THE BOROUGH RATE BOOK.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9022, 8 January 1908, Page 5

THE BOROUGH RATE BOOK.

ALLEGED INFORMALITIES. ARE THE RATES RECOVERABLE? The Masterton Borough Council was occupied for some time at its meeting last evening in considering" the following motion, of which Cr Yai?r had given notice''That owing to informalities in the preparation of the Borough Rate Book for the year 1906-7 purporting to be made pursuant to a resolution of August 27th, 1906, and on account of which information the rate has apparently not been legally struck for that period, j immediate steps be taken by this | Council to have the rate book valii dated." Speaking in support of the motion, the mover stated that the rate book for the period mentioned did not bear on the face of it the amount of the I rate in the £, the date on which the rate was struck, the period for when the rate was made, the days on which the rate was payable, nor the purposes for which the rate was made. IHe contended—and he had good reason I for saying so —that the rate was in- [ valid, and the Council should take j immediate steps to rectify the informalities. If the motion were carried he expressed his intention of moving in the direction of appointing a committee, consisting of Crs Temple, Haughey, and himself, to go thoroughly into the matter. Cr Pauling seconded the motion. Cr Temple said he was not aware that the position was as stated by Cr Yarr, and if it were, he thought that the Finance Committee meeting would have been a better place to have brought such a matter forward, where it might have been rectified without receiving undesirable publicity. Cr Ewington considered that if the had brought forward his resolution, as suggested by Cr Temple, it would have been to his credit, but his a'etion 'in' bringing it first before the Council was certainly not commendable. He considered that' it<\iyas a matter of opinion whether the tion at present was illegal, and he had coo for believing that .'gubh the case. Cr Pauling disagreed with the two previous speakers, and lauded Cr Yarr for facing the open Council with the resolution. He was not a member of the Finance Committee, and he, for one, wanted to know all about the alleged informalities. Cr Morris considered that "such small technicalities would be better left unmentioned." The Mayor said he could not exI press himself in accord with the terms of the resolution. The legal aspect could be got over. It did not seem to be a .serious thing to the Council; perhaps only a few pounds would he lost. The question was whether it was not better to lose a few pounds than to spend a big sura in putting the thing right. Perhaps the Council, were not aware that it would take a special Act of Parliament to put an error like the present one right and that, together with the expenses of legal advice, would absorb a good sum. He suggested that it might be tested in the Magistrate's Cgurt whether the Council could recover the rates alleged to be illegally struck by issuing summonses against some defaulting ratepayers. Cr Yarr persisted that the rates had been illegally struck, and something should now be done to "square things up." He disagreed with the Mayor that the matter could be settled in the Magistrate's Court, as the person sued might chose to take the case to the Court of Appeal, and perhaps win. That would be a costly procedure for the Council. As for the error being a "small technicality," he knew better; at any rate the allegen inaccuracy of about Is 8d in the Bannister street rates was considered large 'enough to be brought before the Council. The Mayor mcved as an amendment that the Finance Committee'be instructed to sue for outstanding rates during the period mentioned in the motion to test whether such rates are recoverable, and whether the preparation of the rate-book was formal or not. The amendment was carried.