THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1894. THE BANKS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2656, 8 May 1894, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1894. THE BANKS.

We have on more than ono occasion recently pointed ont tout the banks were impoverishing this >i• >:ty by sending our money over to Australia. A good many people are under the impression that the money with which the banks work is their own, and that, of course, they have a right to do what they like with it. Nothing of the kind. In the first place the money is not their own, and in the second place they have no right to impoverish this colony in order to replenish the bankrupt coffers of their Australian branches. The paid-up capital of the banks is £0,333,500, but all this is not available; a good part of it is invested in real estate, aud a great deal of it is pape^

as evidenced by the fact that they have only £2,429,333 gold and silver coins, while their liabilities are £16,217,712. These figures show that it is not with their own money the banks are trading, but with that of their customers. The banks receive money on deposit from the public, and this they lend out again. Now instead of lending this money to people in this colony, they are taking it over to Australia and lending there, just because the headquarters of several of the banks are over there, and this is the cause of a great deal of the depression. The returns of the banks show that money is still plentiful iu this colony. The deposits, that is the money which the people of New Zealand lend to the banks, during the quarter ended March 31st last increased by £148,809, while the advances decreased by £429,196, This' is shown by reference to the sworn statements of the banks as they appear in the Government Gazette of April 26th last. From that and previous returns it will be found that on December 31st, 1893, the amount deposited iu the banks was £13,541,037, and on March 31st, 1894, the amount was £13,690,687, or an increase of £149,650. That means that the people of this colony increased their loans to the banks by £149,650 during the last three mouths, and shows that money is plentiful, only for the scandalous way iu which it is being misused. Let us now see how the. advances stood. On December 31st the banks had lent to the people of this colony £12,671,859, on March 31st last the amount was £12,242,663, or a decrease of £430,196. This seems to us to show that during the past three months the banks have been putting on the screw, and squeezed half a million of money out of the people, and that they sent this money over to Australia. Let us not forget that this is not the money of the banks, but money lent to them by the people of this colony, and that in order to squeeze it out of us they are keeping up the rate of interest. There is no use in mincing matters; the banks are crushing the life-blood out of us, and when we come to reflect upon it we can only wonder how we can stand it. Here we are now without having borrowed a shilling since 1888, and yet, although between 1£ and 2 millions of our money has been sent over to Australia, our colony is still able to make both ends meet. The conduct of the banks is scandalous, but there is more to be added still. These very banks do not pay any income tax; they send the money out of the coiony, and thus avoid paying taxation ou it. The whole of the nanks paid £3076 income tax, and of this the Colonial Bank paid 40 per cent. The Union Bank has taken over one million of our money to Australia, and it does not pay one sixpence of income tax. Is this right ? Are we to stand idly by and see these institutions robbing us with both hands, viz., taking our savings to Australia and evading payment of its just share of taxation ? This must be adjusted, and we trust the present Government will face the matter boldly. There are many who cry out against the Labor Party and Unionism, and who believe that labor troubles are at the bottom of the depression. This is erroneous. There is more mischief done by the Union Bank alone thau by all the labor trouble we have experienced in New Zealand, But of course it is not fashionable to back up poor, unfortunate working men demanding sufficient remuneration for their labor to keep body and soul together. To back up the poor is “ vulgaw,” and no one with any pretentions to breeding would do it. On the other hand, it is fashionable to be on the side of the banks, even when they are spreading ruin and desolation over the face of this colony. But notwithstanding the gentility with which the brainless surround banks, we do not hesitate to say that they are robbing the colony wholesale, and, that immediate steps should be taken to make them contribute to the revenue. This can be done by inflicting penalties on them for any money they take out of the colony in the shape of double taxation.