The magistrate sees that each separate
house, farm, and plot is valued separately. No person need prove his
title; any man can value any piece of land, and need not prove
himself to be owner, tenant, or agent; but any piece of land valued
by no one would be claimed as public property.
A man who valued himself unfairly low would not be bought out at once
and dispossessed by Government, unless it happened that during that
year his land was taken up by Government or by a railway company for
some public purpose. The regular course of business would be as
follows:--An owner A would put his house and curtilage in the Rate
Book at L1200. The sycophant B would come to the magistrate, offer
L1600 for the property, and lodge the L1600 with the magistrate. The
magistrate then, without divulging the name of the sycophant, would
write to A either to rate his house at L1600 (paying a fine for so
doing), or to take L1600 for it. If he took the L1600, B would get
the property, and Government the increased rate. If A preferred
raising his rateable value to L1600, B would get the fine, Government
would get the increased rate.
_The utmost pressure put upon any owner under this system would be
that, if he would not pay rates on x pounds for his property, he
would lie obliged to take x pounds for the property.
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