Assessment of Property. At the April meeting the Town Clerk reported that the returns of the rateable value of property had not all been received from the various parishes, and as the return from St. Mary Magdalen parish was not likely to be ready at the day appointed for the adjourned sessions, he wished the returns to stand over for two months. Coun. Putland explained that a committee had been appointed to go through the whole of the ratings, and such was being done very thoroughly. [This work was continued for a considerable number of days, as the present writer well remembers, he being one of the thirteen persons who composed the Assessment Committee. Councillors Kenwood and Putland were also on that committee; and it must be admitted that the latter gentleman did his best to augment the financial contributions to the borough funds. His zeal for raising the assessment of almost every kind of property in the parish was very pronounced; and, perhaps – as was known to most members of the comittee(sic) – because he wanted to show not only that the West Ward with only 6 representatives in the Council, paid more to the rates upon the whole than did the East Ward, with 12 representatives, but also that the two western parishes of the same ward were in a fair way to contribute more than all the other parishes put together. The first of these conditions already existed, but the second condition was as yet only in Mr. Putlands desire. The discussions at some of the meetings were very lively, and efforts were made by Messrs Kenwood, Brett and Calloway to check what they believed to be too great a tendency to excessive augmentation. It was pointed out by one who knew, that even existing assessments were higher than they were in Brighton, and that we were paying more than a fair proportion of the county rate. In that case, replied Mr. Putland, it would be a mere “flea-bite”, an expression which called forth a rejoinder from Mr. Kenwood, “If you are fond of flea-bites, others are not”. Besides, added Mr. Putland, it’s as broad as ‘tis long; for, if the assessment is higher, the rate will be lower. The intelligent man’s prevision, however, did not well serve him in this case; for, as is pretty well known by those who have survived the occasion, both rates and assessments have increased together in an almost unbearable ratio. The result of that committee’s labours was the adding of nearly £3,800 to the rateable value of the preceding year.]
Total Value. At the meeting on June 7th, the Town Clerk read the return of the rateable value of property in the borough received from the overseers by the borough justices, the total of which, exclusive of the borough’s limbs, was £104,977. In reply to a question by Coun. Winter, it was -
