THE Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 1579. LAW VERSUS EQUITY.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 32, 5 April 1879, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 1579. LAW VERSUS EQUITY.

" Words are thirijjs, and a drop, of ink falling like dew apoh a thought, produces tlint which makes thousands, pierhaps millions think."

Lv. ever there was exemplification of the difference petween law antf equity, ifc might be readily fou^'d m the working o|f the Eating Act. According ' 'to the provisions of thai rather arbitrary .'measure it is perfectly within the power of any valuer \o fix the ownership of property upon whom he likes, and sue for and recover rates. I'he lancl, is valued and entered m the valuation book from which— after it has first gassed the ordeal of the Assessment lourt- -the clerkhiakes up his rate book. true," certainly, thai' the Act compels th^t the ■ valuatioul book be open for inspection for a certain period with a view of objections being lodged at the Assess.ment'Court,either of. non-owner- ' ship,or'.ot* ■excessive.'! rating. Xh aiidi- ' tioii, : ith9-s also been customary for the secretary to post notice* to the various ratepayers lna'king them aware of the •claim to be made against them; bu.t this, it would appear is* not compulsory. To put the matter plainly, an,d.' by way "dt illustration wp shall instance the .cases lieard at the Police "Court on 'Thursday)'' against ' Messrs. "He-jjsen and As^weitTir, to the latter of which we wish' tb refer, ino're particularly: In that case the defendant was summoned for rates for a piece of land m Feilding of which he was not only not the owner, but he, stated m Court that at the tiuie at which he. was rated < for fho section he hau not (he good fortune to possess a foot of land m that township, or anywhere else. ' To the very proper plea of non -indebtedness, 'the magistrate, while admitting that the Act was faulty," and capable Of being hjade the agent for the. perpetration 'ot 1 grdss m justice, regretted ■ that he was powerless to relieve the defendant, as lie was theret o administer the' law as it stood, and consequently was cduipelled, to' make an ovder'for tlie i amount claiuwh. Here, then, is an unfortunate ni'ah' whoV while, not' owning .; an inch of . "properly' is sued for rates, f compelled to incur expenses m" trtive)- --; ling 'and loss of time in 'attending the only, f o be .told that he has no "remedy, and that' he must meet "the eliijm or take the' consequences. The only pleasing feature about the ''\yhole transaction is thdi there are rarely such ocu'niyences as those which tool; place ■on Thursday ; nevertheless the very Alisagre.eable t'act'stiiil remains that they .may happen at any time, or to any mein- : her of the community. According to : the! evidence of Mr. ■ AsHwoimr, the person by \\honi the valuation had been ; made-- Mr..'" B'oo.tk's .' predecessor — called upon him for information, and ! was told most" distinctly by ]V|i\ Asn- ■ wo.HTil that he Yi'as not' the 'owner of tlie property. It would appear, however, '■tlrnl it was much less trouble to stick doiyn that gentleman's name as proprietor than search Put for the person to whom it belonged, .and his name was accordingly entered upon the valuation list. Out! of the. two thousand, persons residing m Palmerston, we suppose there wovild ndt be, more than one-fourth entitled" to pay rates; and consequently it would be the height of injustice and absurdity, to "'think that it snoutd be nece^saryfoi? the remaining fifteen hundredto 'periodically inspect the valuation listj or else they, might be made liable for a ciaim for -which there was ttoV §hMo# J tff it right} br of 'Vfhich a;-. 'Minvr',l <s -.* \" 5 ' , v. .'. A-. : .-.

they had not tlie slightest knowledge. It is perfectly ridiculous to say that a man who did not own a pound's worth of property would divam of the necessity of poring over a valuation list to see that he was not accredited with the possessions of his neighbors. But; even if he were desirous of taking all. the precaution within his power, there are instances iv which it would be totally impossible to guard against the evil and injustice complained of. Supposing the person against whose uame the property was entered had left the district, it would be completely out of his power to examine the valuation roll, arid according to the strict letter of the Act the fii'at intimation of his indebtedness which would be brought prominently under his notice, would be an invitation to attend the Resident Magistrate's Court m the character of a defendant. Looking at the Act m its very best aspect it is faulty m the. extreme, and capable of a thorough remodelling. The defects to which Aye have drawn attention are matte*? which effect Highways Boards and Borough Councils alike, and we should suggest the desirability of representatives from all such bodies . meeting m conference with a view of having the needful alterations m the measure made, which might be accomplished by there being quarterly meetings at which all mistakes might be corrected. And while we are upon this subject we might bo. allowed to make a few remarks with regard to the system of rating lipw m force. Atthe present time one of the greatest hardships upon owners of hind m up-country townships who have improved their properties, is that absentees who by the "unearned increment are benefitted by their improvements, escape increased taxation' altogether. This is a fact, but fortunately it is one for which there is a remedy, which may be found by foiling tlie plan adapted by the Land Tax Office. For instance A and B buy two sections of land close together of an equal' value of say £200. A builds a fine house at, an expense of £400, which makes his valuation £600 ; while B, although reaping the increased value of the land produced by A'g improvements, does not expend a penny. Both are yated one shilling m the pound, so that while A has to pay on £30 per year. B escapes with 10s. Under the system by which this Land Tax is levied, this could be avoided, as by it all improvements are exempt. If, then, borough councils, [highways boards,' and other corporate bodies were to place their rates oh the land itself and not upon tho improved properties, ■ absentees would have to payjtlieir proper' proportion, and the burden be equally borne by all without one single copper being lost. ' This could bo done by increasing rates upon all property say three-fold, as by such a course the absentee would liave to pay for his land whether he unproved it or not, while the man that did, would have the tax taken off his improvements and placed upon the land. 'As far 1 as the revenue to be derived is concerned, it Would hot make the slightest difference^ as it would be taking tlie rates out of one pocket, as it were tp put it into' the other, excepting tliat all would have to contribute alike. These changes however, could only be effected by Parliamentary legislation, but it is such an very easy way of reniedyiug an admitted and crying evil that we desire to press \t upon the attention of all, but niore particularly our representatives Whether civic, county, or Parliamentary.