GREATER WELLINGTON

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 61, 6 December 1920, Page 7

GREATER WELLINGTON

As far as new works are concerned, civic activity in Wellington is practically at a standstill. The only work that, is'being pushed on with is the laying of the new track along Courtenay Place, the erection of the new boilers at the electric light power house, preliminary work nt tho Wainui-o-mata waterworks, and the long-promised lamps on the Oriental Bar Parade.

As the result of the stringency in tho money market, combined with the Government's restriction as to the amount of interest a municipality may pay on loan moneys, the City Council's tether, as far as works to be completed out of capital arc concerned, is almost at an end. a.nd -the. decision of the City Council at its next meeting to take advantage of tha Government's decision to allow 'tho terms of municipal loans to 'be varied whero Urgent works aro in question, will bo eagerly anticipated. It is fully expected that the council will agree to ask for the ■£250,000 needed' for water and tramway works, and that it will probably offer 1 per cent' more than is at present the case. Local bodies havo been restricted by statute to offering not more than 5J per cent, for loans approved by the ratepayers, but. under tho existing-, circumstance's when 7i and even 8 per .cent, can be freely obtained by mortgage on good city security, the task of Taising money at-Si per.cent, has been rendered impossible. The' Auckland City_ Council found that out during the session, and as n> result of its representations a clause was put through giving'local bodies the right to apply to the Government for permission to vary the terms of a loan whero the. purpose for .which the money was needed was a necessitous one. That clauso means that every local body in tho conn, try, which has urgent ,work to do and has to raise tho money to do it with, will have an opportunity of getting tho money in competition with other forms of investment now in the market. With the excellent secJurity Wellington City can offer," said a member of the City Council to a Domin'jon reporter, "I have no hesitation in saying that all tho. money she needs can ho secured at GJ per cent.; indeed, I 'believe that at such a rate the city loan will be rushed. You must Tehiemb'er that, whilst theTO are many people, who live by letting out money on mortgage, there is a section of the investing community who only look for gilt-edged securities, and these would welcome a city loan bearing interest at Ci per cent. Such people as trustees and guardians havo to be very careful in the administration of estates placed in thenhands. They must not/take any nßk at all, as a matter of fact, and so they look for the 'best investments that are absolutely gilt-edged, as this would he." That the monoy market should ho an its disturbed state is very unfortunate for the city and country generally. Wellington was just about to make a big stride forward. There are hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of work being held 'lip for lack of cement and labour, and so far there is little hope of an improvement, as the problem of coal supplios-on. which the supply of cement hangs—seems to be no nearer a solution than it was a year ago. Apart from tho growth that must naturally'spring from a big building campaign, the city lias a very ambitious programme oi works to execute-some almost,' if not wholly, necessitous-and on top of that it has to faice over the control ,of the affairs of Miraraar borough asfrom February 1 next. The needs of that borough are many. In' one respect iliramar has been fortunate. It has been able to draw Its water, its electric power, Its trams, anil its eifectnc light from the city for soriflr years past. One ot tno most pressing needs is a new service reservoir tliatwill serve the hill-dwellers, who ; at present havo to depend upon tanks, or well supply. Although labour and materials have been in short supply thero has been a great deal Tjf building activity in thh Iliramar district during the past year, 'probably more thero than anywhere olso In tho City area, and tho coniimj years promise rapid development in several directions, industrial as well as residential.