MANAGEMENT OF WARDS. 367 



charged with the collection of all funds accruing to each ward, 

 viz., the taxes, fines, licenses, &c. : also, with the payment, in the 

 different wards, of all sums of money to be disbursed in the service 

 of such, and would likewise prepare an estimate of the probable 

 revenue of each. 



Each ward could be formed into a municipality, for the pur- 

 poses of general administration, with a warden and two or more 

 assessors ; their functions to be gratuitous. Every warden in his 

 ward should be charged with the maintenance of the public peace, 

 the protection of public property, and the security of the public 

 health, by the removal of nuisances ; with the prevention of 

 squatting ; and the passing of contracts for the repairs, or making 

 of public roads; with the registration of births, deaths, and 

 marriages, and the drawing out and revising of the jury lists, &c. 

 In case the warden should be prevented from acting, by illness, 

 absence, or otherwise, one of the assessors could act as deputy, so 

 as always to insure some public officer's being on duty in the 

 ward. The warden should be allowed a clerk who would act as 

 registrar of the ward, and would receive besides the fees attached 

 to the office 60 sterling per annum, as salary, with an allow- 

 ance for stationery. Ward unions might be formed for attending 

 to the requirements of roads. The wardens of the several wards 

 thus formed into unions, to constitute a local board of roads. 

 The revenues from tolls should be applied to general purposes in 

 the union, or unions to which they are attached, for instance, to 

 the building of bridges ; whereas few, or perhaps no wards could 

 individually incur the expenses of their construction. 



This, or a like system of administration would, I believe, work 

 more satisfactorily than the present, especially if the different 

 branches were made co-ordinate arid subordinate in a well planned 

 system ; it would also prove more economical, in the end, as does 

 everything which is properly regulated. There exists, at present, 

 nine unions : the salary of each warden may be estimated at 

 348 sterling. The two surveyors and four receivers would cost 

 3,200 ; the forty-three clerks of wardens about 2,600 ; total, 

 5,800 making an increase in the new system of 2,600 sterling. 

 I have no doubt this difference would be more than balanced by 

 the saving resulting from a better management of the public roads 

 alone ; but, in addition, should some of the items now charged 

 against the wards be transferred to the general funds as they 



