The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1907. EDUCATION RESERVES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13317, 20 June 1907, Page 4

The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1907. EDUCATION RESERVES.

Mr Wrcalhiill's letter on t-lie subject of High School reserves opens up a big question. There is a good dsal to be sadd in favour of his contention that the. lea.:* s of these educational endowments should not lie handled except by public tender, but a number of arguments on the oilier side will occur to aiiyoiiu who gives a littlo consideration to the .subject. Wo know nothing about the particular reserves which have provided the occasion for Mr Wreal hall's letUr. and our own remarks are therefore based entirely upon general principles. Arguing on that basis, wo should have no difficulty in -saying that if tbo Board kept its eye solely on th.< financial issue, it would probably geL lb'" best results by submitting leases as they fell in to public competition. It is by no means a certainty that this would always be tlio case, for it has happened in cither instances that a tenant whose lease has been on the point of expiry has been able to exercise sufficient influence to prevent active competition in fecuriug a. renewal of his ka.se. We do not know whether that has .•f-vcr occurred in South Canterbury, but at any rate it is not an unknown experience in Ihc history of the leasing system, although it is not likely 'o happen where there is a ke;n demand over a, large area for suitable holdings in any locality that is at all desirable for tanning operations-. As a general rule, therefore, a local body with reserves to let is more likely to get full value by submitting its leases to tender than by disposing of them in. any other 'way. The" lender system has also tlio advantage mentioned by Mr Wreathall that it closes the door against influences which are prejudicial to the interests of the local body in the exact proportion in which they are b'neliekil to those of the tenant. Those influences are not neeersirily of a consciously corrupt; character, but human nat\ire is human nature, and a man who is acting for a, local l body where a. neighbour is concerned is apt, unkss he has a, remarkably Spartan disposition, to drivo an easier bargain than he would agree to if he were dealing with his own land. Again wo do not know ■w;hether this has. ever'happened in South Canterbury, bub that thera have bsen actual instances in. the colony of the. amiable weakness te> which we refer, -will hardly bo disputed, and the casket way to eliminate; the danger of such a weakness creeping in is to follow the procedure of which our correspondent is an advocate. But having admitted what there h to 'lie said for the fender system, one. can scarcely deny that its invariable adoption might inHict occasional hardship upon the tenant, and might also operate- to the disadvantage, of the Board. We cannot entirely agree.-with Mr Wreathall that a local body with reserves to let is less likely to secure . suitable and .satisfactory tenants by private treaty than by open competition. Fool-, occasionally rush in where more experienced men fear to tread when a lease is on 'oiler/ and, a man" who is struggling along under an excessive rfnt is not in every respect' a desirable tenant. The local body'runs the risk of actually .losing money through such a . tenant if his inexperience or mismanagement leads him into disaster, fo that? if it were a hard/and '■ fa.-t rule Unit each kaso must be.'put.up to public competition and go to the highest bidder, the owner of reserves might be iii a worse position than'.when it is allowed discretionary powers in the selection of its tenants/ Apart from this aspect of (ha question, it is. a matter of common .knowledge, that' insecurity of ienura does not tend to the btst working of a farm. The Hon. J. Anstey had .something to say on this point in-an'interview which we publisksd some anontli.s ago, whilst the weakness, of a leasehold system which cfoes nob make adequate' provision for the right of renewal at the end of comparatively short "tains, has been proved conclusively .enough in the case of tliu back-country runs. On the whole) wo are disposed'to think that if .the arbitration principle is. fairly carried out, it should .satisfy the requirements of the owner of reserves, and afford reasonable security for the tenant, but to justify its use, it musfc be absolutely free from any suspicion of jobbery. W« have 1.0 doubt Mr Wreathall can - X assured that these conditions will be iiiiiilled by the High School Board. -• ,