The Christchurch Star PUBLISHED BY New Zealand Newspapers Ltd. WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1932. THE TRAMWAY SERVICE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 456, 18 May 1932, Page 6

The Christchurch Star PUBLISHED BY New Zealand Newspapers Ltd. WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1932. THE TRAMWAY SERVICE.

THE RESTORATION of a full tramway service, which should be brought about in a day or two will be welcomed not only as a matter of public convenience but as an indication, it is to be hoped, that the unfortunate bitternesses of this strike will soon he forgotten. In that connection it should be realised that the strike was exploited by disruptive forces outside the union, a fact which could only react unfavourably in the public mind on the tramwaymen themselves, although it can freely be acknowledged that these men for many years have been recognised as courteous and efficient servants of the public. It is regrettable that “ differences unimportant in principle and insignificant in fact ” were handled so tactlessly, but the realisation of this fact should tend to promote a more active spirit of conciliation in the future, and the more harmonious the relations of the parties the better the public will be pleased. GROUND RENT ANOMALIES. THE DANGER of hastily considered legislation was the subject of comment yesterday by a solicitor who points out that grave injustice may be caused by the lastminute amendment of the rent restriction legislation, under which ground rents may not be forced below 5 per cent of the unimproved value. The comment is timely, because the test of a fair ground rent is not a percentage of the value but what a prudent man would give, having regard to the conditions of the lease. Under the legislation as it stands, the ground lessee is unprotected, for while debarred from sharing in the general reduction of rents, he is obliged, both by legislation and market conditions, to give remissions to tenants in a pile of buildings which may be more than half empty. TIMELY PRAISE. CRITICISM is so generally the lot of public bodies that an occasional word of commendation is all the more appreciated, and therein lies the notewortliiness- of the letter of appreciation from the Reckenliam Rurgesses’ Association to the Christchurch Drainage Board, thanking them for their good work in “ making a river ” of the Heathcote. For although the most valuable men do not grasp at praise The love of praise, howe'er conceal'd by art Reigns more or less, and glows, in ev’ry heart. It may be that some of the unofficial reviewers of local matters on the burgesses’ associations still retain a memory of the days when the Heathcote and the Avon were limpid streams running like crystal over enamelled stones. As boys some might even have caught whitebait in these waters. Indeed the present work of clearing the rivers may be regarded as an attempt to recapture the beauties that have been filched from them by the city’s growth. THE HON W. P. REEVES. EACH of the facets of the Hon W. P. Reeves’s career reflected a man of great worth. As a statesman he will be remembered as one of the ablest members of the Seddonian Cabinet; as a thinker he placed his stamp on New Zealand economic history by virtue of the practical application of his ideas in the Arbitration system; and in each of his capacities as author, sociologist, economist and journalist he made a distinguished contribution to the country which he served. But when all this is said there still remains one field of influence in which he was of inestimable value to New Zealand. As a permanent exile in England he was a definite and necessary link between the two countries. From the time of his appointment as Agent General, the qualities of the man became identified ih English minds with the qualities of the land be loved, and the usefulness of this great New Zealander in maintaining the prestige of New Zealand cannot be easily measured.