ADVANCES Oft LEASEHOLDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 18 August 1909, Page 10

ADVANCES Oft LEASEHOLDS.

DEPUTATION TO MINISTERS.

WELLINGTON, August 12.

The committee appointed at a recent meeting of holders of municipal and Harbour Board leases to represent to the Government the desirability of extending the lending powers of Government departments to Glasgow leases met the Acting Prime Minister (Hon. J. Carroll) and the Acting Minister of Lands (Hon. D. Buddo) to-day. Messrs J. P. Luke, M.P., F. G. Bolton, H. C. Tewsley, A. A. Corrigan, and A. D. Kennedy attended. Mr Luke said the deputation represented not only Wellington city leaseholders, but holders "of Glasgow leases generally throughout the Dominion. The Minister and Cabinet must realise that the spirit of the community since the Liberal Government had come into power had been in favour of the leasehold tenure. If the Government was going to keep this as one of its cardinal planks, then they felt that it should extend the same privileges to leaseholders as to freeholders in the matter of borrowing. . if the Minister looked around the reclaimed land in Wellington city, and saw the fine warehouses erected on leasehold municipal and harbour board property, he must see that in reality much of it was better security than small freehold property. Yet the Advances to Settlers Department, Public Trust Office, and Government Life Insurance would not up to the present lend money on these leases. This obstacle to borrowing also extended to people exercising the positions of trustees of estates.

Mr Bolton said he wished the Minister to note that they came not as individual lessees, but as representatives of at least 200 lessees in Wellington and of those in other centres. Auckland was very largely benefited in the matter of endowme«ts, and so were Dunedin and Christchurch. Thus a large number of lessees would be affected by any remedial legislation. They asked to be treated from the standpoint of valuation in the same way as freeholders. A4vances should be made by Government institutions to private trustees in the same manner as they were now entitled to advance on freehold. They were quite prepared to submit individual security and to individual tastfe. Crown moneys could be lent upon on the security of a Government lease, and why not on a municipal, harbour board, or leases of other local bodies ? They asked equal justice not for a terminable lease, but for a renewable or Glasgow lease. All that was wanted was to be able im

get an advance of from half to three* fifths of the value of the lessee's improvements. In some cases trustees when asked to lend on a lease declared they had no statutory power to do so. They were not asking that a leaseholder should be placed on a better footing than a freeholder, but that consideration should be given for the value of the improvements made. The question as to what proportion should be advanced was, of course, one entirely for the Government to decide.

The Hon. Mr Carroll said he would not just then discuss the advisableness of such legislation, but he wou T id be pleaded to lay the whole matter before Cabinet. He had no doubt that if legislative power of this nature %ere" given considerable business could be effected between tenants and landlords. It was true that the Government had adopted the principle in regard to Crown land, though it mint be borne in mind that the advances made by the Advances to Settlers Department were improving the State's, assets. However, he quite appreciated the deputation's standpoint that whatever improvements were effected could stand on their own bottom. If the Government decided upon legislation no doubt the deputation would assist in the furnishing of details. The importance of the matter; not only from the deputation's standpoint, but in regard to the general question of tenure, would not be overlooked.