THE LOAN

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2613, 9 November 1915, Page 6

THE LOAN

TOTAL SUBSCRIPTION, • £3,474,745 A SUCCESSFUL FLOTATION d . 3 STATEMENT BY FINANCE MINISTER The flotation of the £2,000,000 loan, , applications for Which closed on Saturi day, was highly satisfactory, the loan j being over-subscribed by approximately a million and a half. In addition to this, holders of nearly half a million of _ stook in loans maturing this year havo J applied to convert under the terms of _ the new loan. One highly satisfactory . featuro of the flotation is that only j £230,670 worth of applications repre--5 sent transfors from the Post Office Savings Bank. The Finance Minister, in a statement ■to the Press yesterday, said that the applications amounted! to £3,374,745, and there had yet to come to hand from different parts of the country applications boaring Saturday's postmark, which, he thought, would amount to 'another £100,000, a total of £3,474,745. lii addition, applications for the conversion of loans falling due up to tho end of November totalled £469,850, and as the right to conversion would continue until the end of November this wouldprobably account for another £100,001) , under the heading. Including the ' , £469,850 mentioned, the amount in applications was therefore £3,944,595. . The conversion of the £469,850 indicated that the holders of loans maturing this 1 year were willing to renew their loans on the terms of the new loan. He could not, say anything about the individual applications, but the transfers from the Post Office Savings Bank- amounted to £230,670, which was evidence that there had been a number of small applications. ■ ''I regard the result as exceedingly satisfactory," said Sir Joseph Ward, "especially as tho loan is not- for actual war purposes. Had it boon for war purposes there would no doubt have been even many more applications. Tho loan should not appeal to sentiment, lnit only with the hard, everyday business side of the country, and I have no doubt was so regarded by the public. The response should havo a thoroughly reassuring effect upon financial institutions throughout the country. The loan is largely over-subscribed, and the country has fully responded to the requirements of the Government. Tho aggregate sum shows that investors have considerable money to spare outside of their ordinary, every-day business." Sir Joseph added that the duty of allotting the lean under the Act devolved upon the Comptroller-General, and could not be completed for a few days, because the rest of the applications posted to the Treasury would have to bo awaited. PRIME MINISTER'S COMMENT. "Very successful and very satisfactory. It places us in a very good position for ii considerable time to come," was the Prime Minister's comment on the loan. In reply to a question, Mr. Massey said that the whole of ihe two millions would bo spent on public works, but it was intended that the money should cover. expenditure for a period of more than a year. Tho Government had deemed it' necessary, as a precautionary measure, to cut down public works expenditure during the summer moiithk