ASSESSMENT COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIV, Issue 107, 10 May 1902, Page 2

ASSESSMENT COURT.

THE BOROUGH VALUATIONS. The Court, consisting of Messrs R. L. I Stanford, S.M. (president), D. Berry,! and A. Standish,sat at the Courthouse on Friday to hear and decide on objections to the Government valuations for the borough. j Messrs F. C. Campbell, Deputy--1 Valuer-General, and S. Hill, district valuer, were preseut to uphold the valuations, ' The following objections were disposed of: — F. Arnoldt. - Arranged. i Estate of the late Henry Ring.—Mr Campbell's request that the improved ; value of the owner's interest should be stated at £225, and the lessee's interest; at £25 was agreed to by Mr Govett. Robert Baker.—lmproved value reduced to £l3O, and unimproved to £SO, at Mr Campbell's request. ! Bank of Aus'.rahsia.—Mr Govett objeced to th> valuation as excessive,; the property having been acquired for I £2OOO in 1896, and had not doubled in! value since then. He contended the' property should not be valued on a out- j ting-up basis, and urged a reduction I should ba made. I

Mr Hill stated the property had a' frontage of 87ft. to Devon-street and; 100 ft. to Robe-street, and was valued! at £4435, being £33 15s per fojr,i based on recent sales. Pi operty opposite had sold for £3B per foot. After some fuither discus-ion the valuation w«s upheld. j Harris Ford objected to the valua- j tion of property in Brougham-street—' unimproved value £7BO, improved £IOO. He applied For a reduction of £IOO, but in reply to Mr. Stanford siid he would njt take £7OO for the unimproved valui.', as it was his business place. He believed Moverley's property was valued at £3O a foot and considered that it should be higher as it was neirer Devon-street Mr. Hill mentioned that the National Bank had given £SO a foot for land near Mr. Ford's and that the Loan and Investment Society was valuod at the same rate as Mr. Ford's. The valuation wa« upheld.

Mr Govett raised objectioßß in respect of several properties owned i>y the H. King estate and himself. He contended the values were on a "speculative " basis, not actual, and be publicly protested against these exclusive values, caused, he. stated, by gambles in land. Mr Campbell expressed surprise at Mr Cjovett's remarks, ancl poinded out that the upward tendency, bo'h here and elsewhere, was bona fide. Mr Stanford said that Mr Govett had not brought forward any proof of the incorrectness of the values ia qu-s----tion, and he warmly prused the sagacious and caieful manner in which the borough valuations had been made. The Court considered there was no "land boom" in town land. The valuations would be uph Id, In the cise of Sarten, Mr Campbell applied for an alteration to ba made whereby the owner's unimproved value should stand at £I4OO and lessee's interest at £317, the £IOQ for building to be struck out.— Granted. An objection made *>y Mr O. Samuel was withdrawn,On the application of, Mr Campbell, Mrs Lftwsou's valuation was altered to £l2O, the improved value being struck out. The following objectors did not appear and were struck out:—W. Paynter, \V. Hancock, K. H. J Crompton, Crown Diiry, J. Veale, juu., W. Sarten, T. W. Fisher, M. E. ilimily Wood, H. Bedford, and Borough Council. The Court then ros*.