Wanganui Chronicle. AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVETISER. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1887.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 11628, 1 November 1887, Page 2

Wanganui Chronicle. AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVETISER. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1887.

The moral-courage of the directors of the Bank of STew Zealand, in determining to omit their hitherto never»«f ailing dividend rather than trench upon their reserve fund, is meeting with universal commendation. Not alone in uckland is the bold and uncompromising action of the directors approved of, but also, so far as we have seen, by the press farther south. The three. Wellington papers, though deploring the necessity, are all in accord with tha decision come to, and think that it speaks volumes for the soundness of our institution that could afford to take such a stand- The Post, in referring to the matter, says :— " The institution, although it has had losses, and has not made great profits of late, is stable and unshaken, and its proprietors have every reason to look hopefully and with the most sanguine faith to the future. It was scarcely to be expected^^ata bauk with aach a widely esttffiSreODU^ptej!& v could fail to feel the more or less j aJffleraeiTill~paT?ts,<rß lshe world, and from Haeeffects of whn&^S&iopt every person (^nd institution iutfe^cowny has suffered _>m some degree." T.tre^ Article concludes ks follows : — "• WhijOrß condole with who will misa J&eil! 1 dividends we " rtsbnpratulate the cmoiEly/jjon the fact that s 'iftjAdirectors ofy^xsT^sading financial Jmye'&§a/lHe moral courage oi^i typing, however unpr^SinttllJ^^^- the circumstances dema'OT^SP^Svfe i hope sincerely that it will be the last occasion, at any rate for another quarter of a century, that the shareholders of the Bank of New . Zealand will be called on to pass a halfyearly balance-sheet minus a dividend. When the Bank prospers the colony ia likely to do the same — the same causes affect both." The Press eaya:— "The bank must be in a much stronger po- . sition than the man in the street has ohoeen to affirm to be able to take this stand. Par from considering the nonpayment of a dividend an alarming matter, we regard it bb the most healthful sign that has appeared for many a long day. It shows that those who are behind the scenes in the bank's affairs, ihose who know the worst concerning it, are not afraid of any shock to its credit which the witholdiner of the usual dividend might cause." The Auckland Bell, which has established a repus tation for fault-finding, is much given to a rashy style of criticism, and has no particular leaning to big institutions, on this occasion strongly commenda the action of the bank. In the course oi > a leading article our contemporary says :— 4i It will be observed that the whole of the profits for the past haliyear, as well as the balance brought over from the previous half-year, have L . been set aoide for bad and doubtful debt contingencies with tho exception of some cix thousand -pounds carried forward to new account. This unusual incident in the. history of the bank might of oourise have been very easily obviated by muting the enormous re^ serve of the bank bear the contingency . of the bad and doubtful debts which have accrued under exceptional cir-< . cumstances, but the directors have concluded that the shareholders wouid rather bear the present personal inconvenience of going without fbeir dividends, than do what- perfectly legitimate and reasonable in itself — might in the minds of aome bo em to militate ngainst the stability of ths bank. The enormous strength in reserve in this „ firud of half a million has... no doubt, 3 been one of 'be chi9£ causes contributing to tho confidence reposed in the bank,

I aud its consequent great success in all the vicissitudes of the colonies; and though it is unpleasant, and to many will, doubtless, be embarrassing to go without dividends, which have been aa regular us the revolution of the Beaeonß for a quarter of a century, euoh a plucky sacrifice as this will do more to confirm men's minds in the batik manifold than if the reserve had been used foe the purpose of meeting exoeptional losses, as it was really intended, and the dividends had been paid as before. Had there been any desire on the part of the directors to gloss over the depression there was no necessity for accentuating it by such a startling thing as witholding a dividend, but in deterauning to leave the gigantic reservo fund untouohed by the losses, or possible losses, and meeting them, ac it were, out of the private pockets of the shareholders, the directors have taken a course which speaks volumes for their confidence in - the soundness of their noble institution and their devotion to its best interests."