OUR HIGHWAYS. 27 



before two magistrates about Lady-day. About tlie 

 year 1879 this practice was discontinued, and an 

 audit of tbe surveyor's accounts by the official 

 Government auditor, directed in the same manner 

 as audits of Poor-Law oflScers' accounts, and a system 

 of keeping the accounts in accordance with that in 

 use for highway boards, was substituted. 



The necessity for a more strict supervision of the 

 parochial surveyor's accounts was rendered apparent, 

 inasmuch as it was by no means unusual for any 

 items of disbursements which could not be passed by 

 the official auditor of the Poor-Law accounts, or 

 would not be allowed by the vestry out of the church- 

 rates when they were in existence, to be put into the 

 highway accounts, where they might either pass un- 

 observed, or not be demurred to by persons who 

 strongly objected to the payment of church-rates, and 

 accordingly at the vestry meetings would repudiate 

 any charge which could not be strictly and legally 

 included in them. To put them into the surveyor's 

 account was the common mode of disposing of all 

 such payments as parish officers had made, and were 

 unable to reimburse themselves from any other 

 sources. 



A few instances will show what payments the 

 Government auditors used to find when they com- 

 menced auditing the parochial highway accounts. In 



