Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1894. BUILDING SOCIETIES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4844, 6 October 1894, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1894. BUILDING SOCIETIES.

SECOND MM:

It is pleasant to lincl that at a lime • when Banks have been shaken, and | many financial institutions have suffered reverses, the Building Societies of New Zealand have retained a ( full measure of public confidence, and that their shares are at a premium, hi the Empire City, for ! example, the five pound shares of j the Equitable Building and Invest; ; ment Society arc worth £ b' 6s, the ] five pound shares of the Wellington : Investment and Loan Company arc ' worth £■> 18s, and the five pound ' shares of the Wellington Build- ' ing and Investment Company arc worth £6 2s Cd. Coming to the ' Wairarapa we have two Societies at ' Greytown and Mastcrtoti respec- J tivcly, which, have an honorable record, and which, by years of , prudent end successful management : have realised the expectations of : investors, and gained the implicit confidence of depositors. The balance sheet of the Mastcrton Society, which was adopted on Wednesday i last, shows that ourown local Society ' continues to progress, and also that it is an "up to date" institution. Its rules and tables have all been carefully revised so that it can do business for borrowers on the most favourable terms,and its past records prove that all the business it has undertaken lias been sound, and that such results as it may have acnieved in the way of profits have been earned by economic administration, | fair hading, and the elimination of all risky or speculative operations, 'ltis by a policy of this-kind that many of the Building Societies of New Zealand, including the llasterton institution, bavo obtained a repu- '. tatioii for stability, and year after year pursuo an uneventful career of usefulness, assisting settlers who are worthy of assistance, and earning for their investors and depositors a reasonable profit in the one case, and a fair return ill the other. We recently praised the " Advances to Settlers Bill " of the Government ' because it was based in a measure on | the principle of Building Societies. It has taken a leaf out of their book and by so doing the Government have displayed some wisdom, Whether the Government can administer the system as well as the : Building Societies are doing remains ; to be seen ? A Building Society which attempted to work it on the '. Government basis woidd assuredly come to grief and there is a possibil- | ity of tup Government being disap- ■ pointed in. their expectations. A i good deal pf had business is floating ' about the Cplony, which Building ! Societies dp npt care tp touch, wjijch ' will have a tendency tp gravitate to | the GovorniDßi)!; arid w,o fee} sure j that the Societies will not grudge | such business to the State, Already 1 the Liberal press is clamouring for 1 the Government to. take over this i undesirable ''business, and itho State ( department when it gets into working order will most assuredly be between the devil and the deep blue ! m i . '■/. v