Specie in New Zealand.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 6 April 1910, Page 4

Specie in New Zealand.

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ITS COMINGS AND GOTXGS

An exceedingly interesting article on "Specie" .appears in the latest issuo of thu New Zealand Trade Review, which is a journal held in high repute in commercial and financial circles. The question of the supply (if coin for the use of the community is one- of some interest, iind one that is very little understood by tlio general public, tho writer states. TTo goes on to say that the following figures give the movements of this commodity in New Zealand for tho last seven years :— Tmports. Exports. Year C £ 1903 ... 712,710 38,-1r.2 1901 .. 391.Ml 9,09S 190n ... 317.079 12.988 1900 ... 908.233 102,057 1907 ... 703,151 7.31 C> 1908 221,122 212.289 1909 ... 855,137 25,815

G1.203.005 £.139,115 Flie banks are under the necessity if maintaining reserves of coin in reasonable proportion to their liabilities to their customers, and for this purpose, they require to keep their holdings constantly replenished by importations from outside. These importations have- during the last seven years been at an average

rate, as seen above, of £000.000 a year, while the exports have, been iit a yearly rate of only about £03.000. ' The excess of imports over exports is the large amount of C 3.7(53.8(50. or a. yearly average- of ,C 537,091, The increase of tho volume of the trade of the Dominion, of the cost of land, and of the wealth of the community naturally results in an expansion in the scale of banking transactions, and of the liabilities for which the banks become responsible, also of the coin reserves needed in respect of those liabilities. We thus find tlwvfc tho coin holdings of the banks, which at the end of 1902 stood at €3,124.910 had, at the end of 1909, grown to (M' 977 99-1. Tho increase amounts to' CI, 853,078. . This, it may be observed, is less than one-half of the importation ol coin in the period. The difference, betwec.li the two sums, namely, £1,910,782, represents tho leakage- in the currency, which is known to be always going on. The chief causes of this leakage which, it wil be seen, amounts to about 1'2i.5,0(KJ a year, are supposed to be the use or coins for ornaments, and hi .arts and manufactures, and the taking away of money by colonists permanently or temporarily leaving the dominion.

We have recently seen severe cust, in print, upon .some hank, not named, which is .suppose! to have "r.:iked in its eoi-.s ami Kent them to London." Nell, the above litres give the exports ol coin from the dominion i<tr the last .seven years. We sw that the lisinkjs have in four millions in ~ Vi, and sent out four hundred thousand. Jt would almost appear that the critic, referred to was not aware, of this somewhat important fact.

With the exception of two sump the .small yearly exports have gone chk'llv to tin 1 neighbouring iskin-ls Kiji, etc. - for purposes of trade. Tlie two sums to which this dors not apply are CSO.OOO. shippe'.l in 100(5 to New South Walrs. for ex-,-han-e purposes, wncl L'L>2r».()oo in WOS shinned to Urnmny, the hint's of :i British financial company, which found it could use its money more profitably in South America than in New Zealand. 01 course the hanks may have sent money out of the Dominion or brought li-one.v into it <l»'te .-nvirt I:'""' coin.' As a matter ol fact. t!"J.v brought in funds during the rer-i-nt pressure to the .amount of some six millions to meet the requirements of their customer--. The fori-<i;;ii''i fiirnres and comments reter exjihcitU~to coin, .'ind of that w-' see that the amount sent out in seven yc-ars is little HKM-e than a tenth part ol that brought i.u.