WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 19 October 1928, Page 2

WELLINGTON NEWS

STATISTICS OF INTEREST

(Special to ‘ Guardian.”) WELLINGTON, October 17. Now t and again it is not unprofitable to delve into the statistics that are furnished in the |4 and deduce from them t!)e trend of . .economic affairs. /T|^''iNlpii,tld^ J A l ,)sti-a( i t for September which gives figures lip to the end of AugusiFin tlio statistics of land transfers i slip ws. that tjjjring the month of August there were 782 transfers of country consideration * and this last) year shows that 3 ft'if ewer' priiperties changed hands, ,consideration, money was niore f .li^.fc^lp ? 327'.'' For the five moiitlfstMmed .with August the showed an increase .of 96 c(|nipir|:ed.;'f>jn j tlv. the ' Corresponding five mopth.s- pf last - year, while the money at £7,034,645, showed?:.- : increase of ; £837,572. There appears to be more traffic in country properties, and this is not surprising .pi of‘ thg. unpro■fitable prices thdfhare being received for general farm produce. While countiy lands appear., to be. changing hands more freely the same cannot be said of city and -suburban properties, The transfers fer tile five months to the end of August of this class of property totalled 9,949, or. 284 less than in the corresponding term of last year,, and the consideration .at £7,038,193 was less by £366,477. Activity in town and suburban properties will fol-. low as the volume of unemployment decreases. -Associated with land transfers is the mortgage business and, in this regard also the indications appear favourable. For the twelve months .ended August 31st, the mortgages registered numbered 38,339, against 41,258 in the cor. responding period of last year, a decrease of 2919, and the amount registered at £33,132,459 was £2,100,330 less. The mortgages discharged . numbered 28,407, or 365 less than in the previous year, but the amount of mortgage discharged was larger, being £25,277,999 as' gainst £25,154,822 for the previous period. The shrinkage is small but taken in conjunction with the other figures shows that mortgagors are getting into a better position. There has been less demand for mortgage money while the amount repaid is £123,177 greater than in the preceding year. The bankruptcy returns are also encouraging as the tendency appears to be for the falling off in the number of insolvencies. »••• >•

For the eight mouths-.ended ..August last there were 3R3 bankruptcies in the North Island as. -compared .with 402 in the corresponding period of last year, a decrease of 9, while in the South Island the figures were 140 against 160, a decrease of 20. Last year the bankruptcies averaged just over 72 per month, while this year up to the end of August the average was just over 66. BUBAL CREDITS.

So much has been said about rural credits and so many recommendations have been made by individuals and organisations that one wonders whether the farmers are experiencing real hardship in obtaining loans whether long term or short term. At the conference of the Associated Chambers of Commerce last Aveek a remit Avas passed which read as folloivs: — “That in view of: (a) .the necessity for restoring the confidence of investors in farm mortgages as gilt-edged securities; (b) the desirability of pro-y viding for farmers the fullest possible facilities for obtaining long-term amortised loans; (c) . the impossibilty of safely satisfying the large demand through State-controlled loans; (d) the necessity for promoting private enterprise to supplement present means for providing funds on long term mortgages, the Government he recommended to bring down legislation to

(1) To enable/charters to be granted to incorporated land banks or similar institutions-'sdnifetv'bat on the lines of the joint-stock land banks in the United States; (2) To make full and well-defined provisions in the Parliamentary Bill for the protectipn of Shareholders, investors, borrowers, ‘ and the general public interest by jj&jeantf’of such supervision, audit anddbspeetionias may be necessary.” .VV - • Since this remit -was submitted by business men to ajn organisation of business men, one niust show some lespect Ifor it, but on close, examination of this long-winded remit one is disposed to smile if not to laugh at the absurdity of it: ‘ Patliainent is to be asked to pass a Bill for the. formation of land banks, and the shareholders of these institutions- are to receive the protection of the Government, that is the Government is to provide supervision, audit and inspection. It is difficult to understand business men or so-called business men. At one moment they are complaining that there is too much government interference in business, and at another moment they desire- government interference. The question that one is tempted to ask is: “Have the farmers anA difficulty in obtaining long-term or short-term loans? ”

The Government has already provided extensive facilities for long-teim loans and the Bank'of "New Zealand is doing good work in this matter. Farmers with security to offer have no difficulty in raising loans and we fail to see how the creation of land hanks supervised by the government will 16store the confidence of investors in farm mortgages as gilt-edged securities. Farm lands can never be giltedged securities while it is possible to inflate land values through government interference.