The Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 1913. PUBLIC TRUST OFFICE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 15 March 1913, Page 4

The Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 1913. PUBLIC TRUST OFFICE.

The service performed for the /people of New Zealand by the Public Trust Office is well expressed in a communication addressed to the political head of his Department by the Public Trustee. It .seems that, in their report, the Public Service Commissioners stated that in their opinion the Office does not realise th<j estates that fall into its hands to quite th& Same advantage as private trustees. This opinion seems to have been arrived at without tlra Public Trustee, or any of his officers, being consulted. The data on which it is founded is entirely ignored, or suppressed. The merits of the Public Trust Office are simply unquestionable. , Here are illustrations of the way in which estates have been realised:— Govt, value'. Price obtained. £ £ Waiiiarapa 52,724: , 101,484 H'-wke's Bav- ... 2.033 3,253 Triranaki 4,112 8,983 bury 18,200 26,053 Canterbury .... 3,526 5,566 Figures like these must surely carry conviction. As a. fact, the Public Trustee lias exceptional facilities for dealing most advantageously with the estates entrusted to his office. Realisations are never forced. The office is always prepared to pay claims and clear off encumbrances pending an advantageous opportunity to sell. This is beyond the power of a private trustee. No forced sale need take place on behalf of beneficiaries.

If lliey require .advances against their shares or interest, tho ».;!ico is always prepared tq make them. Largo amounts aro lent oat in way, and charges and heavy interest such as an outside lender would require arc avoided. The rato 0 per cent free from all charges. -Another important advantage is that Uk? oiiico 'Jias brandies and agencies all over tho Dominion), and its ofiioer.3 and representatives aro usually experts, well acquainted with the value of land and property of every description. Bit what abovo everything elso constitutes tho great value of the office? Simply its strong, nay, 'impregnable, financial backbone. Tim ci\dit of Nc.v Zealand is behind it. .\'o bettor security can Ijo offered. SCvery client, or rather the interest of ovorv client, is unassailable. There is no such thing as squeezing an involved estate into a corner. No such thing as selling off a property "by order of the mortgagee." If money is needed to elen,r off old liabilities, thi.s is forthcoming. If claims aro pressing, they are immediately mot. No sncri flews aro tolerated ; every client ;rn f ] beneficiary i.! protected. Hence the sales conducted by th? office are invariably if-ne-cessful; every property is carefully nursed; business people place their wills in the office knowing that its precincts spell safety ; and as the aims and objects of the Department become thoroughly known and appreciated, private trusteeship, alwaysmore or less dangerous, is becoming extinguished. In these circumstance.-' there is no wonder the business of the Public Trust Office has grown, and that it lia« become one of the most important of our State Departments.