FIFTY YEARS AGO

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 86, 8 October 1938, Page 17

FIFTY YEARS AGO

ITEMS FROM THE "POST"

BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

"The preliminary report issued some months ago by the Committee of Investigation, and the more recent circular, had scarcely prepared the public mind for the revelations made yesterday as to the real extent of the losses sustained by the Bank of New Zealand," remarks "The Post" of this date fifty years ago. "People knew that these losses were heavy, but they had no reason to suspect that they amounted to three-tenths-of the subscribed capital and the whole of the reserve fund, a total of £800,000. It is not, therefore, to be wondered-at that the disclosures made -, yesterday occasioned at first a feeling of something' like consternation in mercantile and financial circles. A little reflection, however, tended to greatly allay, or, indeed, altogether to remove, any feeling of real alarm. The Bank has certainly lost enormously, but it is still in a solvent position, in possession of a "large and profitable business, if conducted on legitimate lines, and with every prospect of success before it when strengthened by the new capital which, there is no doubt, is readily at its command. Great as the loss is. things might undoj^tedly have been much worse, and would have ■ grown so had not the brake been put] on when it was. The downward course' of the Bank was fortunately arrested before it had attained a momentum which must have ended in a smash. Not only the shareholders, but the general public have reason to be thankful for this, as any irreparable disaster to the Bank of New Zealand wotild be a national calamity, productive of wide-spread and almost general ruin. The Bank, however, fortunately, as we have said, discovered its position in time to face its difficulties. The first prudent step was the determination, made twelve months ago, to. pass the dividend, and to institute a thorough and impartial investigation into its affairs. The result of this was embodied in the report yesterday presented, in • which the true facts were set out without the slightest attempt at disguise, while, at the same time, the means whereby the position can be retrieved were also plainly stated. That the Committee of Investigation have felt that the Bank is strong enough to bear the shock caused by a perfectly candid disclosure of its position and of the enormous losses it has sustained, furnishes unanswerable evidence of their confidence in its real soundness." i THE COLONY'S CREDIT. fall which has taken place, in the value of New Zealand stock- in London, in consequence of the disclosures relating to the Bank of New Zealand, is a very serious one, but the effect is so altogether out of proportion to. the cause that an immediate recovery may be confidently anticipated. The fact that the fall should have taken place is, however, very "instructive. Evidently the London . money market recognises a very close connection between the position of the bank and that of the colony, and this ■ fact -justifies what- we have already stated, that had: irreparable misfortune befallen the bank, it would have been '. a national calamity. A big fall in the colony's inscribed stock following on the mere reduction of the value of . the bank's shares, gives us an inkling of the "panic which Would have been ; created, and the loss which the colony ;?*aa a whole would have suffered! had riot the bank's downward career been arrested in time to enable it to recover its position. The credit of the i colony is evidently bound up with and inseparable from that of the large financial institutions, arid this being so it may well be questioned whether the State possesses the powers of investigation and audit regarding the ? position of those institutions which it ought to possess." NEW CITY COUNCIL. "A stranger passing through Wellington yesterday would scarcely have sUpiposed that a general municipal election was going on. There was none of the usual excitement or bustle, no cabs flying about, no posters displayed. Everything went on in a very quiet, orderly manner, and yet the large number of votes recorded shows, that the ratepayers took a vital interest in the matter. The general result of the election must be pronounced satisfactory, for, although there are amongst the rejected candidates two or three whom we should be glad to have seen returned, the twelve gentlemen elected are all well qualified for the position in which they have been placed, and the new council is undeniably a strong one, and a great improvement on its predecessors of late years." For the Thorndon Ward the following were elected:—Messrs. A. de B. Brandon, Martin. Chapman, and H. J. Williams; for the Lambton Ward, Messrs. C. E. W. Willeston, W. Seed, and L. L. Harris; for the Cook Ward, Messrs. F. H. Fraser, F. Moeller, and W, Muir; and for the Te Aro Ward, Messrs. A. W. Brown, J. Smith, and J. H. Helton. Unsuccessful candidates were Messrs. Thomas Orr, George Allen, Andrew Young, J. R. George, J. Coombe, J. Young, C. F./Worth, A. Wilson, T. O'Loughlin, J. Petherick, W. H. P. .Barber, and T. Carter. GERMANY'S COLONIAL TROUBLES. "Germany seems to be getting involved in a lot of 'little wars' somewhat after the approved English fashion. It is now in serious trouble on the Zanzibar coast in Africa, where .it.has a number of settlements and business stations, the inhabitants of which are now seriously threatened by a combination of Arabs and African blacks. , Several outrages and murders are. reported already, and it is pretty certain that Germany.will have to-afford armed protection to her subjects, and; in order to secure their future safety, severely punish those Who have committed the offences mentioned. In Samoa also Germany is in hot watefy its nominee, King Tamasese, having been deposed by a native rising, and a new successor to Malietoa having been duly crowned. Evidently German domination is not approved of by the Samoans, and will not be quietly submitted to. . They are a brave and intelligent people, and.it will give Germany a good deal of trouble to overawe them. We can only regret that England and America seem inclined to allow the experiment to be tried. The forcible deportation of Malietoa to the Cameroons and his subsequent removal to Europe were high-handed acts of injustice which the other protecting Powers should have resisted and resented. England, unfortunately, seems utterly callous of the interests of the Australasian colonies, New Zealand in particular, in Samoa, and to be content to allow that beautiful and productive country to become a German trading station entirely under German control. In the interests of Samoa and the Samoans, as well as of these colonies, this is much to be regretted. The Samoans are quite able to govern themselves, and they should be permitted to do so withoat undue interference from any foreign Power. These little wars iri its colonial settlements will prove a somewhat hovel and by no means pleasing experience for Prince Bismarck. There is not much profit or glory to be got out of them."