The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, October 26, 1909. HARBOUR BOARD LEASES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 499, 26 October 1909, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, October 26, 1909. HARBOUR BOARD LEASES.

When the auctioneer read the Harbour Board’s conditions of lease of sections at the Heads, prior to the sale of same j'esterday, he was subjected to a certain amount of cross-examination by prospective leaseholders, some ot whom were of opinion that certain clauses were arbitrary. Objections were raised to the insurance clause, which, however, the Board at last night's meeting decided to modify, so that now, should a building insured in the joint name .of the Board and lessee be destroyed, the lessee will only be compelled to rebuild to the value of —so far as theJßoard is concerned.

Another request was for a decent road —instead of the present almost impassable track—tothe beach from Foxton, but the auctioneer rightly pointed out that that was a matter to be discussed with the Manawatu County Council, Some one interjected that a rate should be struck for that purpose. The lessees may rest assured that the Board will give this matter attention when they have removed other more important obstacles. The County Council are prepared to raise a loan for this purpose, provided other bodies interested proportionately bear the cost with them. We think this is a fair proposal, and it now remains for those interested to ■meet and discuss the question.

Another clause in the leases prohibited the use of white pine timber iu the erection of dwellings, This was objected to, as it was stated that experts favoured white pine at the seaside where the borers did not attack it, and further, nearly all the dwellings there were constructed of that material, Possibly the Board will waive this clause.

The legal cost to lessees for documents ot lease will be one guinea plus out of pocket expenses. This is an extremely reasonable charge.

Forty-three leases were disposed of at auction, which will return an annual rental of about ,£6B. A number of lots were passed in, and these will be put up for auction at a later date. On the who!e|the Board is to be congratulated on having definitely settled this portion of its endowment, and we do not think the lessees, on their part, have any serious cause for complaint* The Board has done what it reasonably could do under the circumstances, and the lessees, in time to come, will discover that they have been met in a very generous spirit.