THESE buildings were erected by the Public Works Department under the provisions of Law 37 of 1872 for the purpose of securing to the inhabitants of Kingston a supply of good and wholesome meat. The details of management are under the control of a Managing Commissioner, Mr. R. S. Haughton.

The Slaughter House was first opened for use on the 1st day of March, 1876, at which date all private slaughter yards had been dispensed with, the value of them having been paid to the proprietors in accordance with section 24 of the law.

The sum expended in the purchase of land, erection of buildings, cattle pens and wharf and for compensation to the owners of private slaughter yards was £10,501 1s. 1d. The Revenue for the financial year ended 31st March, 1892, amounted to £1,364 58. Od. The expenditure on salaries, maintenance, interest on Debenture loan and

on the debt due to the Treasury for advances for the same period amounted to £934 2s. 4d.

The debt due to the Treasury for advances was reduced from £2,102 Os. 5d. on 31st March, 1891, to £1,671 17s. 9d. on 31st March, 1892.

The number of animals, turtle, etc., slaughtered during the period referred to was as follows:-Oxen 4,129, Calves 42, Sheep 734, Pigs 773, Turtle 961, Goats 2= Total, 6,641.

During the year ended 31st March, 1892, the Rules were amended, empowering the Commissioners to appoint an Inspector of Carcases to be paid by fees. A duly qualified man has been appointed, and the possibility of diseased meat of any kind leaving the Institution is prevented.

The fees charged for slaughtering are as follows:

Hon. Neale Porter, C.M.G., Colonial

Secretary.

£0 6 0
040

3 0

050

040

2 6

0 16

Hon. V. G. Bell, Director of Public Works.

Hon. C.J. Ward, C.M.G., Custos of Kingston.
Wor. Dr. Ogilvie, Mayor of Kingston.
R. S. Haughton, Esq., Managing Commis-
sioner.

Secretary-Mr. C. C. Anderson, salary £12 per annum.
Superintendent-Mr. R. Brown, salary £120 per annum.
Inspector of Carcases-Mr. M. H. Solomon, paid by Fees.

JAMAICA CIVIL SERVICE MUTUAL GUARANTEE ASSOCIATION. BEFORE the passing of Law 45 of 1872 the law in force in regard to the giving of security by Public Officers for fidelity in office was Law 33 of 1867, by which every person having the collection, receipt or payment of any moneys of the public revenue was required to enter into security to the Queen in one of two ways, namely, by giving a joint and several bond with one or more sureties or by giving the guarantee of the European Assurance Society. As bonds with sureties such as above indicated were considered by the Government an objectionable form of security, as the European Assurance Society had become bankrupt, as other persons besides the persons mentioned in Law 33 of 1867 were required to give security, and as it was felt necessary that a sound and uniform system of giving security should be established, Law 45 of 1872 was passed. By this law it is provided that every person in the employment of the Government of Jamaica who is required to give pecuniary security for the due discharge in any respect of the duties of his office, whether in regard to money matters or otherwise, shall give such security in one or other of three ways, of which one is "by personal bond and the guarantee of any Association of Civil Servants of the Crown in Jamaica formed for purposes of mutual guarantee, and whereof the business is conducted according to rules that shall be approved by the Governor in Privy Council, as may be notified from time to time in the Gazette."

The Jamaica Civil Service Mutual Guarantee Association was established under the law; it is recognized by the Government thereunder; and is managed by a Committee of four public officers, none of them being of a lower rank than Chief Clerk. The appointment of two Managers is vested in the Governor and they hold office during his Excellency's pleasure; the other two are elected by the Associates for a term of three consecutive years. At meetings of the Committee the senior member by date of appointment is Chairman and two members form a quorum. In the transaction of business the Managers are bound by rules, approved by the Governor in Privy

EE

Council, the Managers having the power to amend the rules on obtaining the assent of the Governor and of a majority of the Associates.

Any Civil Servant of the Crown who has obtained the Governor's permission to give security in the shape of the guarantee of the Association, and who has expressed his willingness to be bound by its rules, is eligible for membership, and the Managers are required to give full and fair consideration within a reasonable time to all applications, deciding whether they will accede to them or not and communicating the result forthwith to the applicant and the Government. When an Associate has been admitted to membership he can withdraw only by obtaining the Governor's permission and giving the Managers twelve months' notice, but by giving one month's notice the Managers can exclude any Associate from further membership.

Immediately on his acceptance and the guarantee for his fidelity being given an Associate becomes liable to contribute, and is required to contribute by way of loan, a sum not exceeding 5 per cent. of the amount of his bond, payable at the rate of one per cent. per annum for a period of five years. The Managers, however, have the power to call upon the Associates to contribute a further loan at one fixed rate per cent., when they are of opinion that the ordinary loans are insufficient to yield the income required to carry on the business; there has never been any necessity to do this. On the contrary the interest accruing on the subscribed loans has so accumulated as to induce the Managers during the year 1886 so to amend the Rules of the Association as to allow its division, every third year, among Associates whose bonds are then in full force and effect; and in terms of this amendment a sum of £348 16s. 11d. was at 30th September, 1886, written up to credit of Associates, giving to each a bonus of 12 per cent. on his loans.

On withdrawal from the Association an Associate is entitled to a refund of the full amount of his contributions, if the Association has incurred no losses during his membership, or to the proportion remaining to his credit after the losses have been provided for.

