PATEA WEST VALUATION.

Patea Mail, Volume IV, Issue 410, 22 March 1879, Page 2

PATEA WEST VALUATION.

(To the Editor of the Patea Mail.) ; 6nr,—l saw by your" report* of the ' Assessment Court,' for • the above ‘district, field at Kakararaea, that you, mentioned that only i'Od was struck 'off the' valuation made on my property, whereas it was reduced hy ls Td. My property was valued by Mr Dale - at within afr action of 12s per acre,, but he recommended to the Court that, having more carefully gone into* the matter, the, sum of 9d be stmek off, which was done, as • well as the after reduction ofrlOdv. With'. refer-. •ace-to phjectors,. xosts , not being

allowed, on the ground .that the- reductions made were so trifling, I should like to say a few words. The Jndgetidjourned the first sitting, for the purpose of allowing further evidence to be procured for and against the valuation, to give the Court an opportunity ot hearing the two sides of the question ; and yet we were not allowed costs for our witnesses. The adjournment was a mutual benefit, and I think a little consideration should have been shown in such a case. The plea on which costs were hot allowed, is a very shallow one, for the amounts taken off in Mr Campbell's and my own case were pretty considerable items. However, the leaning of the Judge all through ‘ the,sitting seems - to have been with Mr Diale (the valuer), and lam not surprised at the decision cpme to. In qiy opinion the valuation is o very unfair one, end ought not, in the face of the aUtetahtiar evidence brought against it, tohave been upheld. 1 will conclude by giving as an example two properties that appear on the valuation, which will give the public an idea of the injustice that has been done. The Manntahi Hotel property is let for £2OB per year, and is valued by Mr Dale at £l2O. Messrs Buckthought, of Kakaramea, pay a rental of £SO a year for their farm, which is valued by Mr Dale at £B6. This is rather a puzzling system of valuation, and the sooner it is remedied, the better it will be for the County.—l am, &c., ■ ANDREW HUNTER.