THE £2O0 STUMBLING BLOCK.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2003, 4 February 1890, Page 2

THE £2OO STUMBLING BLOCK.

10 CHE EDITOE. Sib, At a special meeting of parishioners of this parish held in the Oddfellows’ Hall on January 27, the question of the evening seemed to be how to get security for the last £2OO required to make up the £I2OO necessary to pay for building the proposed new church. The rev, chairman said “They would require to borrow from the bank or elsewhere £4OO on personal security, that they had got one gentleman who was willing to guarantee £IOO, and two willing to guarantee £SO each, leaving £2OO still required to be guaranteed.” He also stated that “ They had about 100 adult male members of the Church within easy distance, but could not up to that time find any more gentlemen amongst that number who were - willing, or who felt themselves to be • m a position, to pay £4OO if called upon to do so.” Hence the almost total collapse of the idea of building , the church at all. 'J he rev. chairman asked “If anyone present could suggest any plan by which the amount could be raised.” The thought occurred to me that some twenty years ago or more I knew of an Oddfellows’ Hall having been built at a cost of £IOOO when the whole of the money was borrowed on the personal security of the members, in the form of debentures (and there were not a hundred members either) in ten years the whole of the loan was returned, at the rate of £IOO a year with interest, and thus the members were never called upon to pay a penny of the borrowed money. Although not a member of the parish myself I obtained the sanction of the chairman and suggested to the meeting that they issue a number of debentures as security, and quoted the instance of the Oddfellows’ Hall. The suggestion seemed to find favor with tho meeting, but as some did not quite understand how the scheme was to be worked I have been asked to explain what is meant through the medium of your very valuable paper. Of course i lfc Y® 11 known that if a bank makes an advance upon personal security

and every one of tne bondsmen responsible, not only for e portion of the loan that each man represents, but for the whole amount, ■nor instance, if eight men signed a bond to the bank as security for £4OO, andif at any time the bank called upon hem to pay up they would have to do o. If the whole eight were able to pay their £SO each all well and good, but if one failed to do so the other seven would be held responsible, and bo on, until if seven failed the eighth would be responsible for the whole sum of £4OO. But with my scheme of debentures it is not so (but perhaps the bank or whoever lends the £4OO, will require something more than 400 duly signed debentures for £1 each, unless they are signed by first-class men). My plan would be to get 450 or SCO debenture forms printed, each for the value of £l. ihe gentleman who has promised to become security for £IOO would, of course, sign 100; likewise the two other gentlemen would sign 50 each ; then the remaining 200, and as many more as the bank might require as extra security up to the remaining 100, would be offered to the members and sympathisers for them each to sign as many as they may feel inclined to take, until the necessary number were signed. Then each man would be held responsible for just as many as he had signed, and no more. There seems to be a good prospect of being able to repay the loan at the rate of £IOO a year, when, if done, each man would have the debentures he had signed returned to him, and there the matter would end, without a man being called upon to pay a single penny, the same as in the case of the Oddfellows’ Hall. I hope, sir, I have I now made myself fully understood by all who will trouble themselves to read this. If so, my object is attained.— Yours, etc., T. A, Williams. Temuka, Feb. 3,