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36
Valuation List is not thereby reduced beyond its proper amount
according to the Act.”
"That should the Court decide not to allow the set of referred
to in the last paragraph then the Committee will contend that in
any case the Council can only require the total Rateable Value of
the Parish appearing in the Valuation List to be increased as to
the 16,189 cases by the exact fraction over the present Rateable
value calculated according to the maximum rate of deduction
allowed by the Valuation Act and not by a whole pound in each
case as asked for by the Council.
Negotiations took place between the Council and the Committee
as to a settlement of the large item. The Council at first
offered to accept half the amount, viz, £8,094. This the
Committee declined to absent to; the Council then agreed to take
the actual amount of what the Statutory figure wonld be, or say
5s., or a quarter of the whole amount in other words, ,047.
This the Committee also refuse J, but as the contest would have
involved an expensive inquiry and calculations in each of the
16,189 cases, and as it was possible (in fact the Committee found
it to be actually the case in a calculation made by the Clerk as to
two Districts) that upon taking the cases above 10s. and below
10s. the balance would not have been even, but would have been
to some extent in favor of the Council, the Committee finally
offered to assent to the total of the Rateable amount being
increased by £2,000. This offer the Council accepted, on the
condition that the Committee paid to the Council the sum of £50
as the alleged payments out of pocket of the Council in connection
with the Appeal. This latter condition was considered by
the Committee as one which should not have been made by the
Council, but rather than have the money of the Ratepayers wasted
in litigation as to so small a sum, the Committee yielded and
agreed to pay the £50.
The Committee consider that the Vestry is to be congratulated
that in a Parish Assessment involving over one million