CLAIM FOR £20,000

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 41, 12 November 1926, Page 7

CLAIM FOR £20,000

CAMBRIDGE TERRACE. PROPERTY SITE FOR NEW POST OFFICE “VALUE QUADRUPLED IN FOUR YEARS” t Claiming that 61 feet of frontage in Cambridge Terrace, 'takep by the Crown by proclamation in .August last, ior tire purpose of erecting a .I'ost Office to replace the Courtenay Place building, was worth =£20,000 Anthony Harper proceeded against the Minister-of Public Works in ' the Supreme Court yesterday. Mr Justice MacGregor was on Ihe Bench and associated . with him as aesassors were Mr. H. E. Leighton for the Crown, and. Mr. J. Stellin for the claimant. Mr. A. E. Currie appeared for the Crown,’ and Mr. T: C. Hislop for Harper, ;’ , Prior to outlining the facts cf the case, Mr. Hislop asked that, L. Rathbone, to whom portion of the land .was sold before the proclamation, be joined as’claimant under the agreement cf sale and purchase. . The Crown, said .Mr.jCurrie, raised no objection to Mr. Hislop’s- suggestion. During the last few years, continued Mr. Hislop, there had been an enormous development so far as the value of property in Courtenay Place was concerned,: ...It was...almost., impossible to buy in Cambridge Terrace at the present .time. The claim for £2O 000 was not based on any theoretical value; it was, based on the actual Bale of a portion of the land, which Harper had sold to Rathbone for <£l5,(X)O on June +. 1926,.pri0r to the proclamation talcEvidence as to the value of the . property was given by Harper, who said that he derived JHT. 2s. ,6d, per week from letting three shops on his land. Mr. Cuirrie: How:.does the rate you are charging compare with the races on Courtenay Place corner? , Witness: I<.'don’t know. ■ There can be no question about: the; value of my sections. , ~ . • Mr. Currie: You are not right on the corner. I suggest that the rent you are getting is very satisfactory compared with..the rents' obtained by othei owners in . the same neighbourhood. Witness admitted that he bought the property in March, 1922, for 116,6'00. Mr. Currie: You wish the Court to believe that the value has quadrupled in four years Witness: Yes. How long had ' Rathbone been . your tenant?—“Eighteen , months or two years.” . .. , . 5 Are-you on’good terms, with nimr—“Yes,- we are good friends.?' J • You' are both interested; in various enterprises, racehorses, for instance, are you not — “1 bought a horse off h 1 1? - Did you tell' Mr. Rathbone that the Crown was going to. take this land r a r< No/ J Has he resented the sale?—“No,” Mr. Currie (to His Honour): This alleged sale to Rathbone may have been influenced by the fact that the Crown was going to take over the property. His Honour: It is for us to eee how far this sale may be regarded as a genuine one. , .. At this stage, the Court adjourned tor the purpose of' viewing the' property, and resumed after luncheon. ‘ t The next witness- called was >- e sb B Rathbone," who said that be was the tenant, of one of Harpers -properties, known as 24, Cambridge Terrace. He agreed to pay -Harper JE15.000 for property. At the time of agreement he did not know that the Government proposed to take the land He knew that the land at the rear had already been taken, and first heard of the proposal to take his land when he was interviewed bv Air. G. Halliday, of the I.am Purchase Office. . Sir. Hislop: There has been a suggestion that this, has been a put-up sale. Is that sb?

Witness: No . . Did you genuinely desire to purchase this property ?—“Yes.” What was your reason for purchasing it?—“l wanted to buy it to make money out of it.” His Honour: Does that help us at all, Mr. Hislop? , . Mr. Hislop: 1 believe there is another reason. His Honour: Well. he. has given us his reason. Yon can go i o further. Counsel (to witness): Had you heard that somebody else was after the place?--“Yes. I heard that Mr. Sutherland of the Self Help Stores, was after it. I suppose the fact that there might be another grocery establishment ■' ongside yours was one of the reasons why you bought the land?—“Yes.” As 'a shopping area, what is. y° UT opinion of the position occupied by Mr. Harper’s shops?—lt is a rood position.” ... Mr. Currie: Did you Know anything about Harper’s business? Did you know he was hard pressed for money?— “I know nothing about that.” Did you have any idea that Harper was acting unfairly when he got you to sign an agreement, which may land you in a very inconvenient position without letting you know that the Crown contemplated' taking over he land?— ■ “He said nothing about that.” You had no uneasiness about finding the monev?—“No.”

You think* that by leasing the land you could make the property pay its way at a price ’of ,£IS.(UK) at 61 per cent, for your money?—“Yes.” ’ Harold ,I'owett. a solicitor, was called to establish Rathbone’s bona tides, bu.l Mj - . Currie said lie was prepared to accept Rathbone’s statement that he "did not know the Crown was going tc take the land. • ,

Benjamin Sutherland,' proprietor of the Self-Help Groceries, said that he had offered Harper £l4 750 for the property the latter agreed to sell to Rathbone. Mr. Hislop: In your opinion, £14,750 is a fair offer for- tho property ? Witness: Yes. ; ' ■' '

Albert Edward Roberts, a land agent, said he had been given authority by Harper- to sell the property for .615,000. Witness went to Harper personally with a verbal offer of £14,500 from Mr. Sutherland, which Harper would not accept. Then Mr. made an offer of. .614,750, but was told by Harpei that the property had been sold. Alexander Anderson Gellatle.v, vainer said that he assessed the property, taken by the Crown as being worth <£16,773. apart from buildings,which-he valued nt £2500. Witness was proceeding to quote figures to show the increase in value ot properties in Courtenay Place, compared with ten years ago, when'-His Honour interposed: "You need not trouble Courtenay Place in 1916. We have trouble enough with Cambridge Terrace in 1926. In reply to a question by Mr. Hislop, witness said there appeared to have been a rise of about £4O per foot in Cambridge Terrace 'properties since the beginning of the year. is Honour. What is the Government valuation? . Mr. Currie: It assesses the value of th.» land and buildings at £lO,OOO. His Honour: I suppose the true val ’ lP X somewhere between that and £20.000. The Court adjourned, until this morn, ing. ' ; -■ ■ ~■■■■