OUR CREDIT IN ENGLAND.

Motueka Star, Volume II, Issue 73, 25 April 1902, Page 5

OUR CREDIT IN ENGLAND.

Mr Joseph Gould, head of the local firm of Messrs Gould, Beaumont and Co., who returned to Christchurch last week after a long stay in Great Britain had an interview with a Lyttelton Times reporter. In reply to a question as to how this colony stood in the eyes of the people of the Mother Country, Mr Gould said that he found that the credit of the colony had suffered very much amongst the business men in London owing to the mannet* in wiiich the debentureholders in the Midland Railway Company had been treated by the Government. The opinion generally expressed in financial circles at Home was that while the Government, by a legal technicality", was able to maintain its position at law. it had not in equity" a sound position, and its action was commonly described as spoliation of the de-benture-holders. The reception which the last New Zealand loan had met in London was a very good illustration of the decadence of our credit at Home. The Agent-General had very wisely ai*ranged to get the loan unde: written, paying a brokerage of I per cent for so doing. hen the loan was issued the public subscribed for something less than 48 per cent, of the total, and the underwriters, therefore, were left to finance 52 per cent of the issue. That there was plenty of money offering in London at the time was dem mxfcmted by the subscriptions for other loans which were issued at the same period. Amongst these were the London County Council loan of £3,000,000, for which £30,000,000 was offered, and the Ceylon loan of £1,500,000, which was covered four times over, although the list was only kept open for two hours. The financial journals all wrote strongly against New Zealand' and its i progressive legislation* and k fears were

entertained that should a Radica* -Parliament be again in power some of the legislation of this colony might be introduced. Wages at Home had now reached a very high point; and the limitation of apprentices was preventing the necessary supply of skilled workmen being kept up, more especially in the shipbuilding trade, in which certain classes of labour were so scarce as to make it impossible for them to undertake the building of all the ships offering.

In reply to a question as to the effect of the part taken by the colony in the Scuth African War, Mr Gould said that there could be no doubt that the action of New Zealand in sending so many contingents to help the Empire in her hour of need had done a very great deal to bring the. colony into prominence throughout Great Britain, while the conduct of the men in the field was spoken of in the highest manner on all hands, not only in the Mother Country, but also on the Continent.

Speaking of the New Zealand Shipping Company, Mr Gould said that doubtless it was generally known that the company had added to its fleet four large twin-crew boats during the past eighteen months v Another boat, larger than any of the present fleet, would be delivered next month. The steamer would be on similar* lines to the Rimutaka and the Ruapehu, but would be about 1000 tons larger, and would be fitted up with superior accommodation for Ist, 2nd, and 3rd class passengers. Mr Gould stated that when he left London the prospects of the wool market were well spoken of. The outlook for our frozen meat, was he thought, fairly good, but there could be no question or doubt that the sale of New Zealand meat in England required to be put on a better footing If it could be handled in the same manner as the Argentine meat, much better prices would be obtainable.