The "Transportation" charges of the electric lines were:

The "General" expenses of the two systems were:

Dublin. As regards paving, it should be noted that in addition to paving 18 inches on each side of the track, the company in the case of Monkstown road were required to pave the whole of the street for a distance of 2 miles, being 6 feet on each side of the track. This cost £57 per yard of street, or a total cost of about £10,032. The repair of this street has been borne by the tramway company, but has not cost much beyond the repair of the track.

The local authority imposed this condition before agreeing to extra powers being granted to the company.

The city compels the company to sand the track up to their paving limit. The matter was the subject of legal proceedings which the company took up to the House of Lords, whose decision was against the company. The city does not sand the remainder of the streets.

Norwich. During the year exceptional outlay has been made on maintenance and repairs, including the renewal of several important junctions and a number of crossings, etc., amounting to about £1,300.

In addition to the paving between the rails and 18 inches beyond on each side, the company has to maintain the whole width of the roadway where there is a less space than three feet between the footpath and the rail, and also the junctions between the paving done by the company and the city. The length of street which the company is bound to repair, being less than three feet in width, is about one mile. The question of the obligation of the company to keep in repair the junctions is at present the subject of litigation and accounts for the large item of legal expenses in the revenue account.

Notes to M 1, 2 and 3, p. 514.

1 Income from investments. The sinking fund is paid over annually to city chamberlain in reduction of debt and is not invested in any form.

rates.

4

'Payment to the "Common Good" fund, not directly in aid of

Parliamentary expenses.

The amount of £5,000 transferred from the reserve fund was in order to make the contribution in aid of rate £51,000, the profits of the year only allowing a contribution of £46,000.

The city has purchased the site of the Infirmary at a cost of £400,000. Part of the land has been added to the street on all four sides and the tramway undertaking is charged with the interest, sinking fund and other charges relating to £100,000, but neither the capital account nor the liabilities of the tramway department have been charged with capital cost.

This item consists of bank interest of £2,718, of interest from loan to water department of £4,108 and £2,747, the income derived from the investment of sinking funds numbers 2 and 4 in following note, which are credited with such an annual installment as will repay the debt without any accumulating interest.

This amount is composed of the following payments:

1. Tramway undertaking sinking fund..

2. Tramways sinking fund..

£13,915

7,007

6. Hatton Garden land and buildings sinking fund.. 7. Cancellation of debt account...

873

2,984

£55,297

The above sinking fund installments vary in principle.

Numbers

1 and 3 are accumulating funds; numbers 2 and 4 are not accumulating; numbers 5 and 6 are optional as already explained; number 7 is an annual repayment of principal.

Continued on p. 515.

Vol. III.-34.

M-PROFIT AND LOSS.

M 4. Analysis of special items.

London C. C. The division of the accounts between electric

9

Composed of £261, cost of installing electric lighting in head office, and £1,941, expenditure in connection with proposal to run electric cars by cable traction (since abandoned).

10 The dividends paid by the company have been: In 1902, 8 per cent.; 1903, 8 per cent.; 1904, 6 per cent.; 1905, 3 per cent.

"The company has to pay annual sums by way of wayleaves to the various local authorities. These amount to £5,527 in all, of which only £1,630 had been incurred in 1905. The wayleaves are on a sliding scale and increase periodically. The present value of these annual charges at 4 per cent. up to the time when the various local bodies may purchase is about £100,000.

12 "Maintenance Fund."

18 Accident insurance.

14 The credit balance of profit and loss account at the end of the previous year was decreased £11 to allow £1,000 to be credited to the reserve fund.

"Liquidation of balance of expenditure for temporary generating

stations.

TAXATION OF GAS, ELECTRIC SUPPLY

AND TRAMWAY UNDERTAKINGS

IN GREAT BRITAIN

By MILO R. MALTBIE

The principal authorities to be consulted are:

1.

Acts of Parliament and sessional papers.

2. Regulations of the Board of Trade, Local Government Board and the Light Railway Commissioners.

3. Standing Orders of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

4. Browne & McNaughton: "The Law of Rating * *"" 5. Michael & Will: "The Law Relating to Gas and Water," fifth edition.

6. Newbigging, Thomas and Wm.: "Valuation of Gas, Electricity Works

* *"

7. Robertson: "The Law of Tramways and Light Railways in Great Britain," third edition.

8. Ryde: "The Law and Practice of Rating edition.

*

*" second

The British system of taxation is so complex and the various parts are so interwoven that the situation can be portrayed more easily and clearly by a single report for the three subjects of inquiry than by three separate statements in schedule form which would involve considerable duplication. Not only will the payments made to the local authorities in the form of "rates" be considered, but all payments to local or central authorities which must be made by companies or municipalities operating the three kinds of undertakings considered in this investigation. Many of them are fees and not taxes, if we adopt the distinction made by economists, but they may be treated here without great injury to the strict definition of "taxation."

For the purpose of this investigation it is more important to ascertain whether companies and municipalities are subject to the same or to equal burdens than to describe in detail what taxes or fees are imposed and how the present conditions developed histor