District Council of Enfield Historical Records 1853 - 1935

Clerk later re])orte(I that £226 9/- had been returned and the l)alance was ])laced in the general revenue account. From records availal)le, it ajipears that a satisfactorj- rate was declared in January, 1855. and .shortly after, Mr. John Rag- less. lunr., uas elected C hairman. The District of Walkerville Severed. On .Ajiril 8th, 1855, a number of ratepayers, amounting altogether to 101, i)resentcd a Memorial to the Oolonial ■Secretary, praying that certain sections within the Ibistrict should henceforth constitute and he declared a separate Dis trict to be called the District of \\'alker\ ille. The petition was .granted and the District of Walkerville was jiroclaimed on July Stb, 1855. During these earlv vears. the Council received substan tial subsidies from the Government on rates collected, and with other general revenue, a fairly lar,ge amount was avail able for expenditure on works. Fees from the licensing of Public blouses, wbich at this time numbered approx. twenty- tbree, dog licence fees, and revenue from Public Pounds, comprised the ])rinci])al items of general revenue. Several ]K)unds were established in the District, and the revenue from this source alone was good. Records show in one (ptarterly return, that the net jirofit from the Dry Creek Pound was £61. The Chief Secretary later complained that the Council was ille.gallv selling stock from the pounds, and issued instructions■ that the Council must in future advertise in the Go\'ernment (iazette, before selling unbranded stock which was not claimed, in compliance with the governing .Vet. During the li\e \ears after the constitution of the Dis trict. many ratepayers' meetings both of protest and other wise were held, and the meeting places were usually the Cross Keys, Gepps Cross, .Salisbury, and the Northern bfotels. .£11 these hotels are still in existence and arc now modern imblic houses. On nianv occasions, only the Clerk and per haps one Councillor attended the Council meetings, which conse(|uently lapsed. It was in 1858 that the Council fi rst accpiired its own pro])erty, when an acre of land was purchased on the Main ■North R(]ad at (iepps Cross, for .£30, and in the same vear, 21