LONDON’S WEALTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 May 1931, Page 5

LONDON’S WEALTH

WORLD’S RICHEST SQUARE MILE Is there in the whole world a more wealthy square mile of land than that occupied by the City ■of London ? Apart from rates, which, of course, produce an Immense sum, the revenue of the city is somewhere about £14,000,000 a year. This figure is disclosed in the accounts of the City Corporation fbr 1930. The actual amount received was £14,143,309, and when all expenses wefe met there was a surplus of £182,310, so the “Square Mile” would appear to be a very profitable concern, particularly as the City Estate has in addition investments amounting to £895,540. This revenue is derived from properties owned by the city, from commercial enterprises it conducts, such as the various markets and other sources. It is therefore not surprising that entertaining at the Mansion House and Guildhall is conducted on a lavish scale worthy of the capital of the British Empire. Six functions, Including only two banquets at the Guildhall —that given to the London Naval Conference delegates and that in honour of the Fifth International Congress of Military Medicine and Pharmacy—cost £5,940/18/5. Cigars and cigarettes at the two banquets alone cost £327/15/3, while a sum of £228-7/5 was expended on flowers used at the six gatherings. The accounts of the Civil Government of the city are illuminating. In the first place there is the allowance of £10,900 to the Lord Mayor “in lieu of all Ancient Fees and Emoluments,” plus £250 for furniture for the Mansion House. Then there is a sum of £241/16/5 for the insurance and repair of the Mansion House plate, £312 for the night watchman, £132/ 12/6 for the Lord Mayor’s robes, to say nothing of £1,872/16/11 for the annual redecoration at new mayoralty. The cost of administering criminal justice in the city during the year was £15,354. The charitable activities of the City Corporation are little known. Out of the “City’s Cash” no less than £15,465/7/3 was disbursed in donations to various objects in the year under review, ranging from £l2/12/to the Association of Municipal Corporations to £5,000 to the Dominions Students’ Collegiate Hall.