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Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1997, 5 February 1907, Page 4

BRITAIN’S FINANCES. A London corespondent writes:—Not nnnatunill.v as tlio year 1900 nears its close, considerable attention is being directed to the financial position or Britain. Without desiring to make any alarmist suggestions, I am lionml to nay that the situation at tho present moment is regarded with a !/,oocl deal of anxiety, not to say disquiet, by some of our most eminent financier's. In two very serious respects, England's present financial position is thought to he more or less unsound, in tho first place, with a maintained income-tax at the rate ol Is in the £, instead of 2d to fid, its former normal rate, England is virtually treating her reserves as revenue, and union up her war-chest for current peace-expenditure. A shilling income-tax is a war impost, and in case of emergency could not bo very materially increased. Yet that is'virtually the only source from which wo could meet the expenses of a great war into which at any time we might ho suddenly plunged. Hut there is more than this to ho considered. For a long time past flic persistent depletion of our gold reserves has created much uneasiness. To colonists a gold reserve of over £30,000,000 naturally seems stupendous; indeed, 1 have heard even a colonial Government officer, who has much to ilo with finance, express such an opinion, and utterly ridicule the notion that England's present reserve of gold is inadequate. But that is not the view taken by exports on this side of the world. They point justly to the fact that France holds gold to the amount of £100,000,000 sterling—pounds, not francs—while the Russian reserve of gold is understood to amount to £200,000,000 sterling. The comparison is tremendously against England, and in ease of war the longest purse must inevitably win. Or, to look at the matter from a different viewpoint—England’s present reserve of gold is estimated at about £33,000,000, but England’s hank liabilities against that sum have attained the amazing and almost inconceivable magnitude of £80,000,000 sterling. It is impossible not to recognise the peril of such a gigantic disproportion. Prominent attention was called to the matter recently by a very eminent city banker, Sir Felix Schuster, who dwelt strongly on the urgent need of adequate remedial measures. As a beginning he advocated the publication, by the various banks, of much fuller statements than are at present given. Ho went on to recommend a census of the holding of notes and gold by all the banks on a given day,' which would certainly bo bo an extremely interesting and informing investigation. But the suggestion whcli will probably attract more attention and controversy was in favor of the formation of a second reserve, each bank, including the Savings Bank, contributing two per cent, of its liabilities on demand. The amount contributed would bo about £8,000,000 from the ordinary banks and £4,000,000 from the Savings Bank; and Sir Felix proposes that these sums should be paid over to tho Bank of England with the consent of a small permanent committee to be formed by representatives of the hankers. The. protracted maintenance of a six per cent, bank rate, and the gri m hints of a coming seven per cent, rate, do not tend to allay the prevalent uneasiness. It must not. be supposed, however, that the Mother Country is in danger of drifting into indigence because her gold reserves are low. Britain still possesses considerable, assets, for, according to elaborates, calculations made by two eminent statisticians, Messrs. W. J. Harris and Iv. A. Lake, and placed by them yesterday before the Royal Statistical Society, the total wealth of the United Kingdom amounts to £9,188,559,564, enough to give every man, woman and child of. the population £267, and produce from an average safe investment £7 per head per annum, or 2s ■Sd a week, or 4d a day. It, is further stated that! during the past twelve years the wealth of tho British nation has increased at the rate ol about £72,000,000 a year. So we are not bankrupt yet!

A TUNNEL EPISODE. AVAIHI, Saturday. Another decidedly unpleasant incident in connection with the Jvarangahake railway tunnel occurred yesterday, the town day train failing to get through for fully half-an-hour owing to the load being beyond the capacity of the engine. The passengers who were cooped up in the tunnel were naturally a good deal alarmed, more especially the women and children, in particular, were much terrified at the bumping about they received as the train backed and was then jerked forward again. After trying without succes tot half-an-hour to negotiate the tunnel the train was backed out into the Karangahake station yards ,aiul a couple of trucks of coal wore taken off. A second attempt to reach AYailii was then made, with no hotter success, the passengers having to submit to twenty more minutes’ imprisonment in the tunnel. The train was again backed out and a third attempt made, this time with successful results, the train reaching Waihi after having occupied an hour and ten minutes on the run from Paeroa, The it seems, will have to insist on lighter loads being drawn, otherwise a serious catastrophe will occur one of these days.

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of an insurance inspector naraod Krnest Cutler, in Melbourne, who had been missing since the beginning of September last, has been practically solved. His body was found in the Yarra on January 14, The Codding Star says Mr. John Jlarr, of Christchurch, who was recently. appointed to the Legislative Council, has only been a resident of the colony for four years, and during most of that time he has filled the role of labor agitator. , bimo ago a Raliotu farmer co .\, ! u °b get home to assist at the milking, and it was left to his wifo and four children. They milked 131 cows, separated the milk', and fed 140 calves. When a man lias a wife and family like that, he should soon become a butter king. Opunalvo 1 lines. , blie. Hastings Standard writes of the visit, of the Minister of Lands to that town: ‘‘The lion. jMeNab states h-j did not come to Hastings with the intention of expounding his views of the Land Hill, but' merely to have a look at the much-talked-of town, lie will give an address in Hastings after lie has finished his Northern tour Spemting of his recent visit to the Auckland district, lie says the settlers have cause to complain of their treat meat at tile hands of the Government, Ihe country is in urgent need or assistance, and when this is obtained, be hopes to see small settlenients nil over the district. The word freehold is in everybody’s mouth in the northern country, and Mr McNub states that, when he was leaving one town by (rani he was greatly amused b\ a little mite of a hoy putting his head near the window of the MinisJ’S 1 b , Ci , ,1 l 1 '! ,,5 ? 1 !I ' hl screeching out tend wM lM 'i hafl contour.” 10Ugh “cetings during his