Opinions of the Press.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2534, 6 October 1888, Page 2

Opinions of the Press.

The. New Zealand Herald, in reviewing the report, says : —We could certainly bava wished that the disclosures had boen of a less startling character, but facts had to be fairly faced, and though some may wish that there had been a little more tenderness in handling tliein, judging from analogy and experience we feel confident (hat this plain speaking will not be without its good effect, especially at a distance where personal sympathies and antagonisms do not exist. The Committee had their work to do, and the unmistakable absence of fear, favour, or timidity, will be accepted as an indication that they have done it thoroughly .... Wo cannot close our eyes to the fact that doubt respecting tho true position of tho Bank of Now Zealand has exorcised an influence in retarding that revival of confidence and enterprise which we have all been looking for, an<4 the removal of that doubt must have a correspondingly Rood effect. The Auckland Star: —It is fortunate that these disclosures have come at a time when the general revival of prosperity—not observable yet. perhaps, in Auckland, but distinctly pronounced in tho South—has become something more than a hope. The committee have also acted with great discretion in securing the institution against anything like foolish panic by obtaining beforehand from influential financial firms in London guarantees of a large part of the additional capital which is required to set the Bank on a thoroughly satisfactory footing. The sacrifice of £3 per share asked from the present shareholders will no doubt be felt as a great hardship, but, as the committee remark, many of them have already received much more than the legitimate earnings of the capital justified in excessive dividends. Under any circumstances, if we assume that tho committee have not been ton pessimistic in their valuations— and of this we have no means of judging—they could not with any justice to themselves, or auy advantage to the Bank, have continued to keep up a fictitious state of things. Tho revelation is far from being satisfactory to the shareholders, but they must comfort themselves with such reflections as may be derived from the thought that if the matter had not been taken thus firmly and drastically in hand now, it might have developed into something very much worse .... The bank has a splendid business, and starting with no "dead horse" from the past, and with much valuable experience, we have no hesitation in predicting for it a prosperous career. New Zealand Times, Wellington It is satisfactory to learn that by a judicious reconstituion of the management the element of weakness thus indicated has been effectively eliminated. The drastic measures of reform which have been adopted, and are now proposed, will undoubtedly tend to rehabilitate the Bank in public estimation, and to restore confidence abroad as well as at Home, not merely in the Bank itself but also in this colony, with the interests of which that institution has long been so closely and inseparably bound up. The Wellington Post:—A removal of the management from direct Auckland influences, would, we are sure, give satisfaction and strengthen confidence outside that district. Christchurch Press Shareholders and the public now know the worst, and eminently unsatisfactory to shareholders as the Committee's disclosures are, it is most reassuring to learn that there is not the slightest ground for anxiety as to the future Although it may be said, and justly so, that many of the Bank's losses should not have been incurred, or, if incurred, should have been faced and dealt with long ago, there is at least some coinfort in knowing they have at length been exhaustively inquired into ; that the Bank is now able to get rid of unproductive assets, and that the management will ba placed in a position to devote its attention to legitimate business in future

With tho Government pursuing a careful and prudent policy, and all our banking institutions acting upon similar lines, tho people of New Zealand can look forward with cheerful confidence to a period of quiet, sure, steady progress to whicli it has been for so many years a stranger. The Lyttelton Time'}: —The best feature of the episode in its history is, that it puts its affairs in order at the opening of a period of general prosperity, and it starts unburdened on tho next period of its career. Every man of sense will admire the courage and the prudence of therietermination, and applaud the completely-.exhaustive method of its statement. TUajc are good gnat-autoes of the ISank's stability. The Dunedin Timeslt is apparent that the committee has performed the I difficult tank entrusted to them ill an able and fearless manner. We doubt not that the shareholders are quite prepared to accept the committee's assurance that they have faced and disclosed all, and with this knowledge, confidence will sojn be restored." The Dunedin Herald The most pessimistic financier will be at least fain to con' fess that the Bank of New Zealand has at length faced the music. The operations to be carried will have the effect of restoring confidence not only in the power of the Bank to meet its liabilities, for that has never really been doubted, but in its value to the investing public.