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Protest Against Act.
About 150 property-owners met in the
Builders' Exchange, Perth, yesterday and
decided to form a Property Owners' and
Mortgagees' Association in an endeavour
to protect themselves against the opera
tions of the Tenants, Purchasers and
Mortgagors' Relief Act. The meeting was
convened by Mr. S. V. Eafonj and some
vigorous protests were made against what
several speakers described as' a 'perni-
cious Act.' Mr. F. D. Goode presided.
Mr. Eaton said that as a property
owner, with tenants taking advantage of
the Act, and as the manager of a business
owning houses, with several hundred
members paying for their homes by weekly
instalments, he could speak feelingly on
the injustice and iniquities of the Act.
In one case be knew. of a tenant secured
a house under false pretences, paid one
week's rent, and by the time bis case
was heard, would be about six weeks in
arrears. Even if his appeal was unsuc
cessful, the landlord had no chance of
obtaining what was owing, and as at least
two families had been using the house for
nothing, there would be a formidable bill
for repairs and renovations. There were
numbers of far worse cases that could
be, and had been, cited. The Act bristled
with injustice. In many cases, landlords
were as hard up as the tenants, and yet
they must publish all their private financial
affairs in order to prove it. If relief
were granted to the tenant, the landlord
at the end of the term had no chance of
getting back what was owing in rent,
but stall had to pay arrears in rates and
interest. The clause granting the landlord
power to charge six per cent, on arrears
of rent was farcical, as he had no hope
of recovering either interest or principal.
'One could go on and on giving instances
of the hardship and evil results^ of this
pernicious Act,' Mr. Eaton concluded,
'but what we have to consider is how we
are going to alter things. We must fight
tooth and nail to get the Act repealed,
or substantially altered. As a correspond
ent said in the Press this morning, 'let
the community pay for the housing of
the unemployed, instead of one section,
which by thrift, has been able to put its
'savings into a little house property.' We
should see that owners are represented
at the Commissioner's Court in every in
stance, and their cases properly prepared.
Whatever is done, must be done immedi
ately.'
A speaker inquired whether Parliament
had power to confiscate property and give
it to the tenant free, as, he declared, was
being done under the Act.
Several other speakers pointed out that
the question could only be decided by
law.
Mr. H. A. Pilgrim said that everyone
had sympathy with the people in distress,
and the Act had evidently been framed
with admirable intentions. Its operation,
however, was grossly unfair. Property
owners should not be compelled to parry
a burden that should be shared by the
community. After explaining that he had
no fault to find with the way in which
the Act was being interpreted by the
Commissioner, he suggested the appoint
ment of a committee to make representa
tions to the Government, and to obtain
legal advice. if necessary.
- Association Formed.
Mr. E. Cuthbertson moved that a pro
perty owners and mortgagees' association
be formed, and that a committee be ap
pointed to draw up rules and regulations.
After several other speakers had refer
red vehemently to the injustices and hard
ships which they said the Act was causing
to property owners, the following pro
visional committee was. appointed:—
Messrs. Goode, Cuthbertson, Pilgrim, W.
G. Kensitt,, R. Rogerson, and D. Keane,
with Mr. Eaton as secretary, pro tern.
The committee will report to a further
meeting to be held next week.
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