The Short Title of this Act shall be “The Appeals from Provincial Rating Act 1871.”

In the Act the word “rate” shall mean any rate other than a rate for the repair or construction of roads made under any Act or Ordinance of a Provincial Legislature And the expression “rating authority” means the person body or authority empowered by the Act or Ordinance under which the rate is made to make such rate.

If any person think himself aggrieved on the ground of unfairness or incorrectness in the valuation or in the estimation of acreage or measurement of any rateable property included in any rate or in the amount assessed on such property or on any other ground of appeal which by any Act or Ordinance of the Legislature of the Province within which the rate is leviable is made a ground of appeal to the Resident Magistrate’s Court or Court of Petty Sessions he may at any time within one month after such rate is made appeal to the Resident Magistrate’s Court or Court of Petty Sessions holden nearest to such rateable property but no such appeal shall be entertained by such Court unless seven days’ notice in writing of such appeal be given by the aggrieved party to the rating authority and at the sitting of the Court for which such notice is given or any adjournment thereof the Resident Magistrate and Justices there present shall hear and determine all matters of complaint on the ground of unfairness or incorrectness in the valuation or estimation of the acreage or measurement of such rateable property or in the amount assessed thereon or any such other ground of appeal aforesaid of which notice has been given but no other objection and their decision shall be final but such Resident Magistrate and Justices shall not have power to quash or set aside any rate.

If any person think himself aggrieved for any cause of grievance not · cognizable under the last section by any rate or by any matters included in or omitted from such rate he may at any time within one month after the same is made give notice of his intention to appeal to the next sitting of the District Court for the district in which the property is wholly or partly situate holden not less than fourteen clear days after such notice but if such property is not wholly or partly within any district over which a District Court has jurisdiction the last-mentioned appeal shall be to the next sitting of the Supreme Court appointed for such appeals sitting in the Judicial District within which the property is wholly or partly situate and shall be to such Supreme Court at a sitting thereof specially appointed by the Court for appeals hereunder and if sittings of the Supreme Court be usually holden at more places than one in such Judicial District the appeal shall be to the Court holden at that place which is nearest to the rateable or rated property Provided no such appeal shall be entertained at such Court unless seven clear days’ notice in writing of such appeal stating the nature of the grounds thereof be given by the aggrieved party to the rating authority Provided also that no such notice of appeal shall prevent the recovery of any such rate.

The District Court or Supreme Court as the case may he shall hear and determine the appeal in a summary way at the sitting thereof for which any such notice of appeal is given or at the following sitting when the Court thinks fit to adjourn the appeal to the following sitting and the decision of the Court shall be final and conclusive on all parties.

Upon any such appeals as aforesaid where there shall appear to be just cause for giving relief the Resident Magistrate’s Court or Court of Petty Sessions and the District Court and Supreme Court respectively shall have the power to amend the rate in respect of which the appeal is made by altering the sum at or upon which any person is rated therein and the said District Court and Supreme Court respectively by inserting therein or striking out therefrom the name of any person or in any other manner which such Courts respectively shall think necessary for giving relief and without quashing or wholly setting aside such rate Provided always that if any District Court or the Supreme Court shall be of opinion that it is necessary for the purpose of giving relief to the person appealing that the rate should be wholly quashed then such District Court or Supreme Court as the case may he may quash the same Provided also that if such District Court or Supreme Court shall quash such rate then notwithstanding the quashing of such rate all sums of money charged by such rate on any person charged by such rate may if such Court so order be levied by such means and in the same manner as if no appeal had been made against such rate and the money which any persons charged on such rate pays or which is recovered from him shall be taken as a payment on account of the next effective rate made on him.

It shall be lawful for the Resident Magistrate’s Court and Court of Petty Sessions and for the District Court and Supreme Court respectively upon any such appeal as aforesaid to order and award to the party for whom such appeal shall be determined or upon proof there to be made of notice of any appeal having been given under the provisions hereinbefore contained where the person giving such notice has not afterwards prosecuted such appeal to order and award to the person to whom such notice shall appear to have been given such costs and charges as by the Court in its discretion shall be thought reasonable and just to be paid respectively by the party against whom such appeal shall be determined or by the party so giving notice and not prosecuting as the case may be and all such costs and charges may be recovered by the like means and in like manner respectively as any costs awarded by such Court respectively in cases of appeal may lawfully be recovered Provided that no such Resident Magistrate’s Court or Court of Petty Sessions shall order or award any costs to be paid to any person having appealed to it as aforesaid in any case in which the sum at or upon which such person was rated shall have been by such Court reduced by an amount less than one-fifth thereof.

No order of the said Resident Magistrate’s Court or Court of Petty Sessions or of any such District Court upon any such appeal shall be removed by certiorari or otherwise into the Supreme Court.

Upon any suit for the recovery of any rate from any person the invalidity or badness of the rate as a whole shall not avail to prevent such recovery.