The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-24 00:00:00

RATING OF RAILIV.ANS.

At the late meeting of the Bench of Magietrite:-.•1"
Croydon, a question of very grave importance to (r•
parish in the kingdom in which rail way works art in .„F ,so
Lion, was brought forward, and should tie di cision ec—ti to
by' the Bench prove c meet in law, it w ill be foul
affect their irderests most materially.
The Directors of the London and Brighton
were called upon to show c disc why they neglected I°_del
the sum of 16/. 12.. .tid. the arnount of a poor-rate ase7o,
upon property in their occupation in the parish of Cf.°l and
Mr. G. PENFOLD appeared in support of the ra•-'d
Mr SUTTON, the soliei.or to the C
their behalf. rite
Mr. PENFOLD Fed that he appeared in supr rt sod
made by the parish officers cf Croydon upon the °viler.
other works of the Bri4liton R ilway Company it' 140
rish of Croydon, and the question fit the Bench,' 0 too
whether the Company had such a beneficial occupaton:or
Company, attenfd:
property in accordance with the Act of Parliament Si t thej
tify its assessment, and he was prepared to centend lhe
el the
bad a really benefieill occupatior. They bad purcAhtas
land which was formerly assessed to the poor-c—c--ocerl
had laid down rails, and used locomotives upon thou t tbe
soil, bricks, &c. ; and he submitted ti.a. this could 'l' od
construed other wise than as a I erieficial occurt
he reminded the Beech that it was not at all ncf,cb,-
that there should be any profitable occupation, th '4, 00
quite distinct from a beneficial occupation, such the
required by the Act cf Parlian elt, to be assessed.e:K.
poor-rate. Mr. Penfold then cited several easc.,„l the
port of his argument, and concluded by calling er
Bench to make an order far the amount. f gu'd
Mr. SUTTON, then, on behalf of the Compaq' itriss•
that, while the works of the railway were le Pirc3 tbel
they were not liable to be ra•cd ; and be coritenuecie toe
until they were completed, and the railway was In there
of in a way likely to real ze profit or advantagar °roll it
was no beneficial occupation, and that emisc.fr-
be
could not be assessed to the Poor-rate.
Mr. WARRINGTON said the question appear,. f the
whether the using of the rrils for the purP°s—
itself in the progress of tie works, °cove'
construed as such a beneficial occupation as render
liable to pay the poor-rate. hi
hog
Mr. SUTHERLAND and Mr. ELYARD said WY. 1, 111.
not. They considered that a railway while tablet a
was like the 'ease of a house while being built, •
not assessed until it was occupied. octal
Mr. REID, the Chairman, inquired where the Re
be drawn. hey col:
Mr. SUTHERLAND considered that the moment t;
veyed a single passenger, the first f..re they car the
5 tht:,
them able.
Mr.l REID remarked that if this was to be tak„
true in erpretation of the law, the whsle counleYs
cut up and whole parishes, in some instances, take
t
ways. ant tSey wou'd Let co rates while bey
r es 3.
M-. PENFOLD said that a case m;ght arise wi'c'e esafe the
way could not be completed a. all, and in tb
parish would I. its rated alt g her. r the Ills;
Af e Barre further di c rss on, the majority los
gistrat expres ed their opi, ion that the railf/a4
dr,
pros' n. not li. b c to pay an) poor-rates. - „Wet
Mr. PENFC LO said he felt strongly upon the'r-„nt bl;of
the liability cf the Company. It nal a very Vincon`h.
ship upon the oche rate pay. rs that FO large out; waste;
property sbou'd be excluded from the rate, 11.0r1,5'0111:-;
s'ructed by t. e parish officer s to say that litho o'.,,g"'°:o
would make the order they should be idernoi,6e".,asof
any procecdi gs that night be taken by tbb Lo'-`•
try the legality of the proceedings. d 011'0
Mr. SALTER having addressed the Bench, Oder
ted to them that they ought not to make the °r, dr,b,
0, tvrle.
they a ere clearly sari fled of its legaliy, the
berated upon the matter, and decided upon disallo
ra e.