INTERVIEW WITH A LONDON FINANCIER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8100, 3 May 1906, Page 3

INTERVIEW WITH A LONDON FINANCIER.

SOME INTERESTING VIEWS. Mr 11. A. Senior, a gentleman wel' known in financial circles in London, is at present on a visit to New Zealand. He lias been in close touch with the colonies for the past thirty years, and has made several visits to both Australia and New Zealand in his capacity of secretary to the Trust and Agency Company of Australasia, Limited, a director of the Australian States Mortgage and Agency Company, and London'secretary of the Australian l'astoral Company. His first visit to the colony was during a period of depression, in 1886. "So severe was the depression," he sail to a reporter, "that I wrote a report for my company stating that New Zealand was on the verge of bankruptcy, and that only the development of the frozen meat trade, and possibly the butter trado, could save it." Mr Senior, even then, had considerable faith in the frozen meat trade, and the remarks made iuliis report wore almost prophetic. Keiv Zealand, he says, really does not know how much it owes to the Nelsons in this matter. They grappled with the industry on a large scale in its inital stages,_and the work they did was such that the colony might very well erect a monument to them.

Mr Senior has been occasionally to New Zealand since his first visit, and has noted the remarkable progress the colony has made with a groat degree of pleasure. On his present visit, though his travels have been coniiued only to the North Island, he has noted that great improvements have been made by the farming community in their holdings. The general progress of settlement, he also considers, is very remarkable, thriving towns like Dannevirke having arisen on sites that were thick bush when he saw them not so many years ago. " I asked Mr Senior," states the interviewer, " his opinion, as a man well versed in the values of property, what he thought of the prices at present being paid here for town and suburban property, and he gave his opinion with no uncertain sound. Both city ai.d suburban property, but more especially suburban lands, ho considered were selling at ihdated prices. Agricultural land also, he thought, was fairly highpriced, tho values being based upon the present prices of wool and butter." "We cannot," he said, " expect these prices to last, and New Zealander.s seem too prone to fix land values rpou a momentary fluctuation of the markets, r..ther than to base them upon average values extending over a cycle of years."

Mr Senior was glad to notice (luring his travels in the North Island a tremendous diminution in (lie number of rabbits on the pastoral country. With regard to the English money market, Mr Senior is eouvieced that money will not become any cheaper t'ov some considerable time to come. When he left London, only a few weeks ago, there was a tremcndoi/s demand for money all over the world Mr Senior remarked that the New Zealand Government have a wonderful asset in the capabilities of the country for sport. He was quite prepared to give tho Government every credit for what they had already done, but llicy hathnot done enough. At present the coach services and the accommodation in several instances are wretched.