ASSESSMENT COURTS.

Kumara Times, Issue 1692, 2 March 1882, Page 2

ASSESSMENT COURTS.

KUMARA. Wednesday, March 1. [Before H, A. Stratford, Esq., Judge.] OBJECTIONS. The following persons objected to their assessment as too high : John Henderson, house and garden, Main street, £23.—No appearance ; objection struck oht. IT. M. Healey, house and garden, Main street, £2O. —No appearance ; objection stuick out. W. Killeen, hotel, Main street, £3s.—Reduced to £3O. Ann Roberts, hou e, Main street, £lo.—Adjourned to Bth March. Patrick Rooney, shop, Seddon street, "3.—No appearance ; objection struck out. H. Adamson, house, <kc., Main street, ■£4o.—Reduced to £2O by consent. George M. Stewart, assessed at £lO, obj. cted to paying rates because there was no proper entrance to the property.—This objection was overruled as a matter for the attention of the Borough Council. George Anderson claimed to have his name placed on Roll as occupier of shop and dwelling in Main street.— No appearance; objection struck out. George Simmons claimed to have his name substituted on Roll for that of Mrs Simmons, for .section 264, First street.—No appearance; objection struck out.

A Bristow, Manager National Bank of New Zealand objected on the ground that the Bank are not the owners of property on sections 1 t 023 (£23) and 24 to So (£62), .Main street.—No appearance; object ion struck out. There wei ; e 115 objections raised by the School Corumissioners tb assess me n't of as many sections, hut, iii the absence of Mr E. T. Robirisdn, tile Secretary I'd thd Commissioners, who had not returned from Wellington, the were ordered to lie held 'over till the Bth March. The Cdurt then adjourned till that day. —r: — —— GOLDSBOROUck. Thursday, March 2. [Before J; Giles; Esq., Judge.] The Court opened at ll a.m. OBJECtlbtfS. There were only two objection! lodged at tile Goldshdroligh Court by parties assessed in the Arahura Riding;. The first was by J. A; Bonar, on behalf of tlio Hokitika Harbor Board, wlib, owning a Reserve of aboiit 14,000 acres, Had been assessed iii the sum of £240. Mr Lewis appeared on behalf of thd Board, and pleaded that the valuation was excessiYe. Fie stated that the whole annual income derived fiora the Reserve amounted to only £BS. The Reserve was let at £6o* per annum j and about £2O were realised by miners’ rights. But the Board’s income wag only half that ardonnt, viz., £42 IDs; Mr R, Rae appeared for the West land County Council. Mr Thomas Kerr, sworn, stated : Hd was valuator for the County Council. The Act did not allovY him to, rata at less than 5 per cent. He had valued the land at 13s fid per acre. Counsel for the Board said he would call evidence to she# that the value of the land was not worth 13d fid, bht only about 5s an acre. B. Clapcott, sworn, stated : He wag ari estate agent. He had valued the property for the Hat-bor Board at 5s art acre', which he thought was a fdir value. He did not think it was worth 13s fid an atire. He had beeti art assessor of properly under the Government ; hig valuations were never yet objected to. lo Mr Rae : He had never known land to be sold at 5s an acre • but hfe‘ did rioft think this land was worth even that; it was much of it mountain pro; perty. A few men have been digging on it; H. Harvey, swo’rh, stated : He wag secretary to the Harbor Board. Tbfi Board realised £§o' per annum for the whole of the Reserve, and for miners’ rights about £2(l. ' To Mr .Rae: The Hafho’r Board had borrowed £10,009 on this and O! her reserves. To the Court: The Cocrity Cortucil did not rate this property last year. For the County Council, T. Kerr, the Valuator, said most of the lands were valued at £2 an aere j 13s fid was the smallest valuation; Some of the land of this Reserve wds worth £3 or £4 an acre. To Mr Rae; Ho valued no other land in the riding at less than £1 ; some lands were valued up to L2. To counsel; He did not know of better land in the district being sold for less than 13s per acre. B. Clapcott, recalled, said he knevY of land near this Reserve which had recently been offered for sale, and was easier of access than this Reserve. That was twelve months ago. Although offered, the parties could not sell. He could not say whether there was any offer as high as 12s an acre for it. To Mr Rae; He knew 1000 acres were sold near the Taipo at 12s au acre. For the Boaid, counsel pleaded that the value of the laud had been proved to be. excessive. Mr Rae stated the County Chairman had given eiders to rate all Reserves, The Council had never before rated the Reserve. He did not think any valuator would assess the Reserve at a less figure. His Worship stated that it was very difficult upon the evidence for and against to arrive at a proper estimate of the value of the land. But as this was the first year of its being assessed, he would reduce the amount to £175 per annum, Michael Jackson, Christchurch road, assessed for Run No. 4, at £l2 10s wrote objecting to the assessment on the ground that the lease of the run for which he was assessed had expired eighteen months ago. He certainly held a run in nearly the same locality, for which he paid a rental of £6. His Worship said that as there was no appearance of the objector to sustain the plea, the objection must stand. This terminated the business of the Assessment Court.