Select Committee on general valuation: report, proceedings, minutes of evidence, appendix and index

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42 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE THE Mr. 
1252. 
When were you there?—I 
have not X JS. 
Greene, been there for some time. 

_ 

1253. 
Were you ever there?—Yes: 
I have 6 May i86'g. 
been in every part of Ireland. 

1254. 
How many years ago ?—It 
is a couple of years since I was there. 
1255. 
Were you there two years ago?—I 
was. 
1256. 
Did you go therefor the purpose of see¬ ing the state of the cultivation ?—No; 
but I have reports, and I know everything about the state of every county in Ireland. 
1257. 
From report?—Yes. 
1258. 
Only from report?—That 
is all. 
1259. 
Was there a printed return of the per¬ sons employed in the Valuation Office, since the 1st July 1850, sent to any Member of the Com¬ mittee ? 
—I am not aware of it. 

1260. 
Did you ever see that paper (handing the same to Witness) ? 
—Yes. 
1261. 
Was that prepared in the office ?—It 
was. 
1262. 
Under your directions ?—Yes. 
1263. 
When?—I 
think about a month or six weeks ago. 
1264. 
Do you know the handwriting of the direction upon it?—I 
do not. 
1265. 
You said that there were a number of appeals in Tipperary ?-
Y^es. 

1266. 
Can you tell the Committee how many were tried ?—I 
cannot. 
1267. 
Were there 20?—I 
should say more than 100. 
1268. 
That is not a large number out of 5,000 ?—No 
; but Ave had to prepare to defend all the appeals. 
We did not know which would go on. 
We could not ascertain that. 
1269. 
Was it not necessary to lodge the ap¬ peals at the sessions ?—It 
was. 
1270. 
Did you not know what appeals were lodged?—The 
appeals were lodged with the clerks of the unions, and then transmitted to our office as they came in, and then of course wre began to prepare. 
1271. 
Mr. 
Stacpoole.] 
Except for the purpose of the income tax there will be no necessity for revising the valuation of Ireland at all ?—I 
do not know about the income tax. 
I have never thought of it or troubled myself about it. 

1272. 
With regard to local taxation it does not matter Avhat the valuation is; a particular sum of money is required, and there is a poundage rate ?—That 
is all. 

1273. 
Could you giA^e a return of the counties from which the valuators came before their ap¬ pointment, and showing their previous condition in life?— 
Yes. 
1274. 
I suppose they were taken, some from one county and some from another ?—Yes. 
1275. 
Did you send down those valuators to the counties from which they came ?— 
They were sent to different places. 
1276. 
Do you think it would have been better to send a person to a particular county who was acquainted with the quality of land there, rather than a person coming from a county where there was not the same description of land ?—We 
had valuers who would go into a strange county and value as accurately as any local valuer could, 1277. 
The land in Kilfenora is very peculiar ? 
—Yes. 
1278. 
Would it not have been better to send there a man acquinted with that land rather than a stranger who would have thought it worth nothing?—We 
should send to a place like Kil¬ fenora a man who was thoroughly up to the value of grass land of that peculiar quality. 

1279. 
I suppose there is no doubt that mis¬ takes were made in a great many instances in the Actuation of the land ? 
—I do not know that. 

1280. 
Chairman.] 
With regard to tenant-right, as it is called in the north, do you think that it adds anything to the annual A'alue of the land?— 
We never made any addition to it on that ac¬ count, or took it into consideration at all. 

1281. 
You were asked if the fact that a tenant is sure to get a sum of money at the expiration of his term, does not acid to the value of the land ?—I 
think that a tenant having that in Ariew Avould give something more for it. 

1282. 
Are you not aware that in every in¬ stance the tenant has paid that amount of money himself before coining into possession ?—Yes 
; I did not consider that. 

1283. 
And in many cases, on account of the diminution of his capital, he has been unable properly to till the land, and been forced to sell it ?—Yes. 
1284. 
Mr. 
Ayrton.] 
I believe you are bound to exclude any improvements that have been made during the seven years previous to the valuation ?—We 
are, under a section of the Act. 
1285. 
Therefore, so far as any value of tenant-right would be a result of improvement within seven years, you are bound by law to exclude it? 
—Yes; any improvements. 
1286. 
You estimate the intrinsic annual value of the land, do you not r—Yes. 
1287. 
Therefore, whatever may be the tenant's or the landlord's share of that value is perfectly immaterial ?—Quite 
so. 

1288. 
So that the question of tenant-right does not arise in the valuation of land?—No, 
it does not. 

1289. 
The O*Conor Dun.] 
You stated last year that the copying work " could not be done by scriveners, because when we tried it Ave found so many errors; it is a peculiar class of work to perform which requires a person to be very conversant with the duty;" when did you try this employment of ordinary scriveners, and to what extent ?—I 
cannot tell you when it Avas. 
We tried a scrivener in Merrion-street, and Ave found that the figures were so inaccurate, and the tots so wrong, that we did not go further. 
We only tried it on a small scale. 
1290. 
Can you give any idea of the extent to which you tried it?—We 
may have given, per¬ haps, a few parishes to be copied. 
1291. 
You said last time that a new set of maps had to be made for each district about every fourth year ?—Yes. 
1292. 
And that you preserved the old maps ? 
—Yes. 
1293. 
I observe, by a return that you have handed in, that some of the counties have been valued for more than 16 years?—Yes. 
1294. 
Then, 1 presume, you have four distinct sets of maps for those counties ?—I 
really could not tell. 
If you ask me with regard to any par¬ ticular county, I will ascertain and let you know the number of maps. 
1295. 
Is it your belief that there is a separate set of maps for each county every fourth year?—• 
Not every county. 
In some counties where there are few changes, the maps last longer; in other counties they last less than four years. 
1296. 
As a general rule, the maps are renewed every fourth year ?—Yes. 
1297. 
In some counties you will have a greater number than one in every four years?—There 
may or may not. 
We try to make the maps last as long as we can by patching and repairing. 

1298. 
Making