Money Lending Profits.

Hokitika Guardian, 10 November 1921, Page 1

Money Lending Profits.

HUNDREDS l’Elt CENT. SYDNEY. October ‘2d. Tliat tilt 1 days of exorbitant interest charges are not yet past was proved by an amazing case which came before tiie Full Court of Western Australia during tile past week. It was shown that a poultry-farmer named A. I. Ballantyne was paying to a moneylender named Rachel Evans intei, -t amounting to several hundreds per cent, and the Court, in deciding 'iul"r , the Money Lenders Act, that the interest should not exceed dO per edit., ordered all the transactions betve'U the parties since .Tunc 1919, to he reopened and an account take®. The Chief Justice said that Ballnntvne had obtained from the defendant a great many loans, varying from £‘-’9 I to L‘2oo : the interest ,-liarges made by i the defendant varied from 100 to oOf) j per cent. The charges for interest had j in most ,-a.ses been paid, j It was. said his Honour very i 111 - ' cult to rnleulato accurately the actual interest paid over the whole period of the transactions, but in Eebruaiy the I plaintiff paid 400 per cent., in March ! 010 per cent., and in April 10-0 per I cent., or ail average of t.’ld per cent. : Tile interest charge was so monstrous | as to slum by itself that the trail sec. 1 timi was liarsii and utieonseioiiahle. Altbought facts had been proved to dx- ’ plain or justify this high rate, the ! defendant never ran ally great amn.ru : of risk, and plaintiff must have been , fairly regular in keeping up bis pay--1 ,uents. The general conditions of the ‘ ease were those which existed where a j person of no tangible security usd to l-esoit to a moneyleader. It seemed ■ o ; him, therefore, that the aoeoiints i should lie reopened from .Tune (itli.. •' 191 ft. 1 ■■■■ ■■■ 1 11 1