4o MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE R.
Griffith, Esq.
595.
What is the mode of conducting the valuation under those Acts?—I,
as
sole Commissioner, have the power of appointing valuators.
By the original Act 14 May 1836.
of the ?th
GeQ jy c Q2, it is enacted, that no valuator shall receive for
valuing more than 1/.
per day, and that the valuators shall act in parties of three; in carrying the Act into effect, and in appointing the valuators, I recommended to the Lord Lieutenant, that I should be allowed in making the remuneration to sets of valuators, to have one at 1/.
per day, and two at 10*.
per day each.
I made this recommendation with two views; one, to create a species of subordination by having different classes of valuators, and the other to save expense ; and that principle has been continued to be acted on till this year, when I made a new proposition, namely, that there should be two divisions of the first class of valuators, and two of the second; that is, of the first class, which I call baronial valuators, one should have 6 /.
a week, and the other 5 /.;
and that of the second class or assistant valuators, a few of those whose experience was considerable and conduct exemplary, and who had been employed in the valuation for three years at the least, should be entitled to receive 4 /.
a week instead of 3 /.;
taking care that the total expense to the county should not exceed what it was originally, namely, 2 /.
per day for each party of three valuators; and that is the principle on which I at present conduct the valuation, as far as the payment of the valuators is concerned.
The Committee are aware that the valuation is founded upon the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, which shows the boundaries of townlands, but not the division into fields; but the whole of the roads, rivers and streams are laid down on the map, together with all the houses, and usually plantations and particular improve¬ ments.
The Ordnance Survey also shows all the bogs and uncultivated lands, distinguishing those from the cultivated and arable land; and by this means, though the towmlands are not subdivided into fields, there are a sufficient number of divisions marked to enable a skilful surveyor accurately to lay out any line he requires; and in effect, on commencing the valuation of any townland, the valuator can accurately lay down on the map the line of division between good and bad land, or any variety of land, whether wet or dry, rocky or furzy land, or plantations, according to a system set forth in my printed Instructions to the valuators, a copy of which I now have the honour to present.
It is the duty of the valuators to separate each quality of land from the other, by lines laid down oil the map, each division being called a lot, and the valuators are directed to lay out each lot, so that as far as possible it shall consist of one uniform quality.
Having de¬ termined the boundary of the lot, the valuator then points them out to the assistant valuator both on the map and on the ground; they next proceed with great care to examine the lot, not by a superficial examination, but by digging up the surface, so as to ascertain the nature of the soil, its depth, and the nature of the sub-soil; and the valuation is directed to be founded on those obser¬ vations, and not on the surface appearance of the land, such appearances being very deceptive, as a crop raised from poor shallow land highly manured might look better than a similar crop raised on good deep land badly cultivated, the object being, that the quality of the ground, and not the actual state of cultivation, is the criterion on which the valuation is to be made.
In proceeding accord¬ ing to this, the valuators are attended by a labourer called the spadesman, who turns up the soil and sub-soil in every field, and in a large field in four or five places, or wherever there is any difference in the nature or quality of the soil.
After the whole lot under consideration has been thus examined, each of the valuators enters in his field-book, without having had any communication with the others, the price he thinks the lot is worth, according to the scale of valua¬ tion which has been adopted.
After this is done, the baronial valuator having first entered his opinion as to the value of the lot, calls upon each of the assist¬ ant valuators to show him his field-book, and he then writes down their prices in his book ; he then reads aloud the three prices; if they agree, of course the value of the lot is at once settled; if they do not agree, a conversation or dis¬ cussion takes place on the subject; we will suppose the baronial valuator valued the lot at 20 s.
per acre, one of the assistant valuators at 21 s.,
and the other at 19 s.;
each valuator then gives his reasons in support of his opinion.
The per¬ son who was the lowest might say, perhaps, that a portion of the lot was wet, another, though he agreed in that respect, still that another portion was un¬ usually deep and rich.
The price of the lot is then determined, say 21 s.;
but
should
