THE CITY COUNCIL AND THEIR LEASEHOLDERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8567, 15 May 1891, Page 5

THE CITY COUNCIL AND THEIR LEASEHOLDERS.

At a meeting of the .Auckland City Council last night, Mr. Cooper moved, '" J. : That the resolution of ' the ' 2nd;and 16th: May, , 1889, relating to the Public Bodies Powers Act, ISB7, be rescinded. 2. That the whole question of the city leaseholds be referred to the Finance Committee to report." The resolution which he proposed should be rescinded was one asking the Governor to revoke the Order-in'-Council declaring that the Council should be subject to the Ptfblic Bodies Powers Act Mr. Cooper said that though the application that the t Order-in-Council be revoked had been refused, the resolution of the Council was still on the books, and* was ah 'intimation} that they would not consider any further application i. , * <

The motion was seconded by Mr. Swales. Mr. Lknnox supported the motion, arid said there were cases in which buildings were not yielding as much to the lessees as they paid in ground rent to the Council, The depression,' he. believed, was passing away rapidly. Mr. Fakuell also : approved -of: the motion. He said that the experience of the Council had been that when, properties if ell into their hands through rent ; being in arrear, they did not get as much as: the ground rental.; He' knew, one building which had cost £1600 to erect, and the ground rent, to the Council was £130, while for the past year the income of the proprietors had been about £90. - Mr. Atkin viewed the rescinding of the resolution with regret. If the leaseholders from the Victoria Arcade to' Karangahape Road came to the Council and got reductions, the freeholders would; have a competition that they never dreamed of. - The revenue of the city would diminish if there was a wholesale reduction; - ; '■': •'-/ :-...?y '.■■■' : Mr. Diunan said it was' not intended that the whole Vof the . city ; leaseholds should be brought under the provisions of the Act. ",.';.'., . ' , . .'j : ";.: ,; vV"

' Mr. La vers agreed with Mr. Atkin iln contrasting the position of the ; freeholder with that of the leaseholder, - pointing out that the: former could not apply for any reduction of rent;.' ; -

The Mayor said he was very: glad that this matter was merely reviving a question already settled; by the Council. If the matter had now come before the Council for the first time,* he would vote against it, because it was wrong in the way in which it was intended that the concession should be made. Ho would tell them what he meant: The Council were the owners of

certain property which they: proposed ix) lease The ■Municipal Corporations Ast prescribed that they must lease the pro-; perty in one way only ; it must he leased by auction or tender, and in ';'• a public way, so that everyone must be on an equal footing. ; But the Public Bodies Powers Act gave the Council the power, during the currency or at the surrender of the lease, to compromise with the lessee, or make reductions. Therefore, while the Municipal Corporations Act proscribed that a thing must be done in a public manner, the Public Bodies' Powers' Act

! permitted them to undo that, requiring | only that what the Council did, should be made public whet; it was done. B He considered that the Public Bodies' Powers Act ought to have contained a provision that some Court should be established, where evidence would' be taken on an application of this character, and the judgment of an impartial authority given as -to the value of the property concerned. However, they were not to consider the matter for the first time." Two years ago, the Council gave relief to a number of its tenants, and inasmuch as they did that he did not feel at liberty to vote against the motion. He entirely disagreed with the opinion that they should give - relief 0n1y... to thoue who asked for it. * Their duty was to do exactly to the one as to the other. He quite agreed with a suggestion thab relief should : be given for one year only instead of for a term

of years. The motion was carried.

It : was resolved ; \ that the question t- of rates now due by certain applicants'; for relief should be left in abeyance unfoil the Finance Committee reported. Messrs. M. Browne, T. and H. Cooke, A. Adams, C." Henderson, W. H. Skinner, P. Winter, ,11. Kashelski, and J. Russell (for tho estate of the late J. L. Lyell) petitioned tho Council for a reduction of

rents. They pointed out that they had leased allotments during a period when the value of property was inflated, and that the rents they paid were intolerably excessive. The petition was referred to the Finance Committee.