FINANCIAL CONDITIONS REVIEWED.

Hokitika Guardian, 7 February 1924, Page 4

FINANCIAL CONDITIONS REVIEWED.

fu bis speech at. the annual meeting of the Kqttiiable building Company of Wellington on Finlay, me chairman site led.: - There i- u injiiexlitmahly a lueiked impnjiciueiit in the liuaucial conditions of the Dominion at the pro--■itt time, due pnitly to the excellent p-ricies realised for our primary ) rnduets and partly to the comparatively heavy borrowing by the Government aril public bodies money or eiedit in tbuel’ore in fairly abundant supply, nod the resultant ell’ect- "ill l.c to rcdeec the lending rates. In mint of fact, the lending rate has iiliw.d- ialien b,. at least one-half of l per ecu!. However. it would be unwise not to take cognisance “f the nervous state of the Ktirnpiuui money markers, especially those of London, and also ot New York where bankers, fmanciers and capitalist-. generally are much alarmed at. the prospects of a Socialistic Government securing control in Great Britain. These fears, i trust, may piovo entiro!v groundless. Tile Labour Baity lias placed a levy on capital in the forefront of its political programme, and, judging by what happened in Switzerland v.l.ei: a. similni proposal w»* referred t i the people, the gravest disasters may be anticipated from any attempt to put such a proposal into elfeet in Britain, ill the meantime, the lending rate, owing to the plethora of available credit in New Zealand i-. as .[ have already indieiitod, tending downwards. Still. I apprehend no difficulty in this compuiiy l icing able to maintain its ewtomary dividend cf 10s per share per annum. It affords the directors great pleasii.e to be in a position now to recommend tee payment of a special dividend of As per share, which, owing to the aeu>e iiiiiincia! conditions then obtaining, was with-held for the half-year ended June ltd. If.’--. It was undoubtedly earned for that period, but for the masons then given, which r need not icpcat. was not declared.