229
THE ESTATES GAZETTE
February 11, 1899.
Mr. Duke said liis case was that they must regard the breakwater, or that part of it which was there, as a tenement in the parish of Plymstock, and they must ascertain as nearly as they could what would be paid by any tenant for the occupation of it. The fact that it rendered protection to premises elsewhere was not an element for rateable value. The fact that it assisted, if it did assist, the toll-earning capacity of the premises which were outside the parish was, likewise, not an element of rateable value.
Mr. William Marshall, rating surveyor, London, who had had considerable experience in rating piers and docks, said the Act gave the Commissioners power to provide tramways, approaches and other conveniences, and this had not been carried out. He regarded the present structure as a white elephant. The Commissioners anticipated doing a large business here in landing passengers and shipping goods, but they had done nothing of the sort. Their earnings ranged from £6 in 1882 to £67 in 1889, and £21 in 1897. The expenditure was from £58 to £958 in 1897. The breakwater had no rateable value at all, and consequently a part of it could have none. It was on the principle of a groyne, and groynes were never rated. If there was a slight structural severance at low-watermark, it would be an improvement.
Mr. A. L. Hyde, F.S. I., 29, Great George-street, Westminster, S.W., said he could not imagine any tenant paying a rent for the portion of the breakwater it was proposed to rate. It was put up for a dual purpose—first, as a breakwater, and then as a pier and landing place. The second part of the scheme had never been completed. It would not have been constructed as it was if only intended for a breakwater. If let for a peppercorn rent for a thousand years, the Commissioners would not be better off than they were at present. There was no distinction between this breakwater and a groyne, and he had never heard of a groyne being rated. If it ever became a profit-earning pier, then it would have a rateable value.
Mr. Henry Drew, F.S.I., Exeter, also considered the property had no rateable value, and no tenant could be expected to pay any rent for it. The principle of percentage on constructive value could not be adopted in this case.
Mr. Duke quoted at length from authorities to show that the property could not on principle be rated, and, Mr. Browne having replied, the Court reserved their decision until the April Sessions.
PUBLIC-HOUSES IN SOUTH LONDON.
Two appeals by the occupiers of the Dun Cow, Old Kent-road, and the Duchess of Edinburgh, Great Suffolk-street, against their assessments in the St. *Saviour’s Union, were in the list for hearing at the Olerkenwell Sessions on. Saturday. Mr. Edward Boyle, Q.C., appeared for the appellants with reference to the Dun Cow, Mr. Avory represented the occupiex of the Duchess of Edinburgh, and Mr. Corrie Grant appeared for the St. Saviour’s Union. Among the expert witnesses engaged were Mr. G. Humphreys-Davies, F.S.I., and Mr. J. F. Field, F.S.I., for the respondents. The appeal with reference to the Duchess of Edinburgh was disposed of by a׳ reduction of £11 in the rateable value, no evidence being called. The Dun Cow appeal was adjourned pending the decision in “ Ellis v. Camberwell,” now before the House of Lords.
(Qntms & Hqiltes.
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IICENSES. - In reply to " Birmingham ” the description of a man as an auctioneer in the manner stated, will render a licence necessary; we should say that it would be sufficient for the one !acting) par ner to take out tbe house asent’s license. Eaquiry of the Inland Revenue officer for the district will always safely decide suca points as tnese.—Ed E G.	[6i)0]
NOTICE.
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Hates anil Hating.
A DEVON BREAKWATER.
At an adjourned Quarter Sessions for Devon, at Exeter, on Saturday, the rating appeal ol the Cattewater Commissioners against the Assessment Committee of Plympton St. Mary Union was heard.
Mr. Balfour Browne, Q.C., Mr. J. A. Eoote, Q.C., and Mr. H. Pridham Wippell (instructed by Mr. F. W. Cleverton) for ■the Union authorities ; and Mr. H. E. Duke, Q.C., and Mr. Bodilly (instructed by Messrs. Eric Ward and Watts) for the Commissioners.
