The Daily News MONDAY, MARCH 13, 1905. MUNICIPAL BORROWING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7761, 13 March 1905, Page 2

The Daily News MONDAY, MARCH 13, 1905. MUNICIPAL BORROWING.

One of the most striking and imI portant features of this age of progress is the remarkable spending and I'do.rowing powers which mnnicipa'l institutions have acquired and develoiied in all parts of the world where they exist. There has urism an insatiable desire to concentrate in the hands of municipalities al!most everything which touches our •daily life, the tesult being the expenditure of such enormous sums of 'money that at last the ratio for bankers' deposits in the provinces'are no longer regulated by the ri.-e and fall of the Bank of England rate, thus materially alVceting the profits hithertoforc earned by bankers. So long as money was plentiful, no harm ensued, except thai ! which- tvas inevitable from ot er- ! borrowing, and the consequent piling up of liabilities for the future. •When* however, the scarcity of money caused by the South Afiicau war 'rendered it impossible for municipal corporations to obtain loans aL the 'old rates an alteration in the »■ ! thod of borrowing became .-nevitnblc, the result being that instead ol as lornieiiy, subscriptions being invited for llarg'e loans for long periods at lowrates, British corporations have set 'the example of applying for small i loans for short periods at -hig-n i rates. This questionable niethtnl 1 seems also to have favour in the colonic-H, and has even been taken 'advantage of by the Slate Executives. The important point, which time alone will solve, is whether the good old banking rule to keep a proportion of liquid assets to meet the demands of depositors in case of need should not be adopted by corporations. The effect of the recent borrowing policy has been to 'bring corporations into competition with bankers, and if the demands of the municipalities go on increasing, the lending rates will undoubtedly follow suit, and industries wiU suffer more and more. In other words, the nation's life-blood will be impoverished and stagnation will ensue, it is generally admit ted already that the increasing difficulty of obtaining money on the London market :s seriously allecting the development of public and industrial work in the colonies, but what is not so universally recognised is the trend of events which are day by day, and year by year, pointing a moral. During 'last year, in Britain alone, municipal expenditure amounted to £112.000,000 more than in 1891, while the State expenditure was £70,000,000 in excess of what it was ten years previously. No doubt Home municipal expenditure is reproductive, but a large proportion cannot reasonably be included In that category. Can it be fairly claimed that the same care and forethought is exercised in the iitying out of loan moneys raised by corporations as is as is found in the case of business firms dealing in equally large financial operations > The answer must obtiously lje in the negative, and for this reaslon—that the personnel of public bodies does n c) t consist of the best 'business men, who, as a rule, have neither time nor inclination for the purpose. As Air Seddon recniMy said, the intricacies of finance are not easily comprehended, even by politicians, so that it can hardly be expected that members of municipal and local bodies should shine where members of the House S!i signally fail. This must not he taken as a reflection on the energetic, and, in, some cases, commonsense men who devote their time and what talents they possess to the public service, honestly doing their .duty according to their light, but ofllime.a woefully deficient in admin-

islr -i i- and liminciiil ability. Never I was t:n- e iL time v.heu 'piiiiK.ncc ami sagacity wore more required in tlii- public service. The vast spendill!,' power IKIW possessed l.'"v (■()!•- pomtlons ia Ukclv to l,avi- a* lar-reiu-hinff e»Vcl on the future prosperity of the world. The [inuiiciul ouliooi; is ai present nun • too l'ocJ ,11111!. _ though the depression i„ ;lv pass in due time, ovei'.y precaution should be taken to, lessen rather than to incrensj the burdens of tin- people.

•NOTK AM) COMMENT, I'lie records of 11k- automatic sun rhin,. recorder ill Mi,. SI'WV IVcss olVIc- slum Mm; Hi,. n.inl sunshine nZKAI.ANH corded iY ol „ .), . u .j I i(, Hi r..|,i|,,-i- :;| 1-, m ;ili!,i register of i:iw:ili. r, m . ihe nonihl.v mini hcine : ,s foll,,v'« ■-_ Innuary. LV.IIi. 1.-iiu. ; l'el,n,ai'c -Mill. .",.!.. : March. KJTh. I .'.in. ■ Apliin... 1011., lorn. ; Jidv, Hlith. 1.-,,,.. • •il. ir,:,h. 17m. : Al„v, i.-.01,. .",7,„. .' \uauM 1.-'JIi.; September, 127-h. 25in| ■rtolj.iv UlHi. :iiiin, ; November, Jill*, .loin. : f*octinlj.i- L'ISIi. i>iiin. In ;;s> days dnriii» tl,e v,. iir t h,. Slm vas not visible i,t all. The \ ear was mt so siinnv us usual, |, U | |;he I'ivss .oiiHs oul Unit even then ('hrlsthurch had hull a s much sunshine gain as Kiijfliintl. Against our 2185 lours of sunshine, the records of lie popular English heal 111 uitd holii\y resorts made out a poor sliowi;'. Ilrighfon. for instance, had on- . Uiiyii.. lioiinieii oiilli U'.'.lC. Kast'.■>unu> IliWI, Hastings KiOT, Marale II7J, Torquay, J (KM, and Venlor 10120, and these are among the rightest plages in Croat Itritoin. The i'.eivpuuc} IjcOveeu tiiy mjjsuwmgr

records in Christchurch and the aver- ! '■ age for England is not so great. I u,ut we have an immense advantage j in winter. In our three winter ' ! months Inst year wo had 363 hours .of bright sunshine. In the l''.ngii.;,i i winter months they had 132 hours. . j'J'his is n point upon which the ! Tourist Department, in advertising the health advantages of New /.ea- i land should lay special stress. Money | is literally no object) to many of the | I people who leave Knglnnd for part lof the year M seek tlie sun in brighter elimes, and if tlit- great advantages offered l>.v New Zealand in j this respect were emphasised ■-; 11 •-. ought (to he the stream of tourist" ' in winter might rival that of the summer months ; but the Govern- I ment will never be able to make as much of this point as it .'e'-erves, .until they devote some attention t) obtaining sunshine ivoi i - from the I various parts of the colony.