THE KAIKOURA STAR. KAIKOURA, JULY 6, 1894.
It may be argued that the Bank of New Zealand is now the State Bank. To all intents and purposes it is the Bank of the Colony, inasmuch as it is the Bank with which the Colony deals. It is in no other sense a State Bank, even though the State has guaranteed a given number of shares—or debentures. It is an institution under private control, and is, therefore, purely and sunpl v a private venture —a private bunking institution incorporated for trade purposes, under charter. The State derives no benefit from its profits, and if it is to guarantee its shares, or debentures, in any way, then the Colony might just as well conduct banking for the people, in the interests of the people. If it is necessary for the State to assist a private institution then the State is doing for a section of the community what it might just as well do for the whole nay, more, what is one of its functions : the carrying out of a duty in the interests of the commonwealth. Private banking- has not been such a glorious and unqualified success throughout the world that the State cannot improve upon the present system of banking. On the contrary the system of private banking has in many cases been such a terrible and disastrous failure—disastrous, at any rate, in its consequences—that the State could not do worse. On the other hand the lessons taught by such failures, the experience gained, and the mechanism at the disposal of the State should, under strict control and prudent guidance, produce highly beneficial results in the interests of taxpayers, generally. It would not be so advantageous for the minority, the small number of capitalists having large sums of money for investment. Their profits would not, in some cases, be so great. The bulk of those possessed of means would, however, benefit, and as the majority deserve primary consideration, their interests must be conserved, though in giving such interests first thought injury -iii'ioiity should not be inflicted, Uns could not, reasonably, be said to be done when the larger capitalists bad to be satisfied with perhaps one to two per cent less profit than previously. Even the larger capitalists would benefit indirectly by the establishment of a sound system of
State hanking. They would have State security lor their wealth, much sounder security than anything else affords. Surely that would amount to a very great deal in the face of the many commercial failures, both long since and recent, in connection with private banking corporations. I’he French have a proverb to the effect that out of evil cometh good. Whether there has been evil or not in the case now before us, there has been trouble, of some sort, and it is to be hoped that through it benefit to the State will result.
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Kaikoura Star, Volume XIV, Issue 753, 6 July 1894, Page 4
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483THE KAIKOURA STAR. KAIKOURA, JULY 6, 1894. Kaikoura Star, Volume XIV, Issue 753, 6 July 1894, Page 4
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