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10
185 Committal Warrants were granted in respect
of non-payment of rates, averaging 46 per quarter,
the majority of the cases being those of persons
who set the Vestry at defiance, and have no goods
on the premises on which distress can be levied,
and it may be taken that practically the same
persons form the cases each quarter. In the large
majority of these cases also, when proceedings have
reached this extreme, the money is forthcoming.
An average of 17 cases per quarter were excused
by the justices on account of poverty.
The Vestry have had before them the question
of the desirability of the summonses for the recovery
of the rates being issued before the expiration of
the quarter to which such rates relate.
The present system, by resolution of the Vestry
of the 10th April, 1884, is for summonses to be
issued about a week after the expiration of the
quarter, and this is carried out as far as possible.
The principal object of an earlier summoning is
that the Vestry should be in a position to enforce
payment from those persons leaving the Parish at
the various quarter days, before they so leave, and
so obtain those rates which are now written off
from the rate-books under the head of "Lost by runaways,"
and this would necessitate summonses
being issued about three weeks before the expiration
of the quarter. They find, however, that the
amount lost in that way is at present but trifling,
and, under these circumstances, the Vestry are
not prepared to put more pressure on the whole
body of ratepayers to endeavour to save part of the
already small sum so lost.
Valuation "Lists. — Four Provisional Valuation
Lists and one Supplemental List have been
made out during the year, dealing with 323 assessments
and resulting in a net increaso in the rateable
value of ^£6,994.