The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 1877.

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 205, 28 March 1877, Page 2

The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 1877.

That houses arc scarce in Carlyle, Hawera, ami other parts of the Patou County, may be taken as an evidence of progress and increasing population. Ketemarae, Hawera, Manutahi, and Waverley, appear to be taking steps to meet growing rerpiiromcuts, judging by the new and handsome buildings lately erected, ami in progress. Even Kakaramea and Woodville show signs of building activity. Hawera is specially ambitious to vie with the County Town, and is making fair progress to that end, Carlyle may take pattern by some of its younger neighbours, it is at present greatly in need of additional house accommodation. An empty house is not to be found. Old dilapidated buildings, which, for a long time were carefully avoided as unlit for habitation, arc now occupied by white people, who are compelled to pay high rents for the privilege. »Such people as have means do not appear to consider it to their interest, or to bo any part of their duty, to invest cash in dwelling-houses, for the accommodation of other people. In Carlyle, the few who may ho considered well- todo do not consider it necessary to provide decent business places, or dwellings for themselves, judging by the shabbylooking “ shed dices ” in which they are content to live and carry on, in some cases, largo and remunerative business,

much less then arc they likely to provide accommodation for new-comers, even though money could he made by so doing- Buildings at present iu use have the appearance of having been runup on the cheap, as temporary erections. With an increase of business, or family, a flimsy sort of an addition has been tacked on to the original “ shcdifice.” There is no pretension to shapeliness or architectural adornment. Even the paint brush has been sparingly used. As there happens to bo no -fire-engine in the place it has boon impossible, at small cost, to make outsides cleaner by an occasional scrubbing, and the free use of water. With but few exceptions, the business-places iu Carlyle arc by no means attractive, ami have a makeshift kind of appearance, and seedy look. They want renovating in a wholesale sort of fashion, by removal from the front lino of road to the back part of the sections of land on which they stand, whore they might serve for lumber stores, and so make room for buildings more suitable to present requirements, and with some pretension to architectural beauty. There is equal need to find fault with the private dwellings which people in tolerably good circumstances arc content to put up with. They are for the most part small, low, inconvenient, single-storey shanties, in which it is impossible to live in comfort, and roar a family to the best advantage. It is only the airiness, from want of proper finish—that is by reason of air holes skywards, and at every point of the compass —which keeps occupants so cooped up, iu fair health. There arc really but few decent looking and comfortable private residences in Carlyle. The hotels take the lead, and both as regards outside appearances, and internal arrangements for convenience ami

comfort, arc a credit to their owners. The Banks, also, though small; are docent looking. Contrasting the bulk of buildings with those of adjacent townships, the buildings in Carlyle are mean looking. Now comers are not at all favorably impressed. Bnch a makeshift sort of township begets the idea of instability or poverty. The place, it is argued, cannot be worth much, or residents would take a little more pride in it and build more commodious and substantial business and private edifices, than arc now to be seen. The people are voted non-progressive and as lacking enterprise, and persons on the look-out for a new location arc inclined to move on elsewhere, Avhcro house accommodation is more plentiful and rent lower ; whilst others, whoso business necessitates their settling here, have to put up with the inconvenience of scant and bad dwelling-house accommodation, and naturally enough feel discontented and uncomfortable. It is high time reform set in. If only such as have means at command would house themselves decently, and as becomes their position, other people would bo able to rent the vacated dwellings. It ought, at the present time, to ho a good payable investment to build a row of habitable four and five-roomed dwelling-houses. It is hopeless to expect monied men in the place to do so, judging by present appearances, for they arc disinclined to provide decent accommodation for themselves. There is, however, an opening for the Building Society to try the experiment. The Annual meeting will shortly be held, and if it is found that there is a substantial cash balance in hand, the Directory might do worse than recommend the shareholders to decide upon erecting a few decent houses, with a view to letting the same, or selling to shareholders in the usual way, or for cash, if convenient and equally advantageous to the society. The plan is common enough in many parts of the old country, and has proved both beneficial to purchasers and profitable to societies. In face of the pressing need for house accommodation in Carlyle, we hope the matter will he taken into consideration at the coming Annual meeting.