuities, contributions to sinking fund, or otherwise, classed under different heads; also the amount of each branch of revenue and assessment, distinguishing how much thereof shall have been received and how much thereof shall be in arrear or remaining unpaid at the date of such account; also the amount of all sums received or loans contracted for, annuities granted and sums received in consideration thereof, or on sale or alienation of property, distinguishing the same from the ordinary revenue, and also showing every sum paid and every sum remaining unpaid for or by reason of any expense incurred during the year for which such account shall be so made out, distinguishing the fixed or ordinary from the casual or incidental expenditure, and also showing all cautionary obligations, positive or conditional, incurred by or on account of the burgh, distinguishing such as shall have been incurred during the year.

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