COTTAGE ACCOMMODATION. 279 



In certain districts cottages could be built 

 to let at an economic rent. That is, where 

 the wages of agricultural labourers stand 

 at 18s. or £l, and where land and building 

 material is fairly cheap. We have seen what 

 excellent cottages Mr. Fels has erected at the 

 cost of only £130 at Mayland. He, however, 

 makes a point of paying his men a living wage, 

 and his tenants are thereby able to pay the 5 per 

 cent of interest on the outlay and thus pay the 

 rental value. We have seen, too, that where 

 building material, such as clay and timber, and 

 heather for thatching, are close at hand, as at 

 Verwood, excellent detached cottages can be 

 built for £70. In Ireland many cottages are 

 built for the labourer which cost no more than 

 £100 ; and I would point out to those who 

 fear that cottages being let at uneconomic 

 rents would inevitably tend to lower wages, 

 that labourers' wages have risen 25 per cent 

 to 30 per cent in Ireland since the erection 

 of cottages there in 1889. 



Now, if cottages can be built for about £100, 

 with the letting value of 2s. 6d. per week, there 

 should be no call made upon the ratepayer or 

 the taxpayer, and the slight raising of rents 

 might have the wholesome effect of the 



