CAMBRIDGE DOMAIN LEASES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3012, 3 November 1891, Page 2

CAMBRIDGE DOMAIN LEASES.

TO THE EDITOR. Si!!.—My attention has been called to a local in Tuesday's Waikato Times referring to the leasing of certain sections of the Cambridge West D>niiiin Lind. These sections have just been leased at a rental of 5< per acre, or including bums paid for improvements about ti.i Id per acre. The rent charged by the board for the adjoining sections is 7s Gil per acre on the unimproved value, including money inve«t»d in improvenients ivo are p-iying at the rate of at leist lis (i I per acre. The re»ult of the sale of the above mentioned leases therefore allows very plainly that we are payiuz nearly double the unrlcet vaiue for tints. And yet at the last meeliucr of the Domain Board, when a petition from the C-uutnidgK West lessees for reduction of rent was presented, the chairman is retorted to hue said that he thought the petitioners would rather piy what they are paying than tlnow up their leases. When throwing them up means forfeiting all improvements, I tljini; he may safely say so. It his also been said that wo ave ourselves to blame f-.ir taking up the land at this rent, but ir is not so, — we could 11 't he!p ourselves. The rout vv.is lixed by the board, and w; had to pay that, nr •'U.'—l.i the ot.li'>r Ifiintr. There huing n« other lind available in small sec ions we were obliged to aubuiitt' the B » nrl'* valu.itiou woich was c ni-iderably hull-1 than the leases -vould hive fetched in uui'S"rved sale. In f.ict th» sections tli it 1 Inl 1 liad been twice offered at public auction without a single bid, or at least at the iii■ f . stle I believe the purchaser chose to f irf. it his deposit rather than take up his bid. If we add to the above facts the deturi .rati m that has taken place in agricultural lands generally unco tlio lessees were taken up, I think it will bo clearly seen that the 1 )omain Lands are over valued, and that the lessees are quite justified in asking for a reduction of rent. 1 trnit th it at their next meeting the 1) uniin Board will tike the lieocssaiy steps to reduce the rents to their fair market value.—Your* 1c."... ~fi and 73.