RURAL ADVANCES BONDS

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5127, 18 May 1927, Page 2

RURAL ADVANCES BONDS

LACK OF PUBLICITY.

FARMERS’ UNION PROTESTS. i

“That this branch views with concern the lack of publicity given to the sale of Rural Advances Bonds by the Government in view of the fact that the advances are now receivableby the farming community,” was the text of a resolution passed by the Morrinsville branch of, the New Zealand Farmers’ Union at the monthly meeting on Saturday evening last.

The Rural Advances Act came into operation on April 1, from which dateadvances were made by the Rural Advances Office on the first mortgage or rural lands and improvements under the various classes of tenure. The maximum loan which may be granted is £5500, but no advance will be made for a/amount exceeding two-thirds of the value of the security in the case of freehold lands, and two-thirds of the value of the lessees’ interest in the case of leasehold lands. All loans are granted on the instalment system only for periods not exceeding years.

The funds of the Rural Advances branch of the State Advances Office will mainly consist of. money obtained from the issue and sale of mortgage bonds; consequently the success of this form of rural finance depends to a large extent upon the activities of the Treasury’ in selling bonds. Captain F. Colbeck, the representative of the Morrinsville branch of the Union on the Auckland executive, stated that the Treasury Department was not making any strenuous effort to sell the bonds. If they were on sale at the post offices the fact was not advertised, and no one knew that the bonds were on the market. In America" and Australia huge placards had been placed in. all the banks, and advertisements had appeared in the newspapers. Where this had been done the response by the public had been immediate, and the bonds had been taken up. “We all want to know why the sale of the bonds is not being expedited by the Government,” Captain Colbeck continued. “It is not because of lack of ready money, as there are millions of pounds in the Savings; Bank and other banks not producing over four per cent. The public vzill subscribe if they know about the' bonds. Unless the bonds are advertised the scheme will be a failure.”