T should like to add a suggestion to' the Council with regard to appeal against assessments.
The tendency appears to be that assessment should be every five years; although at the present time the period between assessments has only been about two years, a new assesssment coming into force on January 1, 1923.
This term of years is in accordance with the assessment of the Metropolis of London which is also quinquennial. But under the assess~ ment laws governing the Metropolis, ratepayers have an opportunity of a ing against assessment not only at the time of the assessment but also each year after until the next assessment takes place. But the procedure there adopted for appeals would be impossible here. may be possible for the Coumeil to adopt some form of procedure to give opportunity for appeal should occasion arise each year after the assessment.
It might possibly be dome by the appointment of a Financial Committee each year to consider appeals with regard to rateable values. It would be necessary, of course by some procedure to guard against frivolous appeals.
Should the appeal be allowed, the reduced payment of assessment would not come into operation until the next financial year and so would not interfere with the Budget of the year in which the appeal took place.
This is merely a suggestion, and Sigt it may be impossible to carry out im consequence of facts which are not before me.
I make the suggestion because it appears to me that there may be eases where in the course of the five years before the next assessment some hardships may arise, by reason of the reduction of the value land, against which the ratepayer has no remedy until the next assessment takes place.
Mr. R. E..S. Gregson, representing the defendants, suggested that his Lordship might make a recommendation with regard to costs. It was not a question of defendants desiring to evade payment of taxes, "put simply that they considered they had been called upon to pay too Mr. McNeill (appearing for tite Council)—I do not want any recommendation to mercy.. It must be Jeff to the good feeling of my clients. We are quite prepared to behave properly.
His Lordship—It must be a matter for mutual arrangement.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.