| AdminHistory | The earliest records of the Corporation's finances are the Chamberlains' Accounts - see MD.NC/FN/1/1 for more information. It is not certain when the Common Council established its control over finance, but the first reference to powers in this respect occurs in letters patent of Edward III of 1342 (see MD.NC/D/1/1/1) which includes an order that the mayor, with his bailiffs and chamberlains, should cast up the accounts of the Corporation every week, and engross them on a roll. Letters patent of Elizabeth I of 1600 (MD.NC/D/1/1/15) refer to the Clerk of the Chamber and eight chamberlains. A Revenue Committee was established by 1784, and independent minutes of this committee date from 1803 (MD.NC/237). All money was kept in the town hutch, to which the mayor and all eight chamberlains had a key, all nine being needed to open the hutch. By 1833 the office of chamberlain was a sinecure and the Clerk of the Chamber performed all relevant duties.
(Adapted from a typescript article by E M Halcrow, Searchroom Library L/PA/1528)
Following the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 revenues were further classified under different heads, and printed accounts issued for the first time. The greater part of the Corporation's income continued to be derived from river dues until these were lost to the Tyne Improvement Commission in 1850. In 1887 there was a major enquiry into the accounts and business of the city council, which overhauled financial management. Following this the City Treasurer was made responsible for all receipts and expenditure except petty cash, and separate sections set up for book-keeping and accountancy, and for audit, laying the foundations of the modern systems. A detailed account of procedures prior to 1887 is given in the minutes of evidence of the enquiry (Searchroom Library L/4742/Newcastle) |