PAP 077

The Poet and The Paupers

XII.077


There were two snags about revaluation. One was that to employ professional values to carry it out would cost money, and saving money was one purpose of the exercise. Therefore the committee of farmers (not valuers by training) was itself to value all lands (but no man was to take part in the valuation of his own land) whilst someone from another Vestry was to be asked to place a valuation on all the smaller properties, the house with no land attached more than a garden (such, for instance, as Richard Lower’s). In the event of any occupier challenging the Committee’s valuation of his property, James Hodson of East Dean was to act as arbitrator and if he found for the Committee, then the complainant had to bear his own expenses; but if he found for the complainant then the Committee had to bear them. All this seemed a very businesslike way of going about the revaluation but there was the second snag: it might all be illegal. The Law might not permit the rate-payers of a parish to value their own rentals. The Committee was instructed, therefore, that before proceeding it was to take the opinion of a Lewes solicitor, Mr. Gill, on the legal position and if he advised that the Vestry’s plan was not permissible, then James Hodson and Martin Gladman of Lewes, as “two competent and disinterested men” were to be instructed to carry out the revaluation. This seemed to cover most possible eventualities and the Vestry adjourned until August 5^th when, after further discussion, it was agreed to hold the first meeting of the Committee in “The Six Bells” at 6 p.m. on August 26^th. And now a third snag revealed itself. The Committee’s members might have been excellent farmers, but that did not make them good administrators. On August 26^th, only one member presented himself at “The Six Bells” together with – as was only to have been expected – the Vestry Clerk. Probably they waited a while, perhaps with a drink while gossiping with Daniel White, then they formally adjourned the meeting for five days. However, the attendance on August 31^st was only marginally better, due, said the Minutes, “to the wetness of the weather” and again the Committee meeting had to be adjourned.

There were two snags about revaluation. One was that to employ professional values to carry it out would cost money, and saving money was one purpose of the exercise. Therefore the committee of farmers (not valuers by training) was itself to value all lands (but no man was to take part in the valuation of his own land) whilst someone from another Vestry was to be asked to place a valuation on all the smaller properties, the house with no land attached more than a garden (such, for instance, as Richard Lower’s). In the event of any occupier challenging the Committee’s valuation of his property, James Hodson of East Dean was to act as arbitrator and if he found for the Committee, then the complainant had to bear his own expenses; but if he found for the complainant then the Committee had to bear them.

All this seemed a very businesslike way of going about the revaluation but there was the second snag: it might all be illegal. The Law might not permit the rate-payers of a parish to value their own rentals. The Committee was instructed, therefore, that before proceeding it was to take the opinion of a Lewes solicitor, Mr. Gill, on the legal position and if he advised that the Vestry’s plan was not permissible, then James Hodson and Martin Gladman of Lewes, as “two competent and disinterested men” were to be instructed to carry out the revaluation. This seemed to cover most possible eventualities and the Vestry adjourned until August 5^th when, after further discussion, it was agreed to hold the first meeting of the Committee in “The Six Bells” at 6 p.m. on August 26^th.

And now a third snag revealed itself. The Committee’s members might have been excellent farmers, but that did not make them good administrators. On August 26^th, only one member presented himself at “The Six Bells” together with – as was only to have been expected – the Vestry Clerk. Probably they waited a while, perhaps with a drink while gossiping with Daniel White, then they formally adjourned the meeting for five days. However, the attendance on August 31^st was only marginally better, due, said the Minutes, “to the wetness of the weather” and again the Committee meeting had to be adjourned.

Copyright:This section is Copyright, the Author, 1980-2004. Copying of any of this material for other than individual, personal use is prohibited. Use of the materials, concepts and story contained in this section for any commercial use, any other money-making activity of any sort, or any type of academic activity is prohibited without the express, written permission of the author.