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Hokitika Guardian, 28 September 1920, Page 2

| New Zealand has been honored by the appointment of as the Governor-General of the Dominion. I The noble lord played a conspicuous | cart in the Great War. Pie had a posi tion of supreme command in the Navy, j. that arm of our sure defence which ! contributed so largely to the discomfiture of the enemy. Lord Jellicoe has j i rendered his country great service, and i his name will fie for ever recorded in j the annals of our times. ' He parti,ci- , gated in the great sea fights which : marked the progress of +l*o war. and did i his Tvi 11 cr and country the greatest ser- | vice. It is a great compliment tq this I country to have as its TCing’s direct rej present!five so notable n personage as iT.Ol'd .Tell i coo who 'l'd Now Zealand the honor of selecting >t Lis temporary home—for lie liar) a more imnortant post offered him. The Governor-Gene-ral will have the opportunity of doing good service to bis country out in this portion of the nrc.at T’.-.cifio Ocean. Rv some it is believed to bo the possible theatre of naval a-t-Vu >'••> th<» world’s next great war—if one should ever romp come to na.ss—which God forbid. Still we must be prepared, and in Lord Tel- j licoe there is one who knows the value

of preparation and forethought and who ijs equipped witlli dearly bought exthe needs'of the great occasion. We hope, however, that Ixu'd Jellicoe’s term of office will fall in pleasanter lines than prevail at war times His duties here will of course, permit him to keep his finger on the pulse of naval development, and he will be able to acquire a more intimate knowledge of happenings in. these distant parts of the high seas than would be possible at the heart of the Empire. But we sin- , cerely trust that war’s alarms will not disturb the even tenor of his official duties on the customary domestic lines which prevailed prior to 1914. Lord Jellieoe will be welcome here because of himself. He will be welcome also because of the mission he fulfills—the King’s representative in the outpost of ; Empire. j Last week the. head of the Government • complained of the local bodies attempt- J to borrow too great a. sum of money af\a time when economy was necessary. A contemporary has made a calculation of the sum proposed to be so borrowed, and the sum total is a huge one. Since the beginning of the year tile consent of the Government Ims been obtained by local bodies to borrow £5,747,546. It was Mr Massey who complained of j the excess, yet that right honourable , gentleman is also Minister of Finance, ] and would have the principal voice in sanctioning the borrowing of the money Mr Massey is therefore hardly

consistent in raising the objections he lias, seeing that he lias been a party to the negotiations. In fact it was Government direction by the statutory authority which directed the local bodies to undertake the public works running into the millions to be asked for. The amount however is not likely to be spent at once, nor can if ho raised raised at once and if raised the money could not be expended for the labor is not in the country nor the material available to carry on the work Some of the local bodies arc meeting with considerable difficulty in raising only a fraction of the sum authorised. The borrowing rate is cheaper in New Zealand than in any other p/irt of the world, and the money lender is finding no doubt lie can do better with private lending over a shorter term than public lending over a longer term. In Australia the Government is paying a higher price for its loan moneys than local bodies may borrow at in New Zealand, and those with, capital are waiting for the time when rates will be higher here also. The short wait they probably think, for the higher rate would be preferable to locking their money up now for an extended term. The pinch Die local bodies are feeling will delay the many large civic works in hand, and to that extent the people will suffer, but a restriction'of the rate of interest payable by local bodies is. nevertheless, a wise provision. It avoids* reckless finance, and extravagant undertakings and has its general effect in keeping down the rate of interest for the private borrower.