FINANCE AND TRADE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5108, 20 August 1895, Page 3

FINANCE AND TRADE.

Specially eomplledfortho" W»lr»rapa Dally Itaes." THIS OLD LADY. The topic of the week has been tho troubles and sonows of the oUWady, tho Bank of New ZeiWml, and what alio will squeozo out of tho Clmvity Commissioners, or rather I should say the Joint Committee of botli Houses. The speech of tho Premier in moving to appoint the Committee was a sorry one—very different indeed from the

speech he made last year in connec--1 tion with the Guarantee Bill. Then he bawled " statesmanship," " bold policy," " saving tho country," and sundry other high-sounding, catchpenny phrases. The tune was changed on Friday, when lie made a mean attempt to saddle tho House ■with tho responsibility, for which the' Government alono is liable. Tho plunge oil 1894 was a mistake, at any rate the facts presented to the Houso then were not facts. No one, however, is ready to take up tho charaeterofAnanias. Somebody must have lied last year, but tho Ministerial mode of announcing this " is the Government was misled."

TIIK COMMITTKK. The constitution of the Committee iiUjum to objection, but that may be o\®ooked; it is, however, quite a different matter to suppose that the large order given to the Committee can ba executed within a week. To look critically and thoroughly into the affairs of the Bank of New Zealand would require six months and ' not six days, therefore, tho report of the Select Committee must be bast'd wholly upon such evidence as the Bank officials intond to give or can givo. If we are to have finality in this matter, it is necessary that the work of the Committee should be critical and exhaustive, so that the remedy to be applied may have the desired offect, Like the unemployed question and John Chinaman, the affairs of the Bank of New Zealand will crop up every year unless ' drastic measures are taken after a careful and exhaustive investigation into the whole business.

THE riIESEXT TROUOI.B. The trouble just now is the Estates Company, and the Estates Company is the Bank of Now Zealand, There iaalso the trouble of finding profitajjft investment for tho second rniffljin of the guaranteed money. Tkero is not the least doubt the Bank has " whips of stuff," and the fault is that it holds too much of other people's money, and too little of its own. It would be better if this could be reversed. The Estates Company has been a "dead horse" of unwieldy proportions, and. the Bank has felt the strain of hauling this creature, Tho Estates would have been very nicely worked off if tho Lottery Bill had lived through the session, but the butchering of that Bill leaves the position' the same as ever it was, and now Parliament has-to faco the, music, which will be found not less discordant than the Lottery Bill, THE ESTATES COMPAXT.

The Bank of New Zealand Estates Company, Limited, was registered in London July 22ud, 1890, to acquire certain properties in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, belonging to the Bank of New Zealand.' The assets jffcde extensive landed and otlior properties, mortgages, industrial undertakings, shares in companies, and certain open accounts. The assets originally stood in the books of the Bank at £4,250,269, and were valued in July 1890, at £3,107,993, the revenue from the properties in the year ended March 1890, having been , £117,075 net. The authorised share capital is £2,000,000 in shares of £lO, £750,000 in 6 per cent, cumulative preference, and the balance in ordinary, All tho ordinary shares, and £600,000 preference (total face value £1,850,000) were issued to tho Bauk of New Zealand as fully paid, in part payment for the purchase and an issue of £1,500,000 5| per cent, debentures was made in July, 1890, by Messrs J. Heury Schroder and Co,, at 95, and the debentures are to be repaid 31st December, 1910, at 103 per cent., while the proceeds of the sale of the property are to be applied in purchasing debentures in tho market, or in paying off debentures at 105 per per cent, by drawing. £750,000 of f'Hentures were paid off, that is to • the interest payable on this sum s reduced from ai to 4 per cent. The Bank of New Zealaud being virtually the only shareholder in the Estates Company, it is therefore liable for thess debentures. This is an interesting problem to work out. The Bank is tho guarantor for the Estates Company's debentures, and the Government the guarantor of tho Bauk. What relation then does the Government of New Zealand bear to the Estates Company ? If the Bank of New Zealand is the Estates Company, by whatsurgical oporation can it bo severed from itself ?

MINING. The Auckland mining boom shows no signs of flagging, on the contrary y the scrip in most of the mines has increased in value, and speculators aro coolly counting their profits. One lucky indiyidual purchased Kapai-Vermonts on a Monday at 6s 3d and on Wednesday was able tq sell out at 9s 6d, making a profit of 3s 3d per share in 48 hours. The people qf Auckland are saturated with scrip and are unablo to take up any of the now ventures which arc Jkjng puton the market every week, company promoters art ' jnyading Wellington with new goods The nibbling ill thp Empire City is slow compared with Auckland, hut thoH Wollingtou was heavily hil with Torawhiti. That reminds mi of tho Wellington t'oldfield whicl has been brought before the public within the last few days. I am assured that the prospectors have got a defined reef, which will par out profitably under the cyanide pro cess. It will be quito a treat to sec Wellington in a gold fever onci again. . . STOCKS, Colonial Government 4 per cent ' stocks aro flat, the only movemen! for the past wock being arise of 10 iii Queensland's. The tablo of com parison is as iji}der .: Aug. Aug. Movi 6th, 10th. mcnl Hew Zealand... 11)29 112 114' - N.B. wales ... 1933 115} 116| - "Victoria ... 1820 - 108 - JJ. Australia ... 11130 112 112 AjiecwLad lfcl 110J 111 j Bwll Australia ... I'iM 120 120 ~ In the 3j per eegts. throe denqtr • inations ha'vo advanced, New 2Jea land and Victoria 5s each,and Sout Australia 10s, the rest showing r variation. The movements ai shown below Aug, Aug. Move Bth. 15tb, mod New Zealand ... 1910 106 ICOI Rieo N.S. Walw ... 1924 1074 1074 - Victoria .. 1923 101} 1014 Rto S, Australia ... 1930 105 1054 Hinol Queensland ... 1924 1044 1044 ~ s«D)»ii!a 1910 ml IWJ - !. Percy Pckiw.