The Feilding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1896. BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 1, 1 July 1896, Page 2

The Feilding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1896. BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

It is to be regretted that so much party feeling has been imported into the question of setting up a com Hiittee to enquire into certain matters which occurred antecedent to the banking legislation of the two past sessions. Our readers will remember that when the position was first made known all branches of the Legislature and people — with a few exceptions — rose to the occasion and did what practically saved the colony from bankruptcy. That there was much done in haste cannot be denied, but haste under the circumstances was absolutely necessary, for with much deliberation the opportunity would have been lost, never to be regained. That circumstances have since arisen to cause not only grave alarm, but suspicion, students of the history of the colony during the last few months hare been made painfully conscious, but, we assert with some degree of confidence,/ that no human prudence or forethought could have anticipated or averted them, for the simple reason that not the slightest hint was given on which to take action. We mean as far as the Legislature and public were concerned. We now know that certain individuals possessed certain , information, bat, for reasons good and \ sufficient for themselves at the time, , no disclosures were made, possibly from a wholesome dread of the law of libel. We wrote at the time that we considered the. colony had acted wisely —even although with apparent undue I

haste — in coming to the rescue of the Bank of New Zealand, and nothing that has since happened has given us reason to doubt the correctness of our judgment. In his despatch to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, 4th September, 1895, Lord Glasgow said when the State intervened last year in the Bank's affairs by guaranteeing 4 per cent stocks to the extent of two millions the true position of the bank, as it now turns out, had not been fully disclosed. But in providing for the guarantee the 'colony also provided for a complete change in the directorate and management, and the Government also look power at the same tiine to nominate the President of the Bank, to whom was given the power of veto. Now as to the action of the committee. His Excellency went on to say they came to the conclusion that such a catastrophe as closing the doors of the bank, considering the financial position in New Zealand and the other colonies, was to be avoided as the ruin which would have been caused would have been widespread, and the extent of the disaster impossible to estimate, while the loss to the State and the injury to the colony would be certain and heavy ; for althe bank was known to be just solvent, yet if there were a forced liquidation there would be a large deficit. It was thought that liquidation would mean the loss to the Government at once of one million of money ; and the loss to the colony generally when it was remembered the .Bank of New Zealand did a larger business all over the colony than any other bank. The fixed deposits amounted to over £7,000,000, and the bank's advances to the same amount. The current credit balances were £2,850,000. All of this money would have been locked up for years had the Government acted otherwise than it did. What we would convey is that we think our legislators would show more common sense if they approached and dealt with the question now before them free from party spirit and devoid of anything like the personal feeling which has been too apparent in the debates so far as they have gone.