LYTTELTON AND LICENSED HOUSES.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12364, 1 December 1905, Page 5

LYTTELTON AND LICENSED HOUSES.

— ♦— A LOSS OF £1000 A YEAR. CAN I AFFORD~TO VOTE "NO LICENSE." Have tho residents of Lyttelton, ratepayer and otherwise, carefully and thoughtfully considered what may be the result of their rotes, to bo riven on December 6th, on the question o. tho continuance or abolition of lice'ised houses in their midst? Have they endeavoured to figure out for themselves what effect ca.rr.vul3 of "No-licen-.e." is likely to have on their personal and municipal finances, or hare they allowed themselves to drift, taking for granted ijU the sophistries and assertions dealt out to them by "No-license" advooatesP Let us examine the question for ourselves. Firstly, therefore, let us look at th© position of Lyttelton from a purely businon. standpoint. If vre do so, wo shall see that we oan hardly claim to te a prosperous town industri-all-v. Lyttelton cannot boast of ono local manufacturing concern cjf .any magnitude, and retail traders form tlie bulk of our commercial community. It cahnot be contended that they are highly prosperous. The man who has amassed wealth or even, mado a competency in retail business in Lyttelton is an unknown quantity. These facts cannot be, and are not, denied, but tho man -who on platform or at street corner propounds the sophistries and assertions before referred to actually has the temerity to use them in support of his 6idn of tho case, and prescribes "Nolicense" as! theisovereignronicdy which is to euro all tho ills, commercial and social which afflict the community. When looked at from a business, standpoint, docs hifl argument contain one grain of logic? Docs his assertion pessess an ■atom of probability? Would the closing cf eight of the largest business establishments in Lyttelton. bo they licensed houses or anything else, bo likely to ndd to tho bußincas of tho retail trader? Ti2t us leave out of the question for, tho present tho Ichs of trade which would result Irom tlio custom of the eight establishments being withdrawn from the local shopkeepers, and let us ask oureolv.s. Would not tlm existence of eight larga untenanted premises in tho business part of our town largely redueo tho value of shop property, in Lyttelton? What a temptation these commodious, centrally situated ar.d empty buildings would offer to the speculative outside trader, whether grocer, draper, _ bootseller, or anything else, to "squat"' hero for a whilo iand difipepe of his wares to th,. detriment of tho lecal shopkeepers. Such a speculator would probably be ahle to obtain tho use of one of the krantless buildings at almost any rent he might chocse to offer, and he could afford to dispose of his goods at "an alaiming sacrifice." alarming, indeed, to the local tradesman forced to compete with him. . Of ccur«s3 it may be said that tno community docs not consist wholly of retail tradesmen, that trade conditions always ri"ttt tlieriiselves in the long run, though perhaps during the righting proa "few individuals" may 'go urdor." Let us. therefore, take a broader view of the subject, and consider it from a point of new which many n-ore than the tradespeople. THE MUNICIPAL FINANCES. The municipal finances concern you whether you be a ratepayer, or merely a holder of a tenanted dwelling to a far greater extent than the average person realises. To sliow Jon that this is k>, here is a copy of an official document, a report drawn up by the Town Clerk of Lyttelton, for the information ol tho members of the Borough Council. It is strictly non-committal. It deals merely wirh facts and figures and leaves the reader to draw his own conclusions. Let this document speak for itself. We give it in full, lest there should be any misunderstanding. It is as follows: — Lyttelton Borough Council, Lyttelton, 24th November, 1905. Gentlemen, — . For the information of the Council I desire to supply the following particulars of revenue of the borough derived from the existence of licensed houses in Lyttelton, together with an 1 estimate of the probable effect in the I

