RENT FIGURES

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 20, 24 January 1924, Page 6

RENT FIGURES

MR. BROMLEY & ARBITRATION ■ COURT

NO INTENTION TO OFFEND.

TO THB EDITOR.

Sir, —I am enclosing a copy of the reply, which I have forwarded to the Registrar of the Arbitration: Court in, answer to a. memo which 1 have received, and which was published in your is-. sue^of yesterday. ■ When I forwarded' to "The Post" the opinion of my council in connection with rent statistics, it was not our intention to make a request to the Court direct for information, and it was not until several days later that this course was adopted. You will see, therefore, that it was not the letter to the Court which was made public through the/ Press before the Court had an opportunity to deal with i it. lam also enclosing you a copy of, the letter addressed to the Court on the 14th inst., which; in my opinion, should have'been • published with the reply.—l am, etc., W.BROMLEY, Secretary, Trades and Labour Council. January, 1924. The enclosures follow :— • ■ Mr. J. A. Gilmour. Registrar,. Court of Arbitration, Wellington. Dear Sir,—Your memo of the 17th inst. reached me on the 22nd inst. It was not my intention when writing the letter to which1 you refer to be either improper or offensive. I therefore reI gret that there should have been any | suggestion which could be considered of I that nature, but if.you will.refer to the j letter again, you will notice that Iwwars r I simply making a statement of fact., Il' ! recited the fact that the right' of the, i Court to the confidence of Xhe workers is being challenged. This does not necessarily mean a. challenge from my council, but a statement from my council of the position that has arisen in connection with rent statistics. " My council are anxious to remove the feeling with regard to rent statistics, 1 and 'I was instructed to apply for the information asked for in my letter to enable this to be done. I trust that this explanation will be accepted, and may we thank you in anticipation of the promised reply on this subject.—Yours faithfully, W. BROMLEY, Secretary, Trades and Labour Council. To Clerk of Arbitration Court, Wellington. Dear Sir, —Cost: of Living and Rent Statistics.—ln regard to the latest pronouncement of the Arbitration Court, issued on Friday, the 11th inst., on thej above question, I am directed to write as follows :—:The question at issue is a vital one, and the right of the Court to the confidence of the workers is being challenged. We suggest that a statement from the Court giving in simple language the following information, would be of inestimable benefit to tha workers, and if the Court's basis is-then found to be correct, it would go a long way towards restoring confidence in the Court's impartiality. The information that we suggest would be' helpful is as, follows : The amount in sterling allowed by the Court for housing costs or rents in its basic wage for the following periods—April, 1919, May, 1920, ■March, 1922, September, 1922, March, 1923, and in the last pronouncement of 20th October, 1923. Also what would be the amount of rent allowed in a, cost-of-living figure for. July, 1914.— Yours faithfully,

W. BROJILEY, Secretary.