A CAUTION TO LANDLORDS.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2271, 28 June 1880, Page 3

A CAUTION TO LANDLORDS.

The Other day, says a Northern correspondent of a contemporary, I heard of a novel method of “raising the wind,” which is not very honest, but certainly original. A.man took a lease of[a cottage for six months, and entered into possession. A few daj's after* the owner of the cottage was passing, and discovered that some palings of the . front fence were missing. He could not stop then to speak to his tenant about the matter, but went down next morning to do so. When he got near the house he discovered that more palings had disappeared. When the man appeared, he told him that he noticed that some of the palings had been taken away from the fence. “I know that,” said the tenant, “I took them off and burnt them.” The landlord said to him he bad no right to destroy his property, but the tenant replied he had a perfect right to do what he pleased with both cottage grounds, provided he paid the rent and delivered up the property in good order at the expiration of the lease. The landlord was afraid that there would be nothing left to deliver up at the end of six months, so ho asked the tenant if he would surrender his lease. He said he would do so for a consideration, and aftar a good deal of bargaining, he agreed to accept £lO, and leave the cottage. Moral —“ An empty house is better than a bad tenant.”