WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 14 August 1928, Page 4

WELLINGTON NEWS

SAVINGS BANK RETURNS,

(Special to " Guardian.”)

WELLINGTON, August 9.

The Post Office Savings Bank returns for the June quarter was published in tlio “Gazette” a few clays ago, and once again the withdrawals exceed the deposits and the excess on this occasion is £527,002. It is not so large as the excess shown in the corresponding quarter of last year when the amount was £745,050, or about £200,000 more. The deposits for the quarter amounted to £6,928,(56!) against £7,103,540, a decrease of £179.871, while the withdrawals totalled £7,455,671 against £7,50i1.591, a shrinkage of £387,920.

The returns are more satisfactory than they were a year ago, which is not saying much. For several years past and for nearly every quarter of those years the withdrawals have exceeded the deposits and this was caused mainly because the Government decreed that the Savings Bank should accept deposits at call up to £5,000 and allow interest on same. This was departing from the functional principles of such banks. The object of a Savings Bank is to encourage thrift and to induce people on small wages to save a little each week or each month and so prepare for a rainy day. Deposits received from such sources are invariably small but they stay with the institution and are added to by those determined to save. The large deposits are not left with the Savings Banks as savings, the institution is being used by the large depositors for their own purposes, and these large deposits cannot he held. It is singular that since the P.O. Savings Bank consented to receive large deposits that the withdrawals have given so much trouble. Before this happened a steady growth in deposits each year was the rule. That the excess of withdrawals this year was less than it was for the corresponding quarter of last year is due to the fact that the Savings Bank has reduced the amount of the deposits, and as further reductions are to be made the position of the Post Office Savings Bank should improve. The detailed figures of the last quarter’s deposits and withdrawals show that only in four postal districts and all in the South Island the deposit exceeded the withdrawals, in addition there were excess of deposits in Western Samoa and Rarotonga, in the former the excess was £l7Bl and in Rarntonga £6Ol. Of the South Island districts showing excess of deposits Qamnru is well in the front with an excess of £14,787; the deposits for the quarter amounted to £110,291, and the withdrawals £95,503. The others showing excess of deposits were Nelson £9,783, Westport £8591. and Timaru £6745. In the Auckland postal district the excess of withdrawals amounted to £169,036 and this was larger than the excess shown in any other district by over £IOO.OOO. Hamilton came next to Auckland with

£59,021. Dunedin followed with £58,727, then in order were Wellington £48,827; New Plymouth £18,037 ; Napier £37,173, Thames £36,834, Wanganui £31,298, Palmerston North £26.728, and the others' showed smaller excess of withdrawals. THE WOOL POSITION.

At this period of the year attention is naturally drawn to the season’s wool clip, the marketing of the clip and the prices likely to be obtained. Although the first of the New Zealand clip will not be available until November, and many things may happen before that, still it will lie possible with the opening sale in Sydney to make a shrewd guess at the likely trend of values. The Sydney sale will bo held next week and although the offering will consist mainly if not entirely of merino wool, still the movement in merino will regulate cross, bred. •

I!' merino prices advance tlien wo may he certain tjiat users will pay a yroori deal of attention to crossbred wool because of its relatives cheapness. Hut there is no probability of merino wool going higher. The last cable quotations for Bradford tops showed that all counts except -10 s declined }d per lb. The wool position at the moment is rather peculiar. A Bradford correspondent recently stated that new business in tops, yarns or piece goods is very small and the amount of machinery idle is increasing rather than otherwise. What is more discouraging, he states, is that the outlook is problematical. Ou tlie one hand we have spinners not only unable to get more orders lor yarns at prices which nearly lit in with the present cost of raw material, hut who have contracts taken at prices below what they are prepared lo sell at to-day, and yet they cannot secure instructions to deliver the goods.

Tnis is regarded as one of the most unsatisfactory features of the position, because these cheap contracts must lie cleared before customers will entertain quotations on a higher level. And yet wool prices are firm and holders state that they are well content to carry their stocks, believing that prices will remain good. They hold the opinion that the rate of consumption will be sufficient to warrant the maintenance of wool prices. The majority of consumers are of the opinion that wool has lost its power to dictate the standard of value to the rest of the industry. 'lnc power of consumers has increased in this respect.