The Defaulters List

Feilding Star, Volume VII, Issue 64, 7 November 1885, Page 2

The Defaulters List

; In a previous issue we referred te the list of the defaulting ratepayers 1 which is now posted up outside the 1 offices of the Borough Council, snd | in doing so rather complimented the Councillors on their courage in thus ■ bringing defaulters up to the mark by ' publicly exposing them as such. But , we forgot that there are two sides to i a question, and the other side of this one is, that the legal aspect of the matter was not taken into consideration at all. The Municipal Corporations Act in clause 40 provides that the Town Clerk shall make out from the rate book on or before the 31st March in each year, a list to be called the " defaulter's list," of the names of all persons who have not then paid all rates due on or before the 81st of December previous. Clause 42 provides that the Town Clerk shall keep the burgess list and defaulters list tn Aw office, and allow them to be inspected without fee by all persons interested therein during all office hours until the 15th day of April inclusive, and he shall on or as soon as possible after the Ist day of April publicly notify that such lists are ready for inspection at his office. There is nothing here about " posting outside the office." We may net do evil that good may come, but in this instance in the desiro to do good the Council has clearly been guilty of doing evil, inasmuch as every ratepayer whose name has so appeared has good grounds for an action for libel against the Council. The damages which may have been done to individual credit in cases of this kind can easily be proved, and no jury would hesitate a moment to bring in a verdict for the plaintiff with liberal damages and heavy costs. We trust that the Town Clerk will he instructed to remove the offending publication forthwith.