H.—lB.

63

H. W. lIESLOP.J

35. Mr. Fairbairn?] Can you give us some information about the rents? Can you tell us the rents ten or twelve years ago ?—I made inquiries in the office before coming here. :' 36. What was the rent of a four-roomed cottage of a particular kind in a particular locality ten years ago, and to what has the rent increased for the same kind of cottage ?—The same house ten years ago would be a higher rent than it is to-day—the same house. 37. Your idea is that rents for the same houses having the Same facilities would be less now in that particular grade?— Yes. Of course, the houses that they are building now are costing more, for various reasons —the natural rise in the cost of building, the increase of everything used in the houses, and also the man is compelled to put more conveniences into the house —hot water, connections with sewers, &c.; they are not the same houses. The building of the more modern houses has had the marked effect of cheapening the houses with less conveniences, so that a man who is not in a position to pay the higher rent is in a better position to get a cheaper house than he was ten years ago. 38. The advance in the rents is owing to more conveniences in the modern house?— Yes, that is the essence of it; people nowadays, no matter how humble, are demanding the maximum of comfort at the minimum, of cost. We have them coming to our office and wanting a four-roomed house on the Id. section, with bath and sewer connections, hot and cold water, and they want it all for 10s. per week. 39. The Chairman.] You do not wish to show contempt for these wishes to be clean and comfortable? —Oh, well, a man can keep clean and-comfortable 40. Mr. Macdonald.] Outside the penny section? — -without having all these modern improvements. We used to keep clean and comfortable without a bathroom. 41. Dr. Hight.] You spoke as if the increase were due to the increase in building houses?— I do not think the increased value in land has had any marked increase in rents, because years ago. people never thought of building a house on less than a quarter-acre; now they build two on that. You do not get the same land, but the people nowadays do not want the same amount of land. If they have the land they do not make any use of it, half of them. 42. Mr. Macdonald.] Your attitude to the unimproved value is this: supposing the rating had never been instituted, would these Church people have put their sections on the market? — That is a question I cannot answer. The absence of these sections on the market (a very big proportion of available land was held back) might have caused sections that were available to increase in value to such an extent that these Church Trustees might put their land on the market anyhow. Then, again, it might have meant that people went to other localities. .43. Mr. Veitch.] You say people want conveniences now, and not large blocks of land?— As a generalrule, yes. 44. And you say,that the increased value of the land has not increased rents?—Of course, it must have made some slight difference, but not materially increased the rents, because, as, I say, men are building houses, now on smaller sections, and a slight increase in, the cost of a section does not make a very material difference in the cost of the whole property from the interest point of view. 45. The Chairman.] Is there any statement you would like to make which.has not arisen from the questions asked? —No, except from an observation standpoint. I cannot speak authoritatively, and I do not make the statement for publication; but I think that, to a very great extent, the post of living in Christchurch has materially increased because people are more bent on amusement and leisure and luxury than they were ten or fifteen years ago. We have evidence of that fact from all the conveniences that people want. Ten years ago people were prepared to work harder in their homes. Ido not begrudge people the maximum comforts they can have, but the general trend, in my opinion, is for people to have the maximum enjoyment and comfort, and they do not mind what they spend on picture-shows and gadding about. 46. You think these pleasures should be reserved for a certain class of persons?—l think they should use discretion. 47. Mr. Veitch.] Do you think business men want more luxuries, and, therefore, charge more profits? —Oh, no. 48. The business men do.not want more luxuries, only the workers? —I am speaking generally ; I am speaking of all the people. 49. Mr. Fairbairn.] The business man wants the motor-car ?—Yes, that is so. 50. Dr. Hight.] Is it not that the means to gratify these wants have stimulated the demand? —Very likely; I am not blaming the people for wanting picture-shows and anything of that sort; I merely record the fact that I think at the present time the cost of living is so much greater not only from that cause, but because people are spending too much in amusements and luxury. 51. Mr. Fairbairn.] Your first statement fairly covered the whole thing—increased prosperity and increased population ?—Yes. 52. Mr. Macdonald.] Is your experience that the tenants now do not look after the houses as well as they did ten or fifteen years ago?—As a general rule, that is true. 53. Mr. Fairbairn.] Does that refer to the small houses?— Yes, as a general rule; of course, there are exceptions. We get hold of some fine tenants. Different offices have different experiences. In our office we take a pride in our letting business, and sort out people we think will be good tenants. 54. Have you any system of blackmarking tenants known to knock places about?—No; I think it would be a good thing if we had. But there is no co-operation between the agents in Christchurch. We have had one or two tries at forming an association to protect the public as well as ourselves, but there is too much jealousy among agents, and we could not do anything. 55. Dr. Right.] Could we get a table of rents paid for a typical house in each grade?—l could have one prepared for you.