THE ABATTOIRS LOAN.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 532, 12 June 1909, Page 6

THE ABATTOIRS LOAN.

EXPLANATION BY HON. T. W. HISLOP. Apropos of the statement made by his Worship the Mayor (Dr. Newman) atThursoV evening's meeting of the City Council (Sβ ,£ls,ooo,'borrowed tor the abattoirs during the Hon. T W Hislop's torn of office, had been diverted th« P Vn ?n °' d loan ' and that the cost if the abattoire must, in consequence, come out of the District Fund, Mr. Hislop has explained the position as follows:— ■ ifle true position (said Mr. Hislop) was ), a n ' , of £51 '°° 0 camo due. It wae partly held by the A.M.P. Societv, par% by the Citizens' Life Office, and partly by a nu m b er of s l, arcuo | dors , ' Th , httle over £3000 in hand towards H so it reouirod to raise, he thought,.without pro£4B Dm the raising, abmit MtimS^ie/lu^S^ he got an additional loan'of £25,000 at the' same rate. Thus there was available, rne- question then arose whether (because the corporation- was still short £6000) £6000, out of general fund, or, issue a loan at 4} per cent;, and he found that the council s general account would stand the £6000 exwa charge involved by this was onh one half per cent, (that was, £30 per an--16" ha , d the ,vhole '"an of £42 000 been issued at 4} per cent,, and it could not have'been place<f lower, the cost to wouldhave been iust seven times the actual cost incurred. Therefore, it was good finance to tako'the £6000 Jrom the general fund. -That £6000 had been'repaid, lately, by_the sale of the remaining debentures, and the sum would reduce tho outstanding overdraft on April 31 by that amount.

Mr. Hislop. added that there was/ absolutely no truth in Hie suggestion that any. part of the loan for abattoirs was' used for any other purpose. Haying inquired that morning he had found that the office exchanged the- debentures without passing bankers cheques (which, as a'matter ol practice, was perhaps inadvisable), but the essence .of tho thing was the same as if Sir' , c,e< J Ues h » 3 .been-given, and tho £1.5,000 debentures handed over for it. The £15,000 raised for the abattoirs was credited to that loan; and there it stood, subject to deductions m respect of outlay , for the building and plant and land. '. A FINANCE; COMMITTEEMAN SPEAKS. Mr. W. H. Morrah, a member of last year s Finance Committee,, says that he does not think that Dr. Newman is quite, right in what ho said at Thursday's meeting in reference to tho £15,000 loan for abattoirs. "The position,", saye Mα-. Monah, "is this:—A loan of £51,000 was falling due—a loan raised .to wipe off an old overdraft.- To meet this, debentures to. tho value" of £48,000 were issued, leaving only £3000 to como out of the district fund to make'up the full amount. The A.M-.P. had £15,000 of ■these dabonturcs, which: bore interest at-tho rato of 4 per cent. When the duodato drew near the A.M.P. declined to continue as a creditor for.this. £15,000 at 4 per cent., but accepted the abattoirs loan at i\ per contl, by simply leaving the money whore it was bearing.} per cent, extra interest: It was. simply a change of debenture, instead of which it should have been ah. interchange of cheques. . If that had been done nothing would have boon said. If there had have been an interchange of cheques) the abattoirs' aocount would have been fully credited, and the district account would have another £15,000 less in credit." "What Mr., Hislop says': about the Financo Committee knowing all about it is not correct. All that the , committee was informed was that the £51,000 loan was becoming due, and . arrangements; were being made to meet it. , Only that and nothing more. '..... DR. NEWMAN IN REPLY. : Interviewed by a representative of The Dominion in reforonco to Mr. Hislop's statement, his Worship the Mayor had very littlo to say, but persisted in the statement'that tho abattoirs loan was used to pay off £15,000 of an old loan, and that, therefore,; there is no loan money for the construction of the abattoirs. In consequence' of this the sum of '£10)000 will have to'be paid out of the General District Fund.