HC Deb 04 July 1854 vol 134 cc1084-90

Order for Committee read.

House in Committee.

Clauses 1 to 3 agreed to.

Clause 4 (Notice to be given to persons whose property is valued).

MR. ALEXANDER HASTIE

said, he wished to move an Amendment, the effect of which was, that the time for giving notice to persons included in the valuation should be extended from the 15th to the 31st of August.

Amendment proposed, in page 3, line 4, to leave out the word "fifteenth," in order to insert the words "thirty-first."

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, he could not assent to the proposed change.

Question put, "That the word 'fifteenth' stand part of the Clause."

The Committee divided:—Ayes 39; Noes 15: Majority 24.

SIR HENRY DAVIE

moved an Amendment, having for its object that the appeal from the valuation assessors should be to the Commissioners of Supply, instead of the sheriff, or to the magistrates of the burgh, as the case might be.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, he would not offer any opposition to the proposal.

Clause, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 5 (Yearly rent, or value, how to be estimated).

MR. DUNLOP

said, he would now move the proviso of which he had given notice.

Amendment proposed, in page 4, line 12, to add at the end of the Clause, the words— Provided also, that when lands and heritages are subject to a feu duty or ground annual, the proprietor shall be entitled to relief from the superior or the party in right of the ground annual, and to deduction from the feu duty or ground annual payable by him, of such proportion of all assessments laid on according to the valuations made under this Act, which, in so far as effeirs to such feu duty or ground annual, such proprietor is not by contract or obligation in his titles, or by law, liable in payment of, and that without relief, as shall correspond to the amount of such feu duty or ground annual as compared with the amount of the valuation of such lands and heritages under this Act.

MR. COWAN

said, he would appeal to the Lord Advocate to assent to this proviso, which was in accordance with the demands of public opinion in Scotland.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, he objected to a renewed discussion of this point, which had been decided by the House on a former occasion. This Bill would not affect the proprietors of land subject to a feu duty in one way or the other, because he intended to add to it a clause enacting that— Nothing contained in this Act shall exempt from or render liable to assessment any person or property not now exempt from or liable to assessment. As far as feu duties were now legally liable to assessment, they would continue liable; but no new liability would be imposed upon them. His object had been to render this simply a Valuation Act, and not to interfere in any way with the assessments to which different classes of property were liable.

MR. ALEXANDER HASTIE

said, that a great boon was always conferred on the public when property was brought within the sphere of taxation which had previously escaped. No property was more valuable than these feu duties, and none was more entitled to bear its due share of taxation. He should vote for the Amendment.

COLONEL BLAIR

opposed the proviso, which he said he regarded as a violation of existing arrangements.

MR. DUNLOP

said, the proviso would have the effect of preserving existing contracts, but the Bill of the right hon. and learned Lord Advocate would relieve parties, at present liable, from the taxes which they now paid, and would inflict taxes upon those who were neither liable by practice nor law to pay them.

Question put, "That those words be there added."

The Committee divided:—Ayes 23; Noes 52: Majority 29.

MR. E. ELLICE

said, the Bill as it stood would positively exempt property from taxation which had hitherto been assessed to a very large amount.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, the notion that the Bill would produce any such effect as that referred to by the hon. Gentleman arose entirely from a misconception. In order, however, to make the matter quite clear, he proposed to add a clause which would provide that nothing contained in the Act should give such an exemption.

Clause agreed to, as were also the clauses up to Clause 14.

Clause 15 (New Qualification for Commissioners of Supply).

MR. CRAUFURD

said, he objected to the exclusion of burghs from the operation of the clause, and he would propose to insert after the word "county," the words "or within any burgh locally situate therein, or partly within such county, and partly within any such burgh as aforesaid."

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, he must oppose the insertion of those words.

Amendment negatived.

MR. CRAUFURD

said, he would now move the omission of the proviso at the end of the clause.

Amendment proposed, in page 8, line 25, to leave out from the word "proprietors" to the word "provided," in line 30.

Question put, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Clause."

The Committee divided:—Ayes 56; Noes 26: Majority 30.

Clause agreed to.

Clause 17.

MR. COWAN

said, that this clause directed the assessment of railways to be made on the basis of their cost. Now, every one knew that a great deal of money had been unnecessarily expended on railways, and he would therefore move that the assessment should be charged not upon the cost, but upon "the value for business purposes."

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, that railways would be assessed upon their actual value. The cost was only to be considered as a criterion of the proportions in which the assessment should be distributed amongst the various parishes through which the railway ran.

MR. COWAN

said, he thought it was needlessly complicating the matter to have two assessments, which it seemed would be requisite, according to the statement of the right hon. and learned Lord.

MR. DUNLOP

said, he should support the clause. He did not think that the plan which it embraced was at all complicated.

Amendment withdrawn.

Clause agreed to, as were Clauses 18 to 22. Clause 23 was omitted. Clauses 24 to 28 agreed to.

