HOME RULE AT TE AROHA.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 427, 11 December 1889, Page 2

HOME RULE AT TE AROHA.

[To t'lo X liter ] *mu, —As t!io. amelioration of th-i <-im litsoa of the poor [lisli ton an * in the 01 I Cum try is at pr^en* \</\\<\ i:ii»- tin) pnMiu mini!, I think v ft»w remarks on the position of ton in t-* it To Aroha wo til I not be out of place, ns I think I car. show thafc we aiv no bot'cr (if so well) off than lii.-ii tenants ar-\ Some yem ago when fie liish Tvn;mi LJight B.lf was passe.l, if I undeisum 1 rightly, one of its principal "provisions was that liber.nl coinpens .tion should be allowed to the tcn-uit at the termination of his lease (or if he should relinquish the lense before it expired), for any permanent improvements such as building?, fencing, or drainage. N"ow, sir, where is the tenant right in To Aroha ? Nine years ago this place was u wilderness. It was cut up and we we«e allowed to take up business allotments at the very modest rental of £40 per acre per annum, and the more labour an 1 capital we expend upon them, the greater will be the rates and taxes, etc., and should sickness, depression of trade, of any other cause arise which woulJ render a tenant unable to pay the rent, our Couithouse officials, acting as the agents of our landlord, forfeit our properties, ami where are we ? In the same place as the* Irish tenants, viz., in the street ; our only title being the rent receipt ; and what compensation do we get for tha imp ov€inents ? If we wish to remove from one part of the estate to another part of the same, we cannot do so without the consent of the landlord ; and, that is not to be obtained without the payment of Baeksteesh. There is no loubt that we have much more to complain of than any other tenants. la almost every place that could be mentioned rents, whether ground, honso, or shop, are subject to the same fluctuations as business, and investments of otherkinds ; but not so here. When this placa was opened with aflourish of trumpets nine, years ago, labourers wage.<j were 9s per day; carpenter's, ]0s to 12s. Anyone having houses to let could get high rents for anything with a roof on it ; tradesmen, could get high prices and large profits, and*get in their money very rauch better than thoy can do now. But what a*, different tale we have to tell now. Good men idle, or working ten hours for from 4s to Gs per day ; comfortable dwellings empty, or else let at ridiculously low rents. You nan put up with this as best, you may, but pay the landlord ynu must without delay, or else lose all you havef put together. I will give one case to, illustrate my meaning : A widow, who was one of the first to come here and start business, has hail to succumb to the hard times and work at washing, charring, etc., to support a young family. She is the unfortunate holder, of a business section, for which she must pay five pounds per annum. Upon, this section, when times were good, was built her home. This said site is now valueless for business, purposes. The sites f.ll around her ha\'§