reside, an account of all monies due to the Commissioners, for whom they are Treasurers, as well as an account of the receipts and expenditures, at the same time and in the same manner as the said Commissioners are now by law required: and for neglect of this duty, shall be liable to the same pains and penalties, to which the said Commissioners are now by law liable. And the said Treasurers shall, respectively, have and receive for their Commissions. trouble, two and a half per cent. on all sums received, and two and a half per cent. on all sums paid away by them. No, 57, Solicitor to cer- Clerks to re turn to Comptroller General Extract from the ACT TO RAISE SUPPLIES FOR 1813.-1813. p. 16. It shall be the duty of the Attorney General, and each of the Solicitors of the different Circuits, to certify to the Comptroller General, on or before the first Monday in October, in every year, the fines and forfeitures which have been had or inflicted by the Courts upon his circuit, within the year, next preceding the day aforesaid: and that it shall be the duty of each of the Clerks of the several Circuit Court Districts, to return to the Comptroller General, on or before the same day, in every year, an account, upon oath, of all the fines and forfeitures inflicted, had or received within his District Court, of the manner how appropriated, or remitted, *and to pay over to the Treasurer of the State, the balance in hand on that day; that in failure of any Clerk, to render such account, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of two hundred dollars, to be recovered in any Court having competent jurisdiction. And ComptrollerGe- it shall be the duty of the Comptroller General, to direct the AttorAttorney Gene- ney General or Solicitors, as the case may be, to sue for and recover the said sum, of such Clerk as shall fail to render such ac account of fines. Penalty on neral to direct ral and Solicitors to sue for it. Attorney Gene ral and Solicitor subject to penalty. count. The said Attorney General or Solicitors, neglecting to perform the duty required by the preceding clause, they shall be subject to the penalty of one hundred dollars, to be recovered in any Court having competent jurisdiction. See similar clauses in Acts to Raise Supplies, 1810, 1809, 1808, and clauses directing Clerks to collect Fines, and render an Account, in Acts to Raise Supplies, 1820, 1821, and 1822: 8. * Fines directed to be paid to the Commissioners of Public BuildingsAct 1827. p. 34. See No. 77. General to pro Extract from the ACT TO RAISE SUPPLIES FOR 1812.-1812. p. 12. No. 58. That the Comptroller General be, and he is hereby required Transient Poor. and directed, annually to call on the Treasurer of the City Coun- Comptroller cil of Charleston, to render an account, on oath, of the applica- cure and report account of aption of such monies as are appropriated for the Transient Poor, propriation for and for other purposes, and that the account, so rendered, be laid Transient Poor. before the Legislature. See similar clause in Acts to raise Supplies, for many years preceding 1812, and clauses in late Appropriation Acts, requiring an account from the City Council of Charleston, to the Legislature, and similar clauses concerning the Appropriations for the Transient Poor of Georgetown, requiring accounts to be rendered to the Legislature, by the Commissioners of the Poor for Prince George, Winyaw. No. 59. Treasurers, Attorney General, and others, to Comptroller State. Extract from ACT TO RAISE SUPPLIES FOR 1818.-1818. p. 5. It shall be the duty of the Treasurers of the Upper and Lower Debts of State. Divisions, the Attorney General, the Solicitors, the Commissioners of Columbia, and every other person having in his possession the and Solicitors, evidence of any debt due to the State, on the first day of October report to in every year, to furnish the Comptroller General with a statement of all debts due to the State, in their several possessions, debts due to shewing the names of the debtors, the amount of debt, the interest, the payments made, and the balance due to the State: from which statements, as well as any other information he can obtain, it shall be the duty of the Comptroller General to make a general General to restatement, shewing all monies due to the State, (except the old port general bonds given for confiscated property,) and lay the same before the Legislature. Legislature, with his annual report: and should either of the officers above mentioned, fail to furnish the Attorney General See No. 64. with the statement above required, he shall forfeit and Penalty on the pay Officers. sum of two hundred dollars, to be recovered by action, in any Court of Law in this State, having competent jurisdiction. JOINT RESOLUTION-1826. p. 46. Comptroller statement to No. 60. Resolved, That it be required of the Comptroller General, to reComptroller port, annually, to this House, all Public Officers, Commissioners, General to reand other persons who may have received, on behalf and in the port all defaulting receivers. name of the State, any monies or evidences of debts, &c., and not accounted therefor, to his satisfaction, before the meeting of the See 64, 59, €1. Legislature, to the end that such proceeding, by way of impeachment or prosecution, as circumstances may require, may be had therein, without delay. No. 61. Comptroller to report a scheme of Revenue. See No. 64. JOINT RESOLUTION--1827. p. 42. The Special Joint Committee of this House, appointed at the last Session of the Legislature, who were directed to inquire into the propriety and expediency of making such alterations in the duties of Comptroller General, as may be adapted to the better and more economical collection and disbursements of the revenue of the State, beg leave to report the following Resolutions: 1. Resolved, That it shall be the duty of the Comptroller General, to present to the Legislature, at every Session, a scheme of Revenue for the ensuing year; and to suggest all such means in the collection and disbursements of the revenue, as may increase ›› the amount to be raised, and diminish the expenses of collection. 2. Resolved, That all the public officers, corporations, and other persons, charged with the receipt and expenditure of public money, do return their accounts and vouchers to the Comptroller General, Report all de- on or before the first day of November, annually. And that it shall. faulting officers corporations, be his duty to accompany his annual reports, with a statement of all public officers, corporations, and other persons, who make default in the returns herein required. &c. Audit and re port accounts. See No. 64. Contingent accounts of 3. Resolved, That no account shall hereafter be submitted to the Committee of Accounts, unless it shall be duly audited and reported by the Comptroller General. 