MR. WYNN WILLIAMS AND THE CITY COUNCIL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1664, 17 April 1866, Page 2

MR. WYNN WILLIAMS AND THE CITY COUNCIL.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LYTTKLTON TIMES. Sib,—ln consequence of your article in '■ Saturday's issue, I must again trouble you with a few lines in defence of the " Dirt and Darkness Society." The article referred to is the first one that has as yet approached the subject with anything like fairness. I have been continually accused by the Lyttelton Times and the Press with getting the City Council into trouble without any cause for doing so; I hare over ind over again publicly given my reasons for objecting to pay my last rate, but the leading articles in yours and other papers have carefully avoided the reasons I haw given for disputing the validity of the rates and have referred only to the results, viz,! that the Council could not carry on their duties, and that I was the sole cause of this, without any justice or reason to support me.' I take your statistics of the assessment for i 1864,1865, and 1866, which, I believe are j correct, to show that there was a reason, and I a very stroug one, why the " struggling popu- ! lations" should have the power of judging whether they will submit to an exorbitant assessment, without endeavouring at any rate to put a stop to an " oppressive tax." I have stated frequently in writing and in public, that I am not averse to paying a fair rate I and never was; but these statements have been continually ignored by the Press, I presume, for some purpose of their own, but nevertheless it is a fact, that every newsin Christchurch has taken up this question at the wrong end. Your article on Saturday is as I have said the first approach to a fair consideration of the question. Without wishing t9 enter into any controversy upon the subject, I must, however, differ with you as to your impressions of the " occasional and partial abuse" of a just and constitutional authority j Ido not think any conclusion can he more erroneous than the one you have come to, viz., that an occasional and partial abuse, of a just and constitutional authority can be justified. Unless the departure from just and constitutional authority is checked, it is impossible to say where such abuse may end. I will, now however, refer to the actual question in dispute. The City Council have assessed the properties of myself and a large number of other ratepayers, at twice, three times, and in some instances, four times the amount of a fair rateable value, according to actual lettings. We resisted these payments, and defended the actions. The defeuce was one that every individual in the community has a right to raise, in order to make a good defence to an unjust claim. The result is the City Council cannot proceed with their duties in consequence of their being unable to collect the rates. Since then a fresh assessment has been • made, reducing the rateable amount of the properties referred to within reasonable bounds; as therefore the tuembera of the Ratepayers' Society never objected to pay fair rates, they would all willingly at once pay the rates for last year, if calculated upon the new assessment. I am quite sure that in nothing that 1 have said or done since the commencement of this struggle have I given any one reason to suppose, as you have said of me, viz,, that my desire only was to keep the money in my own pocket. I may say here that I have sent a case to England for the opinion of the Attorney or Solicitor-General, with a draft for thirty guineas to pay the fees and solicitor's expenses. This I have done at my own expense. The amount is nearly twenty times the difference of the amount of the rate demanded and the amount I consider 1 ought to pay, nevertheless, small as the latter amount is, the injustice of the claim is equally as great as if the amount was ten times as much, and it is on that account and knowing that many hundreds of others, who were not in a position to help themselves or .make themselves heard, were in a similar predicament, that I came forward to oppose so unjust an assessment. The object so far has been gained—that the future rates would be fair enough, rhq everybody would be willing to pay them. I think, therefore, I can offer for the consideration of the City Council a fair plan for getting out of the difficulties. < Let the Council make a list of those persons who have not paid last years' rates. Let them next deduct.the difference in amount on last year's assessment and the new one. The.collector can then go to each defaulter and ask him for the smaller amount; and. if ho declines to pay, he can be summonsed for it; and, I am quite sure that the members of the Ratepayers' Society would not in any way encourage him not to pay it. On the contrary, I am quite satisfied, that if il*' s course is adopted, every member of the above society would willingly pay the rate at once, and the troubles of the City Council would be at an end. I for one would pay mine, if calculated upon the new assessment; but I would not do so until I was satisfied that the City Council had adopted the above course, and had given all those who had been unfairly assessed an opportunity of paying a fair rate; if any ratepayers declined to pay afterwards, 1 certainly would be no party to giving them encouragement, and never have done so. My sole object has been, to put down an absurdly exorbitant assessment, and I think no one can say that the object has not been gained for next year's purposes; if the rates can be collected for the last year upon the same amount of assessment I have no doubt the City Council'strouble would for the present be at .an end. . For the future, the ratepayers must take . care, by forming a strong association, to keep in their hands the power of judging whether they will allow to be imposed upon them an oppressive tax, &c,,&c. I am, &c, H.WYNN WILLIAMS.