THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1974, 3 December 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1874.

Information has been received that during his recent visit to Sydney the Premier endeavored to dispose of some short dated debentures, but was unsuccessful. What these short dated securities may be we do not know, they may either be ordinary Treasury Bills, which have hitherto commanded a good demand in Sydney as a means for the investment of the funds of Insurance Companies and other funds, or — which we think to be most likely — they were the short dated debentures which the Treasurer was empowered ki> issue in anticipation of revenue under the Provincial Public Works Advances Act, 1874. Under that Act the Colonial Treasurer was authorised to raise £80,000 for the purpose of the Act by means of short dated debentures, and possibly he thought that this comparatively small sum would be easily raised, as he Lad raised s>mi!nr sums before in the Sydney market. It wuuld appear, however, either that those purchasers who have on former occasions invested in New Zealand securities have no need fer this special investment at present, or that for some reason or another the credit of the Colony does not stand so high as it did. Without desiring to be prophets of evil, we are inclined to think that the latter is the true reason — not that there is any doubt of the capacity of the Colony to meet all its liabilities, but that a feeling is gaining ground that the obligations cf the Colony are quite heavy enough. The partial failure of the last loan operation of the Colony of Victoria, proves that from some cause or pther the London money lenders have grown very sensitive upon the question of Colonial borrowing, and symptoms of this were afforded, by the concessions that had to be made in floating the instalment of the New Zealand loan some * six months ago. And it may be expected that the fresh applications which this Colofly must make to the London capitalists will not receive the Bame amount of hearty response that was formerly accorded, and that the money required to continue and complete the Public .Works and Immigration policy will have to be raised upon less favorable terms. Apart from any special reason for this— if there is any reason more Bpecial than a general idea that the Colony is getting out of its depth — it is not to be wondered at that the large and constand demands upon our credit during the last three years should result in a partial depreciation of that credit. Possibly Mr Yogel may be able to explain away the doubts that have undoubtedly arisen, and certainly a reference to the revenue returns for the last quarter show that ab present at least the Colony can easily meet all its requirements for interest without paying them out of loans. We see no reason to fear any great difficulty in obtaining what money is necessary to carry out the great scheme to which the. Colony is committed, but it js as well to realise the fact tbat sig|B have been held out that we cannot go on borrowing ad libitum. We may add also that according to existing appearances it i 3 extremely improbable that the Government will be able next session to a3k Parliament for money for new works. It is evident that for some time the efforts of the Government will have to be confined to the completion of the works now in hand and those for which the necessary authority has been given.

Whilst upon this subject we may incidentally refer to some letters upon New Zealand finance, which have lately appeared in that influential journal the " Pall Mall Gazette." The author is Mr Fellowes, formerly a residenfein Dunedin, and a frequent contributor to the columns of the " Otago Daily Times " under the non de plwme of "Master Humphrey." Mr Fellowes has all along challenged the character of Mr Vogel's finance busit is right to add that most of his lucubrations lacked the great virtue of accuracy in their facts, although many of his conclusions have not been far from the truth. So long as these attacks were confined to the columns of a New Zealand paper, they "were easily met by those possessed of Bpecial knowledge, but it becomes a different matter when they are

opened out in an influential Lcndon journal. It is said that these letters have created some sensation amongst those interested in New Zealand, and. that they are likely to depreciate the value of onr securities. If this be th.B case it only (ends. to show upon what a slight thread the finanpial credit of the Colonies depends in the money market of the world. No one knows exactly what. led to the failure of the Victorian loan, but it is not a little singular that shortly before the loan was placed ob the market criticisms on the financial policy of the Victorian Government appeared in several leading journals in London. We cannot help also thinking that at a time when the Government required the exercise of its unremitting attention to the carrying out of the great scheme for developing the Colony, it was most unwise and inopportune to plunge the country into the uncertainties of a constitutional contest.