DOMINION MORTGAGES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 51, Issue 278, 7 September 1931, Page 6

DOMINION MORTGAGES

TOWN AND COUNTRY FIGURES.

TOTAL DEBT ON FARMS

(Special to " The Guardian"). CHRISTCHURCH, This Day

At the end of August a return was presented to Parliament concerning the Land Transfer and Deeds Registration offices, and local newspapers quoted the amount shown in the report as being secured by mortgage on registered freehold securities on March 31, 1931. This totalled the huge sum of nearly £300,000,000, and the greater proportion of this amount was considered by many to be owing on farm mortgages. As this inference was not borne out the figures published on pages 729 and 730 of the 1931 Year Book, the Government Statistician was asked what in' his opinion was the approximate value of registered mortgages over farming lands. His reply was as follows :

There is no reason for supposing that types 2 and 5 of our classification include any great value of country lands, and in any case these would be approximately balanced by a proportion of town lands being included in types 1 and 4. Even if not so balanced, and if an addition of £4,500,000 were made on this account, the total for country lands at March 31, 1931, would not exceed £125.000,000, and of course all country lands subject to mortgage are not farm lands.

This is a much less alarming situation than was inferred by many when the Department's return of nearly £300,000,000 for town and country registered mortgages was published.