Ordinary meaning of "machinery" excludes a stationary balancing tank; its value could be included in municipal assessment.

The term "machinery" in the third proviso to Section 101 of the Bengal Municipal Act, 1884 was given its ordinary meaning, limited to mechanical contrivances operating through the combined and interdependent action of parts. A stationary balancing tank with its supporting structure, used to store water and release it by gravity, did not answer that description and was treated instead like a reservoir or cistern. The fact that water was pumped into the tank did not change its essential character. The structure was therefore not excluded from valuation, and its value could be included in the assessment of annual value.

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Issues: Whether the balancing tank with its supporting structure constituted "machinery" within the meaning of the third proviso to Section 101 of the Bengal Municipal Act, 1884, so as to be excluded from the assessment of annual value.

Analysis: The phrase "machinery" was held to bear its ordinary meaning and not a special or expanded meaning. A structure that is stationary, does not itself generate, modify or direct natural forces, and consists merely of a tank and support enabling water to be stored and released by gravity, was distinguished from mechanical contrivances that act through interdependent movement of parts. The tank and its support were compared with reservoirs and cisterns, which would not ordinarily be described as machinery. The fact that the water was pumped into the tank did not alter the essential character of the structure.

Conclusion: The tank and its supporting structure were not "machinery" under Section 101, and their value could properly be taken into account in fixing the assessment.

Final Conclusion: The assessment by the municipality was upheld and the appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: For valuation under the statutory exclusion, "machinery" means ordinary mechanical contrivances operating by the combined movement and interdependent action of parts to produce a specific result, and a stationary reservoir or tank used for storage and gravity flow does not fall within that expression.

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