New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-10-03
THE LONDONER'S CASTLE.
WHAT IT Is LIKE AND WHAT SORT OF
ENEMIES 1T DOES NOT KEEP OUT.

ENEMIES 1T DOES NOT KEEP OUT.
kvRox TIE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRrBuyE.]
LONDON September IL.
Mr. Sala remarked In O recent "echo !" that the
rspers were never 90 interesting 40 in what Is
called the silly season. That eminent writer prides
himself on having soul not above buttons. and
sets small store by such trivialties a. politics or
foreign affairs / imagine a great many people
agree with him. secretly openly. The paper
with which he Is most closely connected Is ono
which devotes moro space than any other at every
and all seasons tosubjects of nonpolitical char
acter. During August It filed some scores of COL
umns with special articles and letters from CORE
sponden.s on what Mr. Gladstone calls the Tester
insn question of buying goods abroad Its latest
excursion into thesa by-paths of journalism 10 in
connection with House Rents in London. The
topic Is good one and would be better still If it
were enlarged so as to include houses in general
and the relations between landlord and tenant.
between both and the vestries. between suudry
other classes of persons who have to do With houso
property.
In these days Of falling values fall in house
rents such as started this discussion, might seem
70 DO blessing to tenants Of moderate means 1t
10 not always so. Ii comes ont in this correspond
euce that one reason for the fall is not so much o
diminished demand as an inferior supply The
houses newly built badly built, and the tenants.
though as body among the slowest witted and
most long suffering OF mortals have begun to rebel
against the Jerry builder. Whole districts OF
houses lie because the houses are not tit
TO live in. at any rent or at no ront The COM
plant Ia an old one The simple remedy of leaving
suoh structures on the hands Of the landlord seems
but lately to have occurred to that patient beast
Of burden the general public. Carlyle long since
described London built to tumble down In
seventy years. The ground-rent system makes solid
work impossible man who Knows that at the
end Of sixty of nineyyeas the house he Is erect
ing on another mans land will become the absolute
property OF that other man, and without compensa-
ton to him no erects It, is likely so to arrange mat
ters, that when tho lease falls In the house snail
fall down. If he builds Cor purely speculative pur-
poses. the result is worse. If he can SELL the prop
erty is oil his hands If he leases. the law makes
the tenant his newer of wood and drawer of water
What Is called repairing lease is the usual form
Of agreement between the owner and occupier of
London house. This means that during the seven
fourteen, or twenty one years OF the tenancy, the
sole duty OF tho landlord Is to receive the stpu
lated rent. Whatever has to be done to the house.
has to be dono by the tenant and paid for by the
tenant Nor does IA house in London moan q house
In the New York sense. 1t means four walls and o
roof. Water is laid on but only TO ill the cisterns,
snd perchance housemaid's closet on an upper
floor Hot AMI cold water all the house is a
rarity indeed Until lately 1t was a question
whether even gas would he supplied above the
ground floor. is It snre to be fonnd in DIN
ing and drawing-rooms If yon t ake house of
Medium class it will have stables. for which you
pay extra, bnt bath room. Thore will he no lift,
no speaking tubes no steam or hot air. no closets
or onpboards not one OF the many conveniences and
labor saving con tr vances which you New Workers.
happier than you know. accept as you accept sun
light and fresh air.
Into a barracks of this sort enters the tenant
under the most stringent covenants lle Is bound
to keep the house in repair to paint inside and ont
and paper at specified periods and to " do up" the
house as tho phrase goes here at the expiration OF
his term. If the honse burns down he must 90
paying rent for IT, Ho has meanwhile paid the pre-
MUM for the landlords insurance. 80 that the land
lord is made donbly whole and the tenant pays
twice through the nose. the same by which
from the beginning he has allowed himself 10 be
led. The law Of England Is landlords law. How
should it be % herwisof 1t was the landlords who
made it, Since sanitary science has come into
fashion, most tenants who can afford to care about
suct matters have discovered that their drainage is
all wrong In such house speak Of. it prob
ably costs the tenant 900 at least to put things
To rights according to the latest views of the sail
tary engineer whom he employs Not dollar OF
this Will the landlord pay; he sits aud chnckles
over the increased value Of his property an nn-
earned Increment If ever there was one. Lucky
may the tenant think himself ii he goes through
an operation Of this kind but once. Sanitary
science is 10 condition of rapid development. The
system that yesterday safeguard against
typhoid il to-day only trap for diphtheria.
Chimneys that smoke. roofs that leak. cutters
that overflow rain pes built into the walls that
discharge the showers Of Heaven into his drawing
rom. all those. too the tenant has the privilege
of making good at his own sole and dlvidual ex-
penss. His security is that the rent cannot be
raised during his lease. If. however. lie wishes to
renew at the end of the term. this Is what will
happen. Not only will his landlord decline to
allow anything for what has been spent on the
nonse but no will demand higher rent for the
next term account of the improvements for
which the tenant has paid If the poor wretch OBJ
jects he is at perfect liberty to 90 elsewhere.
Most people. however, in computing their yearly
rent, include parochial rates and the charges for
water. Now rates are levied by that mysterious
body known as the vestrv. and the vestry have IT
In their power to increase the assessed value Of a
house once in five years. or oftencr. body of off
cials known as an Assessment Committee get to-
gether and make no their mnds that they know
better than landlord or tenant what ts the
yearly value Of tho houses within their jurisdc-
ton. You pay $1,000 year and heretofore you
have been assessed for rating purposes on that van
alton. BIT the vestry has sqnandered aud stolen so
much money that the old rates no longer suffice.
and the committee send YOU printed notice that
in fnture your house is deemed to lie worth $1,000
q year. and your rates are increased accordingly by
oue-haf You may. If you have plenty Of time you
know not what to do with. object 10 this raid on
your pocket The Assessment Committee will hear
your objection more or less politely that
they know much better than you do the true letting
value of the property. and dismiss yon and yonr
objection sether You have still a right of appeal
to the Conrts Exercise 1t by all means Ii will
cost you at the lowest estimate. years rent. and