27 



of the produce. This insured uniformity, and afforded to 

 the country general satisfaction. 



To have adopted this valuation for the imposition of 

 poor rates, would have had the effect of placing on land- 

 lords generally the greater part of the rates, as their rents 

 were, for the most part, higher than the County Cess 

 Valuation ; and the original Poor Law Act required land- 

 lords to allow their tenants half the poundage rate, for 

 every pound of rent they received. 



Hence, it was decided to have a new valuation, which 

 was to be regulated solely by the letting value of the 

 land, and to be under the direction of the Boards of Guar- 

 dians, which were composed in themselves of discordant 

 elements, and differing from each other as to the scale 

 which should be adopted. 



The County Cess Valuation was intrusted only to per- 

 sons of professional competence, all whose labours were 

 regulated by one system ; but the Poor Law Valuation 

 was performed by persons from whom high professional 

 ability was not expected. The Commissioners, in their 

 Seventh Annual Report, say, "There are certainly cases in 

 which undue favouritism, or prejudice, or party feeling 

 has influenced a Board of Guardians to select incompe- 

 tent or improper valuators." And with respect to the 

 Boards of Guardians themselves, the same Report says, 

 " They have in some instances been led to form erroneous 

 notions of what the law in strictness requires ; and, per- 

 haps, in a majority of cases been influenced by a kindly 

 feeling, or by other motives, to promote an under valuation 

 of the property ; but this, I believe, has in the main been 

 all bond fide, however, erroneous." 



The general result has been, that, taken as a whole, the 

 Poor Law Valuation is a work of no authority ; it was 

 done too cheaply and too hurriedly to be well done ; and 

 if it is desired at any future period to give it that charac- 

 ter which its national importance requires, its management 

 and revision must be committed to one central authority, 

 with power to appoint competent persons, and to issue 

 such instructions as will insure uniformity. 



