Now! Then! The Leeds Mercury attacks property valuations under the recent Municipal Corporations Act, which facilitate the political careers of men from the centre of town

19 September 1835: The Leeds Mercury attacks property valuations under the recent Municipal Corporations Act, which facilitate the political careers of men from the centre of town

Leeds Mercury. 1835/09/19. Leeds, Saturday, September 19. Leeds. Get it:

Excerpt

The absurdity of regulating the property qualification under the Municipal Reform Act by the assessed value of the house in which a man lives instead of by its actual value, is rendered so palpable now that the barristers for regulating the wards have commenced their inquiry, as to be perfectly ridiculous. The borough of Leeds affords an apt example: in the principal township of the borough the property is assessed at 4/5ths its annual value, while in one of the out-townships the assessment is at 1/5th, and in another at 1/8th, so that a person is qualified to be a councillor in the town of Leeds who occupies property to the amount of £36 a year, while in an adjoining township in the same borough, it requires that he should occupy to the amount of £150, and in another to the amount of £240, before he can, by the alternative test qualification of Sir Robert Peel, be qualified to take his seat in the town council. The effect is, that in some of the townships, containing many thousands of inhabitants, there is not a single individual who has a qualification by occupancy!

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Abbreviations

Comment

Rather like modern council tax assessments:

A terraced house in Blackpool pays more council tax than a £100m penthouse in the West End. https://t.co/bAW96srOQS

— Dan Neidle (@DanNeidle) August 29, 2024

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Original

The absurdity of regulating the property qualification under the Municipal Reform Act by the assessed value of the house in which a man lives instead of by its actual value, is rendered so palpable now that the Barristers for regulating the wards have commenced their inquiry, as to be perfectly ridiculous. The borough of Leeds affords an apt example: in the principal township of the borough the property is assessed at 4-5ths its annual value, while in one of the out-townships the assessment is at 1-5th, and in another at 1-8th, so that a person is qualified to be a Councillor in the town of Leeds who occupies property to the amount of £36 a year, while in an adjoining township in the same borough, it requires that he should occupy to the amount of £150 a year! and in another to the amount of £240 a year! before he can, by the alternative test qualification of Sir Robert Peel, be qualified to take his seat in the town council. The effect is, that in some of the townships, containing many thousands of inhabitants, there is not a single individual who has a qualification by occupancy!

202 words.