I move amendment 1 : —
Immediately before Section 2 to insert a new Section 2 as follows :—
2.—Where under the provisions of the Damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923, the Judge has reported under Section 15 what sum would fairly compensate any person for his loss in respect of the damage or destruction of any building in which report a full reinstatement condition as defined in Section 10 of the said Act is included then if the site of such building is acquired or purchased compulsorily by the Corporation under or in pursuance of this Act the compensation to be awarded by the Arbitrator shall be ascertained by him on the following principle :—
(a) he shall under the Lands Clauses Act as in this Act defined ascertain the value of the site as of the date of the passing of this Act and the value so ascertained is hereafter called the compensation monies;
(b) he shall determine and award the value of each estate, right, and interest claimed in such compensation monies;
(c) upon payment by the Corporation of such compensation monies so determined and awarded by the Arbitrator (such payment to be made in manner provided by the Lands Clauses Acts) the Corporation shall be entitled to the lands represented by such payment;
(d) where part of a site only shall be so acquired or purchased by the Corporation the Arbitrator shall determine and award what is the value of the part of the site so acquired and shall determine and award as in Subsection (b) of this Section as if the value of the part of the site so acquired were a separate site;
(e) the Corporation shall not be bound by any reinstatement condition under Section 15 of the Damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923 ;
(f) in ascertaining the value of any site the Arbitrator shall disregard the terms of any report made for payment to any person under the 15th Section of the Damage to Property Act, 1923.
The Local Authority have a certain right when they acquire a portion of a street for the purpose of the improvement of that street, and they think that, where a compensation claim stands for buildings on the sites that they have acquired, that that money should go to the Local Authority, as they have both purchased the site and they lose the rates on the portion of the site that is acquired for the purpose of providing a better thoroughfare in the city. I understand that in the British Reconstruction Act after 1916 this was not allowed, and it was considered rather hard. The widening of Earl Street is, as everybody knows, a very great improvement. A certain site was purchased, the site known as Allen's, for the purpose of widening that corner. Now, the amount of compensation on the Allen site was not allowed to the Corporation for the portion that they acquired but it was allowed for Mr. Murphy when he bought half the Allen site, which half went into what is now Clery's. Mr. Murphy purchased that, and he got half the compensation claim. The Corporation used the other half for the benefit of the city, and they were deprived of compensation. They thought that hard, because they had to pay for acquiring the site, and as well as that, they lost the rates on that portion of it. A similar thing is now to happen in Upper O'Connell Street. I understand that the Tramways Company's premises are about to be purchased. I do not know whether that is true or not. If the Corporation are to widen the street they will have to acquire the site, and having acquired the site they will have to pay a great deal of money for it, and they will lose the rates on that portion ; and they consider that they should have the amount guaranteed for compensation given to them in lieu of this loss which they undergo for the betterment of the city. That is, in reality, my amendment.