VALUES OF STOCKS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1589, 5 November 1912, Page 9

VALUES OF STOCKS.

——;■ ■■ (To the Editor.) . '. ; Sir,—la' your issue' this day' you chalir.ge the accuracy of my statement in 1 lie House on Friday night that tho stocks f New Zealand; "had- dropped more in' rice than.those of any Australian State uring the. term" of office of' the Massey iovernment." : I never, said "any, A.usralian State." 'I' did not refer to any. tate but New ; South Wales and Victoria, 'he 'figures I quoted were - those, for July 7,1912 (one. week, after the'.Massey . Govrument.came into power)!, and October 5. You alter tho comparison to Juno 29 ;«'o . weeks 1 before the Massey Govern-, lent was .trick. one expects nly from jourhals of your class.,Qnotag from ;the published tables, in your lornirig. contemporary, I find the l'oflowig'cabled,values of stocks in London on lie. dates'quoted July 17. Oct. 25. J.Z. 1 percent., 102 r .100 •decrease,'?.-. I.Z. 35 per cent'. . 91} 93 decrease 2} I.Z. 3 per cent. • '81} 'V- 81. decrease 3} J.S.W. -4, per ; cent. 103 102 decrease 1 (.S.W. 3} per cent. ■ 11 ...- v 96 96} v . increase .■} i.S.W. 3 per ~.:•■ • i-' cent. 85} 84 '. decrease-1} r ictoria i per . . «ent. ■'■ 300}-... .100 decrease } r ictoria 3} per cent. " 95 95 . same ... 'ictoria. 3 per • . , ' cent. : 82. • 80. decrease. 2 t will thus bo seen ffiv position is -absoitely proved. Your statement that' New buth-Wales-SJ's dropped 10s. is ridiulous on tho face of it. I have examaed the "Sydney. Morning Herald" of (ctober26 (page 23), and find my figures ar October 25 (961 f° r New South "Wales } per,cents.) are correct, those used by lie Minister for Finance and yourself II) evidently being a misprint, as the New Zealand Times," . from which I noted, published the correct figures. I ave not troubled ,'to make comparisons etween the values of. onr stocks and tho mailer Australian States,-as I think the Direst test is' to. place our position.beide that of New South Wales and Vicjtia. :' lon will see the .figures idicate clearly that London., has had ts eye oil New Zealand since the Massey rovernmeiit took office. Our 3} per . cents, n October'2s were worth M 10s. less han' those of New South Wales, and ;3 less than those ,of, Victoria. On July 7, a week after the Massey' Government ook office, there was a difference of nly 10s. in favour of Victorian 3}'s, and f 3fls; in favour of those of New South ,Vales. - Further -comment is needless. Let .us . wait. patiently until the- Massey Government .floats its lean in London.— nrn ,GEORGE W. RUSSELL House,, of Representatives, 'November 4, 1912. [Tho figures 'to which Mr. Russell takes xcoption -.were those quoted in the louse'-of Representatives on Friday evenng and reproduced by us. Mr. Russell, o suit his own purposes, chose a . date, fulv 19, nearly a fortnight after the Masey Government came into office, because lertain of the' Australian stocks had 'alien in -value that week as compared y'ith til© preceding weeks. -This is the ;ort of trick one would expect from ( a politician of Mt, -Rufsell's class. As a natter.of fact, his whole contention is jbsurd; the ad rent', of the Massey -Goveminent, as ho well knows, has luwl nothing to. do. with the. fall in .the price of tho world's stocks. But if he really wished to pretend that such was the oass, .he might at least hare I.KMm honost enoup to quote tho prices of stocks before the Massey Government came into office anil now; instead of selecting a date after the Government came into office merely because, thp.. figures, however misleading, snited him -better.]