The Express.
London, England, 1864-04-06 00:00:00

RATMG OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

Mr. Alderman SALOMONS rose to call attention to the
exemption from local taxation now claimed on account of
property in the occupation of government departments ,•
and to mom, that all lands and buildings used and oecupied
for public purposes should be assessed to local este, and pay
rates accordingly. Tim boa. member said that this matter
affected his constituents very largely, but also more or lees
every town and district in the kingdom. The local burdens
of the United Kingdom amounted in round numbers to
18,000,0001. sterling, or about the revenue of Spain or of
Prussia. It was therefore most desirable that those bur-
dens should be equally distributed, but they found in every
town in the kingdom some building, occupied by the
Post-ofEc• or some other government establishment, which
rimer contributed in any way to the expense of the local
improvements. This wee a grievance in nerd to which
petitions bad been presented from various garts of the
country, aed it Ir as therefore a subject not only of local but
of primal importance.
MrAMORRISON, while seconding the motion, wished to
state how the borough which he represented (Plymouth)
had been treated by the Treasury in the matter of poor-
rate. flak...quietly to the decision of the committee of
1858 the amount to 1011 coatributed by goverment to the kcal
rates wee settled by arbitration, and Is. 6d. was levied on
the government Muldiege. This was paid, bat in the follow.
ing year another rate wee levied and sent up to the
Treasury, which he must my wee dealt with in an unfair
and disingenuous manner. No answer was remind to the
letters for some time, but at last they were informed that
government could no longer contribute, because the govern•
meet property formed so small a proportion to the property
of the perish. la 1862 he (Mr. Morrison) and his colleague,
the present Soliciter-Qmeral, asked for explanations at the
Treasury, and were informed that as the government con-
tributiim was paid out of an animal vote the precedent
wield not he held binding beyond one year. He trusted
that the house at least, if not the government, would be
convinced that ',arid:ire in which government property was
situated were entitled to some contribution to their local
Mee.

Mr. HAT KEY hoped the government would rot accede
to the motion. Government estabbahmente were always of
advantage to the localities in which they were situated ,• and
besides, to pay these coutributions to local rates would be
only adding to the general burthens of the taxpayer.
Mr. 8. BOOTH said that it would be impossible to con-
tend for the total exemption of government property from
local rates, seeing that the contrary principle had altesdy
been admitted and acted upon.
Mr. W. MARTIN denied that the borough which be
represented derived any advantage from the portion which
was government property, semi( that it was allowed to
remain waste for strategic,' purposes. In St. Margaret's
parish, Rochester, they turned military lunatics loose upon
the streets, leaving it to the overseers of the poor to peck
them up and ascertain as beet they could the pariah in
which these lunatics had a legal settlement. Be believed
that were it not for the government property the locality
would have been long since improved, like other please
along the line of the Thames and Medway.
Mr. PEEL laid that government did not contend for the
absolute exemption of government property, having for
some years obtained an annual vote for the purpose of con-
tribution to the local rates. But there were circumstances
'bleb sometimes justified an exception to this rule, and it
was not to be contended that government property was in
all cases to be rated as if it were pnvate property. If, for
example, there had for many years been in a parish a large
property belonging to the government, it was manifest that
most of the other properties io that parish must have been
lewd or acquired with a full knowledge that the govern-
ment paid no rates. Take for example the cue ol Chelsea.
Everybody that had bought or lased land in that parish
knew the peculiar manner in which the rates were
laid ; and therefore to discontinue the government exemp-
tion would be simply to make a present of the Improved
value to the present owners.

, Sir J. ELi'HINSTONE, who hed moved foe the cow-
mate., thought that a powerful cent had been nude oat for
the motion.

Mr. LOCKE had moved that the order of reference to the
committee should be extended so as to apply to property
held by charities and corporations ; for be did not see bow
any occupation could be held to be not beneficial. He cer-
tainly °mkt not see why government should be dealt with
differently from anyone sloe. A bill wiui brought in upon
the report of the committee of 1804 which adopted this
principle that all property of a public description should be
rated for the relied of the poor. He was sure the Chan-
canoed the Exchequer would be the last penal, after the
principle which he had advocated with regard to public
charities, to say that the principle adopted by
the then Home Secretary should not be applied now
to all pablie inirtitutioas. If they adopted the priest*