event of this source of revenue not being available in the immediate future. Present Estimate with DeSciency. Position. Xo-!icense. £ b. d. £ s. d. £ ». d. Bates .. 140 2 6 40 0 0 103 0 6 Bent of British Hotol 170 5 0 TO 0 0 100 5 0 Licenses 433 0 0 »' nil 432 7 6 £742 7 6 -6110 0 0 _K33 7 6 A rate of one penny in tho pound on the present valuation of the borough' produces £114, therefore a rate of Sid would yield £(327. / The receipts fcr g.:s consumed by the eight licensed houses for the last twelve months amount to £302 12s Id. In ' explanation of the foregoing figures, I might say that the present receipts from tlie source under notice is a statement cf the actual figures as disclosed by official records; the secend column, being an estimate of tbe j>.v>hab!e revenue under "No-license is arrived at by allowing the rateable value of the eight licensed houses io_ bo such as to produce on nn average. £5 a-piece, on the brails of tho prcseut poundage, giving the total of £40. while tho probable rent of the British Hotel at £70 is in conformity ivith this estimate. In submitting these details nt the present juncture, I wish to disclaim any suggestion of taking sides in the issue which is just now occupying tho public mind, but desire simply to set down an unbiassed statement cf the probable effect on the finances ot the borough, likely to follow as the outcome of the proposed new conditions.— I havo the honour to be, gentlemen, your obedient servant, " (Signed) G. A. LEWIN, Town Clerk. The Mayor and Councillors, Lyttelton. You ha,ve only' to perform a simple arithmetical operation. Add £632 2s 6d (the annual loss in rates, rent and license fees which will result from the carrying of "No-license") to £302 12s Id (the amount paid by the eifht hotels in tho last twelve months for gas) and you havo the sum of £1024 lis 7d as the direct loss to the receipts of the borough should "No-license be carried. If you look at the figures in the document dealing with the amount produced bj* rates, you will s.e that a rate of a penny in the pound on the present valuation produces £114 a year. A simple calculation will enable you to sco that in order to meet the deficiency of £1024 you will have to submit to an increase in ratc6 of ninepence in the pound. Now, on increase of ninepenoe on Is 3d, the present rate. is .an increase of 60 per cent., so that a" ratepayer who now pays 20s will, under "No-license," be oa'led upon,to pay 32a ; in other words,- an additional 126 on every pound. The experience of other towns where "No-licen c c" has been carried out the foregoing calculation as to the increase in the rates. Let us take Ashburton. Here are its figures:— Bate in the £. Last venr of LICENSE ... ONE SHILLING First two yeans of NO-LICENSE ... TWO SHILLINGS In Ashburton tho rates have be?n increased by 100 per cent., against the increase of 50 per cent, threatened in Lyttelton. Tho difference is exp'ained by the fact that, fortunately for the ratepayers of the latter town, the borough of Lyttelton has sources of revenue which Ashburton does not possess. Let us now consider the portion cf housoholdora who are not ratepayers. They will hardly require to be reminded tliat increased rates mean increased rents, for landlords mu*t obviously get a fair return on their investments. Increased rents, moreover, will mran empty houses. The experience of thf lest few years has shown that a considenaVe proportion of the persons wh" work in Lvttelton nan oonvencntly resfdo o".bride the district. Many now avail of the cbcan mans o e tr.anri*- afforded by '■he w'lway to hay their hoTvps in flre chnaT» I y-r-nted bouses, and shou'd in Lvttel l on bo raTfe9. many mo-e will do so. Tlie T.vH<> u on will, o' course, bave the n'temnt've of keeninc? rent* down and paying the inT<vywf himself, but fF <s nn alternative ho en bo frflrc'v "xp-c'-ed to «wepf. Anyhow, that £10°± q year w : U have to be fo»"d. Voii ■«-'!' Jviv" to fi"d your sha-e T 1 '"* matter eone n ms yon perpomllv. Th'nlc <-*i"y it. PonrW it in your mi"d. Thi'ik n'so of th" oMier pointis to wlvcb this aT+'e'o hai rtrrente* attention and. after TciVb'ncf th« Whoi.answer tlie o" r st!on: "Can 7 afford to vote 9