The rules of the Association were first approved by the Governor in Privy Council on the 27th August, 1872, and the preliminary arrangements being completed guarantees were issued on the 1st October in that year. From that date to the 31st March, 1892, a period of upwards of nineteen years, guarantees to the amount of £272,320 were issued, and losses by the defalcations of Associates incurred to the amount of £1,305 2s. 74d. According to a return prepared by the Auditor-General and published in the Blue Book the value of the guarantees of the Association in force is more than six times greater than the securities of all other descriptions together. The loans of Associates are levied at the Public Treasury from time to time as they became due and placed to the credit of the Managers, who are required to invest the amount in island debentures or deposit it in the Government Savings BankThe loans levied during the nineteen years under review amounted to £7,572 9s. 6d., to which has been added £348 16s. 11d. arising from profits on investments. Of this sum of £7,921 6s. 5d., £3,536 13s. 2d. remained at the credit of Associates on 31st March, 1892; £550 2s. 7d. inclusive of the forfeited loans of defaulters (£133 13s. 11d.) had been written off to meet losses; and £3,834 10s. 8d. had been refunded to Associates withdrawing from the Association. Excluding the loans of defaulters forfeited and giving credit for the bonus awarded, the proportion of loss falling on Associates, has been less than 1 per cent. of their loans on the average. The assets on 31st March, 1892, amounted to £3,932 13s. 2d., namely, Island Debentures and inscribed stock £3,741; Government Savings Bank £124 4s. 10d.; Island Treasurer £67 0s. 9d., and amount in hands of Secretary 7s. 7d. Of the total assets £3,536 13s. 2d. are held to the credit of the Associates, and £396 to the credit of the Association. But however satisfactory the financial position of the Association may be, a review of the transactions of the period presents a more gratifying feature in the testimony it bears to the completeness of the supervision and audit of accounts and to the integrity of the officers employed in the collection and disbursement of public moneys. When it is considered that this Association guaranteed more than sixsevenths of the public officers required to give security, and included in that number the whole of the officers charged with the collection of the excise, customs and internal revenue, all the Parochial Treasurers through whom local disbursements are made and

many other disbursing officers, no stronger evidence can be adduced of the integrity of the public officers of the colony than the fact that the losses of the Association for a period of nineteen years have been about £69 per annum. The office is at the Collector-General's Office, Kingston.

SECURITY OF PUBLIC OFFICERS.

THE following are the ways in which Public Officers can give security for their fidelity in office, as laid down in Law 45 of 1872. The foregoing article treats of the second of the ways prescribed:

By personal bond and deposit with the Treasurer, to the extent required, of Jamaica government debentures, or debentures of any public commission by law established in Jamaica, duly endorsed in favor of the Treasurer, or by personal bond and lodgment in the Government Savings Bank to such extent. in the name of the Treasurer.

By personal bond and the guarantee of any association of civil servants of the Crown in Jamaica for purposes of mutual guarantee, whereof the business is conducted according to the rules that shall be approved by the Governor in Privy Council, as may be notified from time to time in the "Jamaica Gazette."

By personal bond and the guarantee of any public company or association accustomed as part of their regular business to guarantee the fidelity of any persons, which company or association is approved generally by the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury as a company or association whose guarantee for such fidelity of Officers of the Civil Service may be taken.

PART XIV.

THE CIVIL SERVICE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS' FUND. THIS Association was established for providing pensions for the widows and orphans of deceased public officers of this island and is regulated by Law 11 of 1875 as amended by Law 14 of 1887. The pensions are not concurrent but are payable to the widows until marriage or death, and are then divided among the orphans in the following proportions: if three in number or less each receives one-fourth; but if more than three the pension is equally divided between them all. The pensions of boys cease at the age of 18 and of girls on marriage or at the age of 21 years.

The first registration of Associates was made on the 3rd June, 1875, when it was optional with the public officers to join the Association or not; the only penalty for not then consenting to join being that no officer then in receipt of £100 per annum could obtain admission afterwards until he had paid a sum equal to the amount he would have paid had he consented to join on that date. But after the 3rd June, 1875, every officer, on being first appointed to any permanent office in the public service, with a salary of £100 and upwards per annum, was taken to be and considered to be an Associate, his name being registered accordingly, such registration, however, being subject to the result of examination by Medical Practitioners appointed by the Directors. In the event of such examination being unsatisfactory the registration is cancelled.

Every Associate is required to contribute from the date of his registration a sum equal to four per centum on the amount of his salary, and the contributions are deducted by the Island Treasurer. The contributions are payable until the officer attains the age of 65 years, or until they have been paid for thirty-five years on his salary at the time of registration and on each increment thereof, when they cease, unless the officer retires on a pension when an abatement is made of four per centum from the amount of the pension, unless the officer elects to continue to contribute on the amount of salary received prior to retirement. The contributions are retained by the Government and interest at the rate of six per centum is allowed on the monthly balances. The Association is under the direction and superintendence of a Board of six Directors who hold office for a term of three years. Three of them are appointed by the Governor, one of his Excellency's appointees being Chairman, and three of them are elected by the Associates from amongst themselves. The Directors appoint a Secretary for keeping the accounts and registers.

By section 11 of Law 14 of 1887 the Directors are required, at the end of every fifth year, to submit a complete statement of the assets and liabilities of the Association for valuation by a competent Actuary. The valuation made as of 30th September, 1889, showed that after providing for all pension claims-actual and contingent-and setting aside strong reserves for miscellaneous items and for expenses there remained a surplus of assets over liabilities of £5,201; evidencing a sound financial position.

The Directors' Report for the year ended 31st March, 1892, shows that on that date there were 293 registered Associates; that the income for the year was £5,715 10s. 4d., and that the disbursements were £1,727 16s. 10d. At that date there were twenty eight widows and sixteen orphans on the pension list, the total amount of pensions payable to them being £1,444 12s. 2d. per annum. At the close of the previous accounting period there were twenty widows and fifteen orphans drawing £1,282 19s. Ŝd. as pensions.