| Description | Originally catalogued with the reference MS 757, the Auditing committee was formally founded in April 1806 (see GP B/2/1/1). Prior to that date, a temporary committee had been set up to examine the Overseers' books, with the result that a great deal of mismanagement was discovered 'which [tends] so effectually to disgrace our parish officers, and injure the fair honest payer.' (see GP B/2/1/1) Following this report, a permanent committee of 10 Guardians was set up 'for examining [the] Overseers collecting books', and it continued to operate up until 1831 under a variety of titles. Throughout the Board of Guardians minutes for the period, it is referred to as the Collecting Books committee, the Auditing books committee or the Auditing committee.
These changes of names are evident in the committee's own minutes, and appear to be entirely arbitrary. The minutes themselves contain details of those account books received from each of the overseers which were then examined by the committee, along with information on the action taken by the Guardians relating to Overseers who refused to hand over their accounts. The volume is not indexed. |