HOW TO PAY OF THE COLONIAL DEBT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1813, 19 February 1884, Page 3

HOW TO PAY OF THE COLONIAL DEBT.

Under this heading a correspondent " New Zealander," writes to the Haweia Star :— Sir, — An old adage aays that necessity is the mother of invention, and as hard times have set many of us thinking, I amongst others, should like to offer a suggestion. I agree with others tiiat something should be done, and soon, before we diift too far into difficulty. At the present time we New Zealandcrs, I am informed, but cannot vouch for its correctness, have borrowed privately and are using between 30 and 40 millions of foreign capital, for w Inch we are on an average 7^ per cent. I may theiefore justly say "that the present depression is caused by the scarcity of capital, or lather the exorbitant interest charges. To remedy this evil at fitst sight does not appear an easy matter ; but if we can only induce our representatives to pass an Act at the forthcoming session to enable the Government to be money lenders as well as borrowers, haul times would not be heard of, and in a few years the present national dpbt would be aching of thp past. As I wish every oneot your readers to thoroughly understand my scheme, I will say — Lend €100 for 36 years at 1 per cent. ; collect interest every six months, and interest same at oj per cent., deducting {> per cent, for working and you will hud in about 3G yeais you will have £200. This is the foundation of my scheme. Now, having shewn that 1 per cent, lent on this compound interest principle accumulates to 100 per cent, in 36 yeais, I will endeavour to show how a part or the whole of our national debt could be paid oft' within the above mentioned time. We will assume the Government can bonow in England at 4 percent., and, by having the deeds of our lands to offer asseentity, would, I should think, have no difficulty in getting any amount of money they 'lequired. The next tiling to do would be to ascertain how much money they would lend at 5V per cent, for a term of 3(syeais. I have no doubt in a very shorttime it would be equal to the present national debt. You will observe I propose charging 1\ per cent, moie than the Government is giving. Ido so for the purpose of allowing J, per cent, for working expenses, &c, and the I per cent, as sinking fund, to be re-invested as above shown. You will fuither observe that inteiest is quoted payable every si* months. The Government should collect interest every quarter, and make the quaitus, say, 2ot'h Mai oh, &c, &c. The advantage of making quarterly payments would be that the Government would always have money in hand to reinvest, and it would be easily paid by the parties bon owing the money. , Well, assuming the amount of our national debt to be £30,000,000, and the Government lend us the same amount on the abov e-mentioned scheme, at the ond of the 36 years the Government would still owe but £60,000,000, and we should then owe the Government the same amount, or, in other words, the accumulated inteiest would have wiped off the national debt, and the private borrower would have saved 2 per cent., or double the national debt, in the meantime, It, at the end of 36 years, the Government could re-invest the £60,000,000 at IV per cent, profit, by all means they should do so, as the one and-a-half per cent, over and above what they then had to pay, would bring the colony in, less woiking expenses, a clear piofifc of £900,000 ; and this sum w mid not be a tax on the people. I will also diaw your attention to one other great feature in this scheme ; that is, the diffi-ience bptween 5^ and 7 2 por cent, on £30,000,000 means a saving of interest to vis New Zealandcrs of £600,000 per annum. How could the Government find out the value of our pioperties? Let them take the past thice years' property tax assessment value and lend, say, up to two-thuds of the present value. This, I feel sine, would bo quite safe, as 1 think mo?t of us value our pi opeity when required for taxation as low as possible and the reduced late of interest would at once increise the value of our propei ties b} r 30 per cent., so that our propei ties would be moi tgaged to only halt their value. How the interest should be collected : Make |all inteiest fall due on certain quarter days, as above quoted, and make all post ofh'ees receiving offices, exactly the same as the propei ty tax is collected at the piesent time ; any p» ison behind time should be compelled to pay a heavy fine or forfeit his pioperty. Now, sir, if the above mentioned scheme was taken in hand and adopted, local industries of many kinds would spiing up all over the colony, fauneis would be able to cultivate their lands in a husbaudman-like manner, and make two blades of grass glow wheie only one now giovvs ; our expoits would soon be doubled ; our population would increase tenfold for the simply reason that employment would be found all the year lound ; our lailways would in a short time pay well form the money expended on thtm ; and taxation would cease. Some people may say the Government have no light to be money lenders. I say they have a peifect light to endeavour to make the colony prosperous. Ihey have as much light to be money lenders as money bonovvers, equally as much right as they have to construct lailways, bridge^, lm hours, insure our lives, and last, but not least, to undertake the education of our young New Zealanders. — lain, &c,

Cold weather affects your wrap it tight. Mraatton Independent. The Eail of Craven, a well-known sportsman, died in December, at the early age of 42. Tiifke is high authority for the statement that Humbert believes himself to be the last King of Italy, and looks forward to seeing his son living in a Republic, and has educated him with that possibility in mind. A Coup de Main.— The other day, in the port of Shields, a hogshead of treacle burst while being rolled from a dray in fiont of a grocer's premises. Nearly one ton of liberated tieacle had obeyed the law of liquids, and found its level on the street, now the bed of a yellow river, in which the grocer stood aghast, knee deep. Consternation, however, gave place to action. An empty cask was got, and into this with a shovel, basin, and bucket, assisted by his man, his maid, and his mother, he poured the golden flood. The women and bairns also got to work with great activity ; but to their dismay a detachment of police came upon ground, beat back the rebels before the juvenile portion of them were half sick, and formed a cordon bleu round the grocer's treasure, that he might pick it all up himself. But the urchins were not to be baffled. They held a conference and laid a plot by which, through the instrumentality of the simplest of their number, they should secure a sharp of the spoil. Tommy was to be taken to the outside of the ring, and, in a favourable moment, thrown in among the treacle, his friends pledging themselves to lick him clean, and assuring him that his " claes wad be nae warr — his mither wad never knaw any difference." Tommy required no persuasion ; he sneaked close to the heels of a policeman ; his companions rushed upon him, and in a moment he was immersed. Being still in petticoats he presented a vast surface, compared with what any of his breeched brethren would have done, to the eweet substance on which he rolled, and a burst of triumph, loud, long, and laughable, hailed him as he emerged exclaiming to keep up the trick, " Ban gum, wha did it ! " The innocent police never dreaming of deceit, instead of arresting him for felony, helped him out of the mess, and scolded the wicked rogues who pitched him into it. These, seizing their prize, hurried him into a convevient corner, where his worshippers were as numerous as bees. , Swearing oternal friendship to, Tommy, ,ih'ey licked , Mm inside out, and' sent' hiniWme all cltitnniy, ", to, be « * Ucked " .again, h,fc py s(s ;