Clause 29.

MR. DUNLOP

said, he wished to add the following proviso— Provided always, that when the area of any parish church heretofore erected has been allocated among the heritors according to their respective valued rents as appearing upon the present valuation rolls, all assessments for the repair thereof shall be imposed according to such valued rent.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

assented to the proviso.

Clause, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 30.

MR. LOCKHART

proposed the insertion of the following proviso— But provided always, that nothing herein contained entitle any person claiming the franchise as a proprietor to be enrolled, if his claim be objected, and he fail to produce a good and sufficient title in the registration court after due citation.

Clause, as amended, agreed to, as was also Clause 31.

Clause 32.

MR. COWAN

said, he proposed to add the following words— Provided always, that where more than one burgh contribute to send a Member or Members to Parliament, each such burgh shall, notwithstanding, be held to be distinct and separate burghs for the purposes of this Act, and the magistrates of each burgh respectively shall have and exercise all the powers herein conferred on magistrates of burghs.

This proviso was rendered necessary by the fact that the cities of Glasgow and Aberdeen each contained two boroughs.

Clause, as amended, agreed to.

Clauses from 33 to 36 inclusive were then agreed to, with verbal amendments.

SIR HENRY DAVIE

then moved the insertion, after Clause 12, of an additional clause to the following effect— Provided that at all proceedings under this Act, any three Commissioners of Supply, and any three magistrates of a borough, shall be deemed to be a quorum; that at all the meetings of such Commissioners and magistrates, the convener of the county shall be the preses of such meetings, and that the signature of the convener of the county, or of the preses of a meeting of Commissioners of Supply, shall be equivalent to the signatures of the whole Commissioners of Supply present at a meeting thereof.

Clause agreed to, and added to the Bill.

MR. E. ELLICE

then proposed the insertion of the following clause after Clause 35, namely— No minister, or pastor, or preacher, or priest of any Christian congregation of any denomination shall be liable to any rate or assessment in respect of his manse, glebe, or stipend, or the annual salary or emolument of his office, from whatever source derived, anything, in the said Act of the 8 & 9 Vict. c. 83, or in any other Act or Acts of Parliament, to the contrary notwithstanding.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, he would assent to the clause, the object of which he thought unobjectionable.

MR. DUNLOP

said, he was inclined to regard the clause with much disfavour, thinking that the boon sought to be conferred upon ministers of religion was one which was quite uncalled for. Besides, it would place the clergy and ministers of religion in an invidious position in their relation to the laity.

MR. CRAUFURD

said, he also objected to the principle of the clause, and hoped it would be rejected by the Committee

MR. DUNCAN

said, he thought the wording of this clause would establish a very wide class of exemptions. It would exempt from certain rates and taxes not only persons in holy orders, but all manner of preachers and lecturers, who in many parts of Scotland were very numerous.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, he thought, when the Bill was last under discussion, that there was a very general feeling in the House in favour of the principle of this clause. Had he not entertained such an impression, he certainly would not have given it his assent without more deliberation; but, having once approved of it, and an understanding haying been previously come to, to agree to its insertion, he could not now depart from the arrangement.

Clause agreed to.

MR. STIRLING

moved the addition of the following clause, namely— From and after the completion of the first valuation under this Act, it shall be in the power of the Commissioners of Supply to assess on the said valuation, and any subsequent valuation, the rogue money and all the other assessments now levied on the valued rent: provided that notice of the resolution so to assess be given at the meeting of the said Commissioners previous to the meeting at which such assessment is to be made; but after such resolution has once been adopted by the said Commissioners, it shall not be in their power to revert to the former mode of assessment.

Clause agreed to.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

then moved to insert, after Clause 36, the following clause— Nothing contained in this Act shall alter or affect any classification or power of classification, or any deduction or allowances, or power of making deductions or allowances from gross rental, made or possessed by any body, persons, or person entitled to impose or levy assessments, but the same shall not affect the value to be inserted in the valuation roll in the terms of this Act; and nothing contained in this Act shall exempt from or render liable to assessment any person or property not at present exempt from or liable to assessment; and within two months after the passing of this Act the Commissioners of Supply of each county, and the magistrates of each burgh, shall hold a meeting and adopt such measures as will enable the first valuation roll under this Act to be made up by the 15th of August, 1555.

Clause agreed to.

MR. LOCKHART

said, he begged to move, after Clause 35, to insert the following clause— Where certain assessments are at present levied according to ploughgates and other ancient measures, and the proportion of such measures effeering to the several lands and heritages within the area of assessment is from time to time regulated by the real rent thereof, such assessment shall, after the passing of this Act, cease to be levied according to such ancient measures, but shall be levied on the persons and subjects chargeable With the same by a poundage rate on the annual value thereof, according to the valuation to be made under this Act.

Clause agreed to.

House resumed; Bill reported as amended.