TRUST LANDS TRUST PROPERTIES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXIV, Issue 11246, 13 January 1912, Page 4

TRUST LANDS TRUST PROPERTIES.

The Trust Lands Trust, at its meeting last night, considered in private certain matters relating to the Town Hall building rind the revenue accruing therefrom. Thero is reason for believing that the Trust is not finding the Town Hall the money-earning institution it had hoped for, and the expenditure of some £(>OO on an electric lighting plant, necessary , though it was, lias not assisted the Trust in the task of winning profits. The Town Hall represents a considerable sum of money, irrevocably tied up, and it can bo understood that, if the capital t so invested is to return a fair sum as rovonno, the building must be occupied rather more frequently than lias been tho case for some time past. We have no doubt that tho building policy tho Trust followed a few years ago, and lias since adhered to, is a farseeing one and one that will, at some future period, provide a rovonuo for educational purposes considerably in excess of that now available. But, as wo have previously pointed out, thero

is a< danger that, in devoting a certain proportion of its income to building up a property for the bonefit of a future generation, the Trust is, to that extent, robbing the childron of to-day. The possibility of building operations was not contemplated by those who loft tho Trust Lands to the town; and, though tho business acumen of those who instituted the building policy cannot be questioned, wo should like to see tho Trust, by publishing a comprehensive and comproJiensible statemont of the position of its building accounts, make some attempt to justify the course it lias followed and is following. The Trust's balance-sheet is not readily intelligible to a layman; the people of the Small Farms Settlement Avould much prefer to be given a statement that they could understand, showing (1) the'cost, (2) the position of the sinking funds, (JJ) the total earnings, (4.) tho amount of revenue devoted to building operations, sinking funds aud 'maintenance, and (5) the net amount of revenue available for educational purposes—in connection with each of the buildings eroctod and controlled by the Trust. If they had this, the electors might follow tho proceedings of the Trust with some degree of intelligence. They have absolute confidence in the Trustees' honesty of purpose, of course, but when they now try to understand the ideas actuating the Trustees, the electors are like tho children of destiny described by Omar—"stumbling in the dark."