8.—9

40

seeing testators often desire to make their own provisions for meeting the demands that in the early stages of the administration will be made upon their estates for payment of debts, death duties, and legacies. The Public Trust Office is in a position to offer testators appointing the Public Trustee their executor or trustee facilities for the creation of trusts during their lifetime providing for the investment of such an amount as may be considered sufficient to meet these payments. In such cases the trusts will terminate when the estates fall in for administration, and the money will be immediately available for the purposes specified. In the creation of such trusts provision may be made for the regular payment of the income to settlors during their lifetime or for its accumulation and capitalization. The creation of trusts of this kind overcomes the difficulty which many persons have met in the search for an investment which will return a good rate of interest and yet remain sufficiently liquid to be readily available when required for the purpose of the fund. Section 75 op the Life Insurance Act, 1908. 58. Under section 75 of the Life Insurance Act, 1908, as amended by section 4of the Life Insurance Amendment Act, 1920, the Public Trustee's consent is necessary to enable a minor of the age of fifteen years or over to surrender, give a discharge for, dispose of by will, or otherwise deal with his policy as if he were of full age. It is the Public Trustee's duty to be satisfied that in any such dealings the best interests of the minors are served, and each application is therefore carefully investigated. A nominal fee of ss. is charged in respect of each application, which, though it does not adequately remunerate the Public Trustee, is considered the maximum amount which can reasonably be charged in view of the nature of the applications. During the year under review the number of applications dealt with was 136, made up as follows : Surrenders of policies, 70 ; bonuses, 1 ; loans, 41 ; assignments, 21 ; payment of proceeds on maturity, 2 ; reduction of amount of policy, 1. Unclaimed Land. 59. There have during the past year been a number of applications to the Public Trustee to administer land under Part II of the Public Trust Office Act as unclaimed owing to the fact that the owner has no known agent in New Zealand, or is unknown, or after due inquiry cannot be found. As a consequence of the closer settlement of the Dominion the number of applications is, however, decreasing from year to year. Education Reserves. 60. By virtue of the Education Reserves Amendment Act, 1910, various School Commissioners throughout New Zealand who at that time administered the education reserves and endowments for the benefit of secondary and primary education were abolished. The lands forming part of the endowments referred to in the Act became vested in the Commissioner of Crown Lands in terms of the new legislation, whilst the cash and investments held by the School Commissioners were transferred to the Public Trustee. The assets under administration by the Public Trustee in pursuance of the Act include cash and mortgages as follows : — Primary Schools. Secondary Schools. £ s. d. £ s. d. Cash held in Common Fund .. 19,143 4 6 788 5 0 Mortgages .. .. .. 3,310 0 0 Nil £22,453 4 6 £788 5 0