under the clause of the Lease making Government to build roads, &c., improvement of the Marine Lot, it can keep possession of the ground it thus creates, and use it for the public service.
I have, however, no doubt that the Marine Lot-holders would gladly accept this ground on reasonable terms, except perhaps in a few instances, where, from the nature of the buildings on the Lots, large additional rental could not well be borne.
I am of opinion that Government should avail itself of the opportunity and assess the ground encroached on by the Lease holders, and that which will be added to their lots, at rates which more or less would make the whole number of lots pay, as is the case at present.
I assume that Government cannot alter the rate on the original leasehold, but it has undoubtedly the right of assessing the land obtained and occupied, in some instances, for many years, and to great individual advantage, without the sanction of Government, at a fair rate.
On the assumed assumption, I calculated the land thus obtained at the rate of 186 pence per 100 square feet, except in three cases where land had been paying above that amount, and the result is, that the rates that would be payable, instead of varying as hitherto between 297 and 361, would be between 113 and 186 pence.
The necessity for this will be best seen from the table.
The question being one affecting the public revenue, I took the liberty of...