Belfast Civic Undertakings. 7 



Poor-Law Guardians fell considerably between the years 1898 and 

 1900, owing to the Public Health Department being taken over 

 by the Corporation, but that it has risen since owing to the 

 Whiteabbey Sanatorium being acquired. 



The Water Debt shows a very rapid rise up to 1901 owing to 

 the Mourne Scheme, but since then it has not been going up so 

 much, as that scheme is not going on to completion immediately. 



The Harbour Debt has gone up steadily, but not rapidly. The 

 Debt of the Corporation has gone up both steadily and rapidly on 

 the whole, and will show a great leap upwards when the Tramway 

 Debt of ^1,000,000 is included. And as the Corporation takes 

 over other undertakings that debt will probably go on increasing 

 as in other cities. With reference to the contention that the 

 assets of the various bodies are of far greater value than the exist- 

 ing debts, it should be pointed out that these assets are not liquid, 

 and that most of the debts have to be repaid in a limited number 

 of years. In some cases this is provided for out of the revenues 

 of these assets, but in other cases it must come out of the rates. 



Each step in Diagram No. 2 represents _^~ 1,000, 000, and the line 

 shows the total of the Debts, which were set out singly on 

 the first chart. The responsibilities of the community have 

 therefore increased from ^'2,473, 114. m 1890, to ^5, 116,658 in 

 1904. The lower of the lines shows the increase in valuation of 

 the city during the same period. The somewhat rapid rise of the 

 valuation about the year 1898 is explained by the extended area 

 of the city. 



Diagram No. 3 shows the increase in the population of Belfast. 

 The black columns represent the census years, while the light 

 columns are interpolated from 1890 onwards to give a complete 

 series from that year. The sudden rise from 1897 to 1898 is 

 explained by the extending of the city boundary. 



It is not fair to take the figures representing the increasing 

 debt of a rapidly increasing city, without also taking into account 

 the increased population. Diagram No. 4 shows the debt per 

 head of population for the period from 1900, and is obtained 



