HOMES FOR WORKERS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1334, 11 January 1912, Page 6

HOMES FOR WORKERS.

AT ISLAND BAY. • LAYING FOUNDATION-STONE. Contracts havo.recon.tly been let by tiro Labour Department for tho erc-.lipn. of 21 workers' dwellings at Island Bay,' and yes.te.rday. there was' arranged , ■ a modest ceremony to conimoinorato the building of these, tho first dwellings erected iii .Wellington under the--' Workers' -.Dwellings Act,;l<Jlo. Tho Minister for Labour (the Hon. J. A. Millar). set in position a foundation-stone;' bearin? an inscription of sohio of the facts above-stated. Mr. Millar , was assisted -at tho cere-" nvony by tho l'riino Minister, Sir Joseph Ward. Among the members of Tarliaiheiit and tho better-known-Visitors present wero the Hon. : C. M. Luke, M.L.C., tho Hon. C. H. Mills. M.L.C., the Hon. It. A. Loughnan, M.L.C., the Hon. J. 1!. Jenkinson, M.L.C., Messrs. W; Fraser, M.T., W. H. D. licU, M.P., and Dr.'A. K; Newman, M..P.,' and Mr. .f. Smith, Acting-Mayor of Wellington. There were perhaps fiftj- other people present. Mr. Millar spoke brifllly on tho workers' homes schciuo adopted by the Government. I'pr. some ;years, he said, the increased values of laud had been making' the rents so high that the. problem of hi>w to get a home of his own was a difficult ono for tho working man to solve.To enablo working men to 'get homes the Government hnd initialed a scheme under which a man who paid ,£lO in cash, arid rent at tho rote of 5 per cent, of the capital .value of the property, could obtain his own house.' The Government, had found that; these l houses could be provided at a weekly rental of from. 15s. to igi.'-.'As .t'li'e scheme 'became better -understood >ic, was certain to be taken more ■'. advantage 'of/by workers, arid ho hoped to see tho houses aIJ over the country soon. Tho' block would contain 21 house's—four of four rooms, 1C of live rooms,'and one of sis rooms, and there would bo a population.of 105 people housed,in'them. The 'cost of the bouses would rim from :&M to d>s9o, and the tenants could 'acquire them by "weekly payments of-from-153. to 179.

Sir Joseph Ward said that tho work of providing iho'incs' for the people of New Zealand- was, a very extensive one, and had-the hearty support of the great mass ot • the . people. Everything that would tend-to bring down rents for the worker was good fpr tho country , as' 'a, who'.e. The Uoverriment'had been endeavouring to make land available for 'people.in the country'as'in tho towns, but one inevitable result of- n . large operator like tho Government going- into the land market had been, to make competition more keen, and to encourage those offering laud for sale to ask more than its true value. - Already nearly It millions sterling had been expended by the Government to assist the workers in the towns to get homes, and to provide tho country .settler with-needed money for purchasing and developing land. The .Government had provided for-a'low rate of insurance of. workers' homos, by which a house could be secured : to the• widow in tho ovent of the death of tho breadwinner before it was , fully paid.for. Tho scheme of workers' dwellings was being extended '• to all the principal towns "and cities of the Dominion, and, with tho powerful consensus of public opinion behind the Government in this, the time of exorbitant•rents must' soon end. (Applause.) ■'■ ;" ■.' - ' . . •'■ '• ' ;

Mr. laid the stone and re.ceived from the contractors an inscribed silver trowel to mark the event.

. Tho site on"; whiph- tho houses are to stand is'in.a'sheltercd yet sunny corner at. the .base 'of- α-hill in Dee "Street, .west of tlio Main ; Boad.■ Tho"'section is , -■ not fla,t, but only-small excavations should be .necessary; ■• 'Very'iiear', by. .arp ' the Dnppii street; so';.tbat. there is no' lack'-' of,--,Meathiiig- spaces and ' p'aygrounda/for children. The contractors aro Messrs. F. E..Cooper (eight nouses). Watts' Bros. ' (fi'v'o .houses), ■'■ W. Norton (nvo:.,hou'ses), and ,J. Armstrong (three nouses)..,-'.'i ! ■■■ .