TWO MILLION LOAN.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 319, 20 October 1915, Page 3

TWO MILLION LOAN.

HELPING OURSELVES.' FINANCE MINISTER'S APPEAL TO INVESTORS. THE SILVER BULLET. The prospectus of the £2,000,000 loan for public works, which is to be raised within the Dominion, is being circulated to-day. .'The ; document : was published in the 'New Zealand Times' on Saturday. The Minister for Finance (Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward) explained the nature and purpose of the loan, and made an appeal to the investing public for loyal assistance in a statement to a representative of this journal. "To all intents and purposes, this is as much a war loan as it would v e-if it were raised directly for- the equipment of armies and the provision of munitions," said Sir Joseph Ward. "The Mother Country has undertaken to provide/ tlhe money the Dominions require for their military operations—

a matter of some five or six millions in the case of New Zealand alone for the current year —but with the enormous demands being made ,upon her in every direction, we cannot in reason or decency expect her to finance our local expenditure as well

"In normal conditions we should have gone to London for this money, But, the conditions to-day are net normal, and it behoves us, as patriotic citizens of the Empire, to sihou'Mer this burden ourselves, in order that our work of development and production, which is of more importance than ever to the nation in the present crisis, shall goon with as little interruption as possible. The maintenance and expansion of industries, trade, and commerce are scarcely of less consequence than the supply (■ men in the present terrible struggle, and I am sure that people who realise this fact will not hesitate to assist in supplying what are essentially and in a very special sense the sinews of war.

"There i? no need to say anything about the lean as a means of investment. It, will particularly appeal to the small investor in this respect. There are no alarming formalities to be observed, no delays, no risks, nc commissions to bo paid. The interest .is good. the security the best in the world, the time cf repayment practically at the option of the investor. His debenture.will always be saleable at its face value, and probably at a premium.

"But I would rather appeal to the sentiment of the small capitalist than to his business instincts Many of us are unable to go to the war. Age, physical disability, domestic responsibilities, all of them, or any of them, may tie us to our homes; but here we have an opportunity to do the next, best thing—to help on, to the utmost of cur means, the sacred cause for which the whole Empire is fighting, to remind our kith and kin at the front that -we are ready ot do our part without stint and to demonstrate

to our enemies that no difficulties and no sufferings, no opposition, however formidable ir. may be, can weaken our resolution nor lesson our enthusiasm. "It may teem unnecessary for New Zealand to make repeated displays of its loyalty. Here we all know so v-ell how deeply it is ingrained in the Aery life c-nd being of the people that oven it;; expression may appear a superfluity. But. our enemies, who inisrf no opportunity for the invention of now li-o\s or the circulation of fresh slanders, are watching us as closely as ever to-tJav, with fV malign purpose r.<s they-'started the war, and. would do iplit in any excuse for the ri'petit'rri (if their infamous misrepresentation's. I want, to see the people of the Dominion, every man and woman, and even every child, joining in a united effort, fo send ct them the answer which ha* been flung hack by our countrymen at the battle front and in the trendies. • We all can hurl the silver bullet/ according to our financial ability. Let us do it now." 1 The prospectus has been well received in Wellington.'''"and" financial authorities expect there will .be a ready response by both small and large investors. Forms of application may be obtained from any postal money-order office or from the Treasury. .'•