Mr. Balfour Browne said the question was as to the rateable, value of the breakwater, or | part of the breakwater and pier in the Catte-w־ater, and also as to the rateable value as to certain moorings. With regard to the moorings, there would be no difficulty, providing it was proved they were in the parish. There was a revaluation of the whole parish in 1897, and the breakwater was included. It was then thought the whole of the breakwater was within the parish, but it was ultimately discovered that that portion below low-watermark was outside, and the valuation was amended. The first rateable value was put in at £1,150 gross and £900 net, and the reduced was £135 gross and £108 net. As to the moorings, which were not• in dispute, the gross was £8 and the net £6. He thought there was no doubt that the breakwater and pier were a rateable hereditament, and for many years the Commissioners had paid rates on it or part of it without dispute. It was, however, upon a nominal value, and that may have led! to their paying instead of contesting the matter. Now it was urged that the breakwater was of no rateable value at all. Every hereditament in the parish was rated on the rent that might reasonably be expected from the tenant, after certain deductions. This was a valuable hereditament within the parish, not for the purposes of profit, but for the shipping using the Cattewater. Without it he could not conceive it would be a. safe harbour. At one time it was thought that a beneficial occupation meant a profit-earning occupation, but that had now been reversed,
Mr. Duke accepted that. The position was this : The Commissioners occupied the breakwater, part of it was within the parish and part without. The question was as to the principle upon which the valuation should take place.
Mr. Browne said it then became a question of fact. He argued that when owners were in occupation they had to assess the value on the percentage which would have to be paid upon the capital outlay. They had to show what it would cost to erect that portion of the breakwater within the parish, and then apply a reasonable percentage at which the Commissioners could get the money. That was the rent that could be expected from the outlay.
Mr. R. Hansford Worth, C.E., said the length of Batten Breakwater from the shore to the ordinary low-watermark was 210ft. The present cost of constructing that portion would be £3,700.
Cross-examined: The breakwater was in an excellent state of repair.
Mr. W. Heath, surveyor, London, said Mr. Worth’s estimate was a true one. In his judgment 3¿- per cent, would be the rateable value applied to the structural value! of the property. That worked out at £130, or, with nominal values, £132, as compared with the £108 appealed against.
Mr. Duke would not dispute the 3¿ per cent, was the true principle to adopt.
Mr. Heath said he knew of no other principle that had been or could be applied.
Cross-examined.: The produce of the toll, he believed, was riot sufficient to pay the pier-keeper’s stipend, but the protective value had to be considered. The part of the breakwater to be rated was necessary for the protection of the harbour.
Mr. Duke : Is it not a mere attachment?— I never knew a breakwater that was not attached to the land.
Mr. Duke: If you had looked out to sea when at Plymouth you would have seen a very fine one (laughter).
Further cross-examined, Mr. Heath said he never remembered having rated a breakwater. He regarded this as part of a dock. He did not know that this part of the breakwater was constructed with a view to a pier being placed there.
Mr. Arthur Body, A.R.I.B.A., F.S.I., Plymouth, corroborated.
Cross-examined : He never remembered rating a breakwater of this kind before.
Captain Osborn, R.N., said he was well acquainted with that part of Plymouth and Batten Breakwater. He had been convinced of the utility of the part of the breakwater above low-watermark by practical experience.
Cross-examined: The breakwater acted the same as a bar of rock would do. He could not tell whether anyone would pay rent for such a thing.
a Crown Derby dessert service, painted with flowers in the centres, dark blue and richly-gilt ground, formerly in the possession of Percy Bysshe Shelley, the poet, 28 guineas ; a close Maximilian helmet, of bright steel, fluted skull, and bellows, vizor of good form, three gorget plates, circa 1540, 60 guineas.
Coins and Medals.
Some fine specimens of English coins and war medals were sold at Messrs. Sotheby’s on Monday and Tuesday. The more important lots included the following:—Henry VIII. George noble, an unpublished variety, St. George on horseback on reverse piercing the dragon, £21; Edward VI. sovereign, third coinage, well preserved and very rare, £16 ; Charles I. Oxford three-pound piece, 1643, fine example, £13 5s. ; Mary, ryal, 1555, bust of Queen uncrowned, £12 15s. ; Elizabeth, the Portcullis dollar, half, quarter and eighth dollar, a fine set of four, £20 10s. ; Charles I. Exeter pattern half-crown, 1642, very rare, £15 15s. ; Scarborough shilling, with two high towers, £23 15s. ; a Scarborough sixpence, nearly the same as preceding, very rare, £17 ; Commonwealth, pattern shilling, 1651, by Ramage, £18 5s. ; the medal for the defence cf Klielat-i-Ghilzar, Invicta, 1842, in extra fine condition and very rare, £20 15s. ; engraved medal of the Wandsworth Yeomanry Cavalry, given to Sergeant J. Williamson, ,Tune 4, 1811, unique, £12 12s. ; Army General Service medal, with clasp, for “ Ohateauguay,” to an Iroquois warrior, very fine, £16; army of India, 1799-1826, one bar, Maheidpuor, verified, £18; Campaign in Scinde, 1843, Meanee, well preserved and very rare, as granted to a native, £41; Naval General Service war-medal, with three clasps, December 14, 1814, Ed. Jones, £40 ; and a gold medal, Burmese war, 1824-26, elephant crouching before lion, an original specimen of an extremely rare medal, £23. The 348 lots realised a total of £1,337.
