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" In carrying the valuation into effect, the object to be 

 attained was, that all lands throughout Ireland should be 

 valued relatively, according to the schedule of prices for 

 agriculture contained in the act ; and that the same 

 scale of value adopted in the northern counties should be 

 continued throughout, so that the lands of the counties 

 of Derry and Antrim, which were first valued, and those of 

 Cork and Kerry, which will be the last, shall be found on 

 the completion of the work to be relatively valued, all the 

 peculiar local circumstances of each being taken into 

 consideration. 



" Previously to commencing the valuation of the counties 

 of Derry and Antrim, in the year 1830, I ascertained that 

 the general average prices for agricultural produce through- 

 out the principal markets of Ireland, for the preceding five 

 years, were one-eighth, or 2s. 6d. in the pound higher 

 than those contained in the act ; and consequently the 

 amount of valuation, according to the act prices, should be 

 in each case one-eighth less than if the valuation were made 

 according to the then prices. 



" In order to carry out this principle, I found it necessary 

 to relieve the minds of the valuators from all care, except 

 the determination of the value of the land under consider- 

 ation the land being supposed to be in an ordinary situ- 

 ation, that is, from ten to fifteen miles distant from an export 

 market, without reference to the scale of prices contained 

 in the act, or to local circumstances, whether in addition or 

 deduction ; the object to be obtained being, that the scale 

 of value for certain qualities of land in an ordinary situ- 

 ation adopted in the counties of Derry and Antrim should 

 be preserved ; and to ascertain this, I am in the habit of 

 sending, for the purpose of comparison, some of the best 

 valuators, who had not been employed in the commence- 

 ment, from the midland counties, to value certain town- 

 lands, the value of which had been well ascertained ; 

 and I have the pleasure to state, that these checks have 

 in all cases proved satisfactory ; and I have no doubt that 

 the valuators at present employed in the western and 



