Government Advances to Settlers' Office.

Manawatu Herald, 10 July 1900, Page 2

Government Advances to Settlers' Office.

The Superintendent, in his report to both Houses of the General Assembly state? : — The transactions of the fifth year of the existence of the office have not been of such a nature as to call for any particular com* ment r .

< The instalments- of interest ami •■ principal to the "Slst .March:, 1899, ; . have been collected in fully no sum., remaining outstanding on the 81st t March, 1900.

The department has no securities on its hands ; the inspection of securities by District Valuers has 1 been of advantage to the office in enabling attention to be" drawn to any ' property which might from any cause . have gone back in value. From tha tables attached it will be seen that the Board' irtfiJ, up to the 31st March, 1900, authorised 8,452 advances, amounting to. £ 2,688,44 d. The total amount asked for by the 8,452 applicants, gratitei^in full' and .partially, was £8,012,870 ; 1,004 applicants declined the grants offered them, amounting to £454,000, so that the net advances authorised t$ v the 81st March, 1900,* tmniWed 7,448, and amounted to £2179,440, The securities for the" net auihorlsekf advances were valued at £4,859,988, and these are in many instances being enhanced by the expenditure in improvements of part of the money borrowed, and the liability reduced by the periodical repayments of prior cipal in the oase of instalment loans. The number of applications received • ' . to the 31st March, 1900, was 10,995, for an aggregate amount of £8,711,* 033.

As was anticipated, the indebtedness to the Colsolidated Fund was cleared off during the year, and on the 81st March, 1900, the office had sufficient funds available to meet its liability in respect of interest unaided.

The manner in which instalments continue to be met by mortgagors fs highly satisfactory, and has in no small degree contributed to the resultobtained on the year's operations. The 1-per-cent sinking fund now in the hands of • the Public Trustee amounts to £49,678 15s 9&.

£2,199 19a 10tl, the cash balance at credit of Management Account on the 81st March, 1900, was paid to the Public Trustee to the credit of an-* assurance fund as provided by aec-^ tion 53 of the Act;"- '•' ' '