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9
68th Section of The Water Works Clauses Act, 1847, shall mean
when incorporated with any special Act, the rateable value as
ascertained by the Valuation List for the time being in force;
provided that where the water rent or rate is chargeable on the
annual value of a part only of any hereditament entered in the
Valuation List, such annual value shall be a fairly apportioned
part of the rateable value of the whole hereditament as entered in
the Valuation List; the apportionment in case of dispute to be
made in the manner provided in the said Section." This Bill, if
passed in its amended form, will make the Valuation List absolutely
conclusive, and finally settle, it is to be hoped, the legal basis of
charge. Lastly, the Earl of Camperdown introduced a Bill in the
House of Lords, the objects of which were to compel the eight
Water Companies supplying the Metropolis to send in either
quarterly or half-yearly to every person liable to pay water rates
for domestic purposes, a demand note, containing particulars of the
claim, including the annual value on which the percentage
charge is levied, and to render it illegal for a company to cut off
the supply without having obtained a magistrate's order for so
doing. This Bill has been lost for the present Session on account
of non-compliancc with the standing orders.
In October, 1883, the attention of this Board was called by the
Board of Trade to a Scheme promoted by the South Metropolitan
Gas Company and The Gas Light and Coke Company (otherwise
known as the Chartered Gas Company) for the amalgamation and
incorporation of those Companies, application having been made to
the Board of Trade for its consent thereto pursuant to Sections 18
to 24 of The City of London Gas Act, 1868, and Section 56 of
The Gas Light and Coke Company's Act, 1871, which, it was
assumed, gave the Board of Trade power to sanction such an
arrangement. The Scheme was submitted to this Board and
referred to the General Purposes Committee for consideration, who
made inquiry and reported that in their opinion the amalgamation
of the two Companies would result in a monopoly which could not
fail to be injurious to the ratepayers, and recommended that a
memorial should be presented to the Board of Trade praying that
the sanction of that Board might not be given to the Scheme until
B
Gas
Amalgamation