4. Resolved, That the Contingent Accounts of the Lower DiviLower Division sion, acted upon by the Legislature, shall be filed in the Comptroller's office, in Columbia. System of Book Report balance sheets. See No. 64. Treasurers to furnish transcripts, &c. Years for which taxes 5. Resolved, That the Comptroller General be authorized and directed, to establish such a system of Book Keeping, in the Treasuries of the Upper and Lower Divisions, and to designate such forms of their monthly reports, as he shall deem necessary. 6. Resolved, That the Comptroller General be directed to accompany his annual reports to the Legislature, with an accurate balance sheet of all specific appropriations made by the Legisla ture, with such remarks as are necessary to explain the same. And that he be also directed to report, at each Session of the Legislature, for the use of its Committees, balance sheets of the several accounts opened in the Treasury, or in his Department, under each of the following heads, viz.:-Free Schools, Annuities and Pensions, Public Buildings, Internal Improvements. 7. Resolved, That the Treasuries of the Upper and Lower Divisions, be directed, from time to time, to furnish the Comptroller General with such transcripts and statements of accounts, as he may require. 8. Resolved, That the Comptroller General be directed, in his were collected, annual report of taxes collected, to designate the years for which the same may have been collected. JOINT RESOLUTION-1829. p. 25. The Special Committee, to whom was referred the Report of the Comptroller General, founded on a Resolution of the Senate, in relation to the apparent decrease in the number of Slaves, and the amount of Tax on Slaves, for the years 1825 and 1826, Report: That from the Comptroller's exhibits, it would appear, that in 1825 and 1826, a diminution in the number of Slaves, of 33,856, and in the amount of tax on that description of property, of $25,397 25 cents, had occurred. In the years alluded to, the whole tax on Slaves, was not placed in the appropriate column, but a part was blended with the aggregate of taxes, and the Slaves in the Districts in which their owners did not live, were not mentioned. Hence, although the State seems to have been credited with the full tax due by our citizens, for those years, yet, without the explanation afforded by the Comptroller, in his late annual exhibit, and in the report referred to your Committee, the conclusion would have been inevitable, that the State had actually sustained the loss already adverted to. No. 62: as to number of With a view to a more correct exposition of the taxable proper. Shape of report ty, in the various sections of the State, your Committee beg leave Slaves. to recommend, that the Comptroller be requested, so to shape his reports hereafter, as that the number of Slaves in each Parish or District, and the amount of tax on Slaves, for which such Parish or District, is liable, may be correctly ascertained. JOINT RESOLUTION-1829. p. 52. No. 63. Resolved, That the Comptroller General be, and is hereby reComptroller quired, to use all legal measures to recover the balances due to General to colthis State, by the past and present Tax Collectors, Sheriffs, and lect balances from Tax ColCoroners, except in cases in which the said Comptroller shall be lectors, Sheriffs satisfied that a recovery is impossible, either by the insolvency of and Coroners. the parties, and their securities, or otherwise. ACTS OF 1834. Ch. 21. p. 49. No. 64. AN ACT TO REGULATE THE OFFICE OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL. SECTION 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the Comptroller General Books to be shall hereafter keep a set of books, exhibiting the separate trans- kept by Comptroller. actions of the Treasury Department, which set of books will be a transcript of the books of the two Treasuries, combined in one digested set, constituting a complete check upon those offices. SEC. 2. The Comptroller General, in addition to the exhibits of Report balance cash transactions of the Treasuries, shall annually report to the Legislature, a balance sheet of the books aforesaid, setting forth, sheet. Book for appropriations: Another for contingent accounts. See No. 54. Disbursement of public mo ney : All engaged in to report to Comptroller: 61. as well by whom debts are due to the State, as the amount of those debts. SEC. 3. It shall also be his duty, to keep a book, in which all appropriations, by the Legislature, shall be entered, with all the payments made under them; and to keep another book, properly indexed, in which he shall enter all contingent accounts, allowed by the Legislature, and the time at which payment on the same shall be made. SEC. 4. That all persons having the distribution of the public money, shall annually, on the first day of October, in each and every year, render to the Comptroller General an account, setting See Nos. 59, 60, forth the funds committed to them, respectively, and its expenditure, and the Comptroller General shall examine the same, and He to Legisla- report thereon to the Legislature; and it shall also be the duty of the Comptroller General, to enter into books kept for that purpose, such a statement of their accounts respectively, as will enable him at any time, to shew how said accounts stand, between the parties respectively. ture: And keep proper accounts. A Contingent ac turned to Comptroller General, examined and reported. SEC. 5. Every contingent account against the State, shall counts to be re- hereafter be presented at the Comptroller General's office, in Columbia or Charleston, on or before the first day of October, in each year; and it shall be his duty to examine the same, and report thereon to the Legislature, at its next sitting; and no such account shall be considered or acted, on by the Legislature, before it has been examined and reported on by the Comptroller General; and as a compensation for the additional duties requiSalary increas- red by this Act, he shall be entitled to receive five hundred dollars, in addition to the salary to which he is now entitled by law. ed. No. 65, Superintendent to enter on du ties 1st Feb. and continue one year. SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WORKS. Extract from "AN ACT CONCERNING THE PUBLIC WORKS." 1829. p. 14. SEC. 1. That the Superintendent of Public Works, elected at the present Session of the Legislature, shall continue in office until the first day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one; and each Superintendent thereafter elected, shall enter upon the duties of his office, on the first day of February succeeding his election, and continue in office one year. |