Melbourne after the Carnival.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1262, 30 January 1883, Page 2

Melbourne after the Carnival.

(FROM A VOLUNTARY CONTBIBUTOB), MELBOURNE, January 18. The state of commercial deproeaion, consequent on the recent holidays, received a kind of eoup de theatre this morning by the astounding intelligence from London that the Victorian four million loan, put on the English market only a few days ago, for tender on the 10th instant, was an unqualified failure, only £455,530, or about one-eighth of the whole, having been tendered for. There were 143 tenderers, averaging somewhat under £3OOO each, so that the surmise is pretty correct that the ring of brokers and finanoM agents in London have worked the matter pretty well, add none but small, and independent investors have thought the tonne attractive. The following are the particulars of the tenders One was for 100,000, one was for £40,000, one for £30,000, four for £20,000, 55 for various lesror sums down to £lOOO. and 81 for sums under £lOOO. Mort of the tenders were for inscribed stock, the proportion being £339,000 of the £456,000 subscribed. The Agent General adds in his telegram, “The syndicates of brokers abstained from subscribing on the ground that the minimum afforded no margin of profit in present state of the market. JThe London procs was unanimous in ascribing the partial failure to the high minimum." Mr Murray Smith considers that other oaueee, notably the offers of other loans with a smaller fixed minimum, contributed towards the failure of the Viotorian loan. The result of etane you will learn by telegraph, many dayl'befow this mail reaches you, but a few particulars of the matter may be interesting, even at that late date. To begin at the hqrfnninw. it may surprise thoee of your readers not well posted in the flnancee of other places, that this loan of £4,000,000 has been hanging fire for over 12 months. By this I mean that, owing to pressure brought to beer by the Premier and Treasurer,(Sir Bryan O’Leghlon) the bill for its authorisation pound the Upper House on the 24th Deo., 1881, but, notwlth. standing the plea of “ great urgency ’’ ad* vanoed oy the Government, the loan, as we see, WM not placed for competition until the 10th of Jan., 1883—nearly 13 month* after I That a political ruse brought this about is apparent, for the O'Loghleu Ministry, immediately after its accession to power, made one of the cardinal points of it* policy, tn* absolute ueceuity of raising a new loan of four millions. This is no new dodge of most Colonial Ministers, not excluding your own. An overflowing exchequer, with pro. mines of windfalls, added to the legitimate plucking of ripe fruit from the fiscal tree, will generally secure many willing hands for the political vineyard. The financial pro-

ponuls thus made were that the Government should be authorised to borrow to the extent of £12,000,000 (big figures), £8,000,000 of which was for the redemption of debenture! falling due, at intervals before the end of 1855 An unscrupulous elected House, like that of Victoria, will stick at nothing, and the prospect of millions glistening in the short distance, acted as a powerful incentive, and the Bill passed in about 48 hours, almost nnn con. With the weapon in his hand to strike his enemies, or defend his friends, at will, it is no wonder Sir Brian was, at onoe feared, and courted. The Loan Bill passed, it was held as a kind of “right bower,” and the Railway Bill was introduced, holding the raising of the loan back on the pretence that it was useless to get the money until Parliament had settled the manner in which it was to be expended. The latter Bill has not passed yet. One of the items in the Schedule to the Loan Bill is “£2,722,085, for the construction of railways and works, etc. but it is authoritatively stated that at that time there was enough money in the Treasury for the construction of over 800 miles of railway, which will occupy 2J years to execute. The Press, too, particularly the ‘ Age,’ triumphantly expressed its conviction that “ Victoria has no immediate necessity for money.” The ways of the Colonial Treasurer are a paradox. He blows hot and cold, and eats the leek of circumstance with equal facility. At one time we find him advocating the immediate passing of the Loan Bill under •• extreme urgency,” while at another, he makes a speech on the second reading energetically supporting its rejection (after he is in power)until the Railway Construction Bill has passed. The cards are played, and the “right-bower” has come down gat the wrong time. Why the Government qelayed so long is not clear; and why they have chosen this particular time to float tne loan is not more so. As I have said, the Railway Bill is very little nearer becoming law than it was a year ago, for nothing is so certain

that has been done in the Victorian Legislative, that it will not be upset. That the Government is not in any immediate want of money is apparent from the Treasurer’s own statement recently made that the Treasury stands in a very strong position at present, having paid off £490,000 out of £500,000 5 per cent treasury bonds, and also advanced £564,000 on account of the Temporary Loans Advances Act, for the progress of public works. There is an actual cash balance to the credit of the Government of £027,000, over and above the £2,000,000 which the associated banks have nominally advanced to the Government on account of the £4,000,000 loan. No part of the £9,000,000 is to be touched until the loan floats, but meanwhile the banks pay interest to the Government upon the sum [To be Continued].