Old Furniture.
On the 2nd ins!t., Messrs. France and Sons held a sale of furniture at the Elephant and Castle auction rooms, Walworth-road. Among the more important items were:•—A 7ft. 6in. mahogany wardrobe, centre part fitted with sliding trays, £18 10s. ; a 5ft. mahogany Chippendale hanging wardrobe, £4 15s. ; a 5ft. 6in. mahogany and inlaid Sheraton sideboard, £8 10s. ; a Chippendale folding top card table on cabriole legs, £9 ; a 6ft. 6in. mahogany Chippendale sideboard, £9 5s. ; set of six finely-carved Chippendale chairs, £40 ; a 5ft. mahogany old English pedestal writing table, £7 15s. ; a Louis XV. carved armchair, £5 10s. : and a pair of old■ Morland prints, “ Ale-house Politicians” and “Industrious Cottagers,” £14 5s.
Contents of a West End Mansion.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Messrs. De-benham, Tewson, Parmer and Bridgewater held a sale, which was largely attended, of the furniture, pictures, ornaments׳, silver plate, etc., remaining at No. 1, Porchester-gate, W., which they have just sold by private treaty. Among the more important items were : —A 4ft. 3in. mahogany wardrobe, £10 10s. ; a brilliant chimney glass in three divisions, in gilt frame, £6 6s. ; a 2ft. 7in. antique Italian ebonised and brass mounted cabinet escritoire, £6 6s. ; a set of American walnut dining tables, £10 10s. ; a pair of fine old marqueterie and rosewood pedestals, with massive ormolu mounts, £22 Is. j a 6ft. carved and marqueterie hall seat, £13 13s. ; a 5ft. lOin. antique carved oak chest, £12 12s. ; a 5ft. massive oak wardrobe, £23 2s. ; a bust of Lord Tennyson, and the companion bust of Carlyle, by Crittenden, £14 14s. ; a Dresden china figure in a flowered robe and helmet, £12 Is. 6d. ; a striking clock by Frodsham, in carved case, £14 14s. ; a blue and white Oriental china biscuit jar, £5 5s. ; and an ormolu and onyx clock and candelabra, £18 7s. 6d. Among the oil paintings were:—Girl and Child, by H. Fantin, £6 6s. ; View of the River and Houses of Parliament, by Poilen-tine, £7 17s. 6d. ; View on the Grand Canal, Venice, by Pownall Williams, £4 14s. 6d. ; Landscape with boat and figures, by B. W. Leader, £35 14s. ; Boats on a River, by H. Macullum, £7 17s. 6d. ; Fox Hounds, by Penn, £13 13s. ; and Ship near La Haye, by Boggs, £5 15s. 6d. The water-colour drawings included:■—Rocky Sea View, by T. Hart, £4 14s. 6d. ; Ruined Tombs South of Cairo, by C. Vacher, £18 7s. 6d. ; a pair of Italian views, by J. M. Richardson, £10 10s. ; Landscape with Sheep, by C. Shalders, £16 16s. ; Chrysanthemums, by Helen Coleman, £7 17s. 6d. ; and Gaming, by Richard Dadd, £8 8s. Twenty-six original drawings for “ The Chaplain of the Fleet,” by C. Green, £23 2s.
Auctioneers and Estate Agents desiring to secure Partners, Purchase a Bnsiness, or engage Professional Assistance, should consult the “Wanted” Advertisements in the centre of the Paper.
silver label; and a lock of hair of Sir Walter Scott’s great-grandfather, “ who swore never to shave till King James was restored.”
At Messrs. Barker and Neale’s sale by auction, at 20, Cadogan-gardens, on Monday, good prices were realised for proof engravings after Millais, Landseer, Holman Hunt, Ansdell and others. An artist’s proof engraving, “ Trie Horsefair,” after Rosa Bonheur, fetched £36, which, we understand, is the highest price realised under the hammer for an engraving after this artist. The furniture also sold well.
SALE8 OF THE WEEK.
