The Chronicle LEVIS. WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 1916. £7,510,000 FOR INVESTMENT

Horowhenua Chronicle, 10 May 1916, Page 2

The Chronicle LEVIS. WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 1916. £7,510,000 FOR INVESTMENT

><"eiv Zealand's exports for the financial year ended 31st March, 1916, exceeded the imports by the great sum of £12,159,9(30. This excess will go a long way towards balaifcing Mir extra expenditure incurred ill fulfilment of our dtity to the empire '-'f wlrcli we form a part: to supply troops for active service. A great amoiMit of this expenditure is being met out. of borrowed moneys, which fact accounts for the plethora of money which Kow Zealand is experiencing at present; but the war expenditures will have to be met eventually, bo the moneys hoarded at present must he regarded as hypothecated. None the lens, New Zealand is a gainer by the present buoyancy of the local money market, for there becomes available at the banks an almost unlimited amount of capital for investment in any reproductive works for which sufficiently stable securities are forthcoming. Whether the present .state of the dominion warrants such ventures Ls another matter, which well may foe left for decision to those personally concerned with the "Tisk. In ■such trades wherein female labour lay ! be employed with prospects of succesv I ful financial results—such as the cloth- ■ ing and other manufacturing trades wherein heavy work is "but little in comparison with the total volume—a profitable avenue of investment should bp found, and it is not likely that extension? of this industry will be seen during the present year; but apartfrom the o-pening-up of land tracts now fuDyi utilised, it is doubtful whether any further activities will eoomc manifest. Tn this position, the question arises as to how the banks are to deal profitably with their excess of moneys. The bank returns show that in the March quarter the excess of deposits in New Zealand amounted to £7,540,160, an amiount in ewes;; of the deposits for the March quarter of 1915 foy the sum of ©early four and a half million pounds sterling! As the whole amount of the £7,540,000 awaits investment, in one

way or iinothe'r there is ail excelbnt opportunity for the promotion of business activity ill New Zealand. None the less, we opine that the greater part of the surplus will b© sent out of New Zealand for investment through lack of sufficiently satisfactory applications from within the dominion, l'lie question once moro arisen whether it would be weli for the Government to float a war loain ri New Zealand. i'i'hoso rule o thumb cisquisitionists who settle such questions off-hand by quoting axiomatic views expressed to suit the conditions of normal limes will al'lege that any flotation of a large loan in N'ew Zealand to meet overseas expenditures would seriously militate against the development of the country. an argument is out-of-date, however, for reasons we have cited above. In all probability a loan could be raised in Now Zealand, at present, on more advantageous terms t-luui London could afford just now. For once :n onv history we have a real surplus of capital in the dominion; and in that case it would be a. shortsighted act to allow it to go abroad for investment, knowing that it could ibe used to general advantage by the dominion Government. The matter is of the highest importance, and it should receive the earnest consideration ot ihe House of Representatives at the earliest possible opportunity.