B.—9

7

management. With the unremitting increase in the volume of the business, and the prospects of an even greater accession in the future, this question becomes more and more important with the passage of time. 5. The office is concerned mainly with the administration of all classes of estates and the conduct of kindred fiduciary work. The volume of the estates which come under the control of the Public Trustee ranges from those of a trifling amount to those in which the value of the assets aggregates very large sums. Each estate has its own features and characteristics which must be provided for if the business is to be properly and efficiently transacted. It will be recognized that the range of interests controlled includes a unique variety under the management of any one concern. 6. The Office legislation necessarily vests all the powers and discretions in the Public Trustee himself, and originally contemplated that everything would be done by him. This made for centralization of the operations at Wellington, but with the rapid expansion such a system, with all its inherent and attendant drawbacks, would in time have become so unbearable and burdensome that it must inevitably have broken down under its own weight had not a timely change been made. Many years ago it became apparent to those responsible for the running of the Public Trust Office that in order to deal satisfactorily with the estates and assets spread over the whole of New Zealand it would be necessary to remove the bulk of the work from the Head Office, if practicable, and to conduct it in as close proximity as possible to the locality of the estates and beneficiaries. Accordingly, in 1912, legislative authority for a simple and effective scheme of decentralization was obtained, and immediately thereafter arrangements were made for inaugurating this and putting it into operation. It may here be noted that large trustee concerns in England have also experienced this need for decentralization. In making reference to the benefits accruing therefrom an official of an English executor and trustee company recently stated :• — Tke other line of policy being pursued in England is that of decentralization. Here what you would call a chain of separate branches is created, each branch being in charge of a manager who is either a qualified lawyer or a man with banking experience who has also undertaken a special training for trustee work. Each of these branches is, of course, under the control of a central head office . . . This very definitely enables the specially trained manager in charge of each branch to be intimately acquainted with the details regarding all the estates under his care. He is also able to maintain that personal contact with co-trustees, beneficiaries, and people who contemplate appointing his company which is so desirable. Customers can be given personal interviews without the fatigue of much travelling, and a considerable amount of letter-writing is eliminated. Any beneficiary who calls at one of these branches will find an official who not only knows all about his affairs, but also knows him personally. The manager of each branch deals with the sale of all assets which have to be realized in connection with estates under his charge. It is often a considerable advantage that local securities and property can thus be dealt with on the spot. Under the Office scheme of decentralization, which has been developed and extended since 1912, the whole of the administration of the estates, and a large portion of the work in connection with the Common Eund and special-investment mortgage work and other matters, are, subject to well-tried safeguards, continuous and rigorous inspections by competent Inspectors, and to certain control by Head Office, delegated to District Public Trustees stationed at the principal centres throughout the Dominion. The estate accounts are kept at the offices conducting the administration, and payments to beneficiaries, creditors, and others are made there. It is interesting to observe the striking similarity between the system of decentralization pursued by some trust companies, and referred to by me in the preceding paragraph, and that adopted by the Public Trust Office here in New Zealand. The branch system of organization has proved itself eminently satisfactory for present-day requirements. Modern ease of communication simplifies central supervision and removes obstacles which were previously experienced in the conduct of branch operations. Nowadays business can be transacted speedily and smoothly, even in those cases where a certain amount of reference to Head Office is necessary.