Foreign Stamps.
One of Messrs. Ventom, Bull and Cooper’s interesting sales of foreign stamps took place on the 3rd instant, at St. Martin’s Town Hall, Cbaring-cross. The principal prices realised were as follows: —Tuscany, two soldi red-brown, £4; Tuscany, 60 crazie brown, £10; Tuscany, another fair specimen, £6 15s. ; Newfoundland, Is. orange, cut close, £5 ; United States, $5 State, unused, £14 ; St. Vincent, Is. orange, ■an unused pair, £12 10s. ; St. Vincent, ¿-d. on half 6d., an unused strip of six, £10 : St. Vincent, Id. on half 6d., an unused pair, £15 15s. ; St. Vincent, Id. on 6d., yellow-green, unused, £3 5s. ; St. Vincent, 4d. on Is., vermilion, unused, £10 15s. ; Buenos Ayres, first issue, set of eight, £69 ; Uruguay, first issue, 60c., the rare type, £23 ; Tasmania, watermark star, 2d. green, unused, £3.
Silver Plate, Miniatures, and Objets d’Art, etc.
A small collection of old English plate, miniatures, boxes, objects of vertu, a few coins, etc., was dispersed by Messrs. Christie, on the 3rd instant. The principal lots included a set of three plain oblong-shaped tea-caddies, the lids repousse with foliage, 1769, 38oz., £38 ; an oblong box of old Dresden porcelain, painted with river and garden scenes and Watteau figures in raised scroll borders, 58 guineas ; an old English chatelaine ■of metal-gilt, enamelled dark blue and white, and painted with Diana, Cupid, etc., £25; an enamelled gold pendant jewel, with open border of interlaced scroll work, set with pearls and a female cameo head, the back enamelled, 17th century work, 38 guineas; a. Queen Anne five-guinea piece, 1706, type׳ of after Union, with English and Scottish arms impaled, and with Garter star instead of rose, very fine and rare, £16. This date of 1706 is a curious anachronism, as the Union did not take place till 1707. The ■other lots included a gold oval badge or decoration of George William Margrave of Bradenburg and Elector of Prussia, a very fine and rare cast and chased medal of the 17th century, £231; a large Chinese porcelain vase and cover, enamelled with four baskets of flowers, butterflies, etc., in colours, 26 guineas; a 16th-century stiletto case, with gold mounts, chased with masks in relief and vine foliage enamelled green, £16 5s. ; and an oval silver box, the lid chased with a medallion bust of Charles I. in armour, £16 5s.
Old Italian Bronzes; Porcelain, etc.
Several beautiful Italian bronzes, and many interesting objects of art■ of the 14th and 35th centuries, together with some old Chinese porcelain, etc., were sold at Messrs. Christie’s on Monday. The more important of the Italian bronzes were : —Feinale figure representing Fortitude holding the club of Hercules, 17th century, 24 guineas; a pair of figures personifying Hope and Prudentia, early 16th century, from Prince Demidoff’s collection, 52 guineas; statuette of Venus, by or after John of Bologna, 16th century, 24 guineas; figure of a boy, seated on ai column ■supported by marine monsters, 16th century, 52 guineas; statuette of Lucretia, 16th century, 44 guineas; statuette of Apollo holding a lyre, 16thl century, 44 guineas ; candlestick, supported by three winged female figures, 16th century, 60 guineas ; seated figure of Venus, extracting a thorn from her foot, £34; figure of a hound, seated, 15th century, exhibited at South Kensington Museum, £120 ; statuette of a follower of Bacchus, carrying a skin or bag for grapes, £35; and figure of Cupid, reclining on a convex cover, 17th century, £35. The other articles included : -—A gold pendant jewel, formed as Aphrodite seated on a sea-horse, enamelled white and green, Italian or Sicilian work, 16th century, £46 ; an oblong ivory casket, carved in relief with figures of Roman warriors and huntsmen an sunk panels, and. borders of medallion heads and rosette ornament in sunk annular panels. 5iin. high, 9in. wide, probably 9th century work, formerly the property of the ancient family of Pirolo m Syracuse, 40 guineas; an octagonal hand mirror, in frame of cruciform shape of transparent amber, elaborately carved and inlaid with small ivory reliefs of figures, German work of the 16th century, 14fin. by ?¿in., 48 guineas; an antique Phoenician glass tazza, of exceptional size, the whole surface covered with a brilliant iridescence, llin. diameter, 3iin. high, found in Cyprus, 32 guineas;