The Government gets on very slowly with its county work.
Mr. Sclater-Booth on Friday week introduced a Bill to secure uniformity of assessment, by associating the Government Surveyor of Taxes with the local assessing authority. Assessments are to be revised every seven years. It appears that at present valuations vary from 10 to 40 per cent. in different Unions, and no scheme of new taxation or of local government can be perfected till this is set right. In fact, in extreme cases of disparity in valuation, such as Sir E. Kerrison pointed out, something very like confisca- tion occurs, Smith paying 20 per cent. more than Brown, for no reason whatever. Mr. Goschen intimated that this Bill was on the lines of the Metropolitan Valuations Act, and rather thought that he should "claim compensation for unexhausted improve- ments," but everybody accepted the measure "in principle." It is a very necessary one, but whether it is introduced because it is necessary, or because it will stop further bother from the counties till the new valuation is complete, it might be difficult to decide.
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