MORTGAGE INTERESTS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 149, 5 April 1933, Page 3

MORTGAGE INTERESTS

THE ADJUSTMENT COMMISSION. MATTER OF REPRESENTATION. (Special to the "Guardian.") CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. An announcement that the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes) had agreed to appoint a representative of mortgagees to each of the Mortgagors' Adjustment Commissions was made by Mr Thomas Buxton (vice-pre-sident of the Canterbury branch of the Investors' Protection Association of New Zealand) when describing to members of the branch last night the steps that had already been taken to preserve their interests. Mr Buxton said that in the past the commissions' had frequently assisted mortgagors at the serious expense of mortgagees, and he felt that the change in representation would be of great benefit. The Prime Minister- had also promised not to make a further reduction of interest on "private mortgages. Finally, he had been told that since the formation of the association the Canterbury-Westland Adjustment Commission had been giving mortgagees a greaj> deal more consideration tjjan formerly. The meeting agreed to accept a change of name from "Mortgagees' Protection Association" to "Investors' Protection Association." Mr Buxton was in the chair. Reporting on the conference of the association in Wellington last month, which he attended on. behalf of the Canterbury branch, Mr Buxton said it had been decided that all branch organisations should adopt a common name and platform, and should work through a central executive in Wellington. The new name—."lnvestors' Protection Association" had been adopted because it had a wider scope than the previous name. The Dunedin delegate, Mr- A, Ibbotson, had proposed to restrict membership to first mortgagees, but his suggestion had been rejected. Mr Buxton said he had emphasised the value of a large membership behind an organisation of the kind they were creating. Merely to have representatives of investing companies would not have nearly as strong an effect. Remits Carried. The following were two of the remits proposed by the Canterbury branch which were carried: "That mortgagees have on all reasonable occasions the right of access to mortgagors' accounts with stock and station agents or banks." "That the present legislation tends to keep bad farmers on farms." In reference to the second remit, cases had been mentioned where mortgagees had been refused permission to take possession, although their farms I were badly managed. Mr F. George protested against the Wellington branch's postponement of the conference until after the session had closed. He thought that if this delay occurred again in the future the Canterbury branch should consider itself strong enough to go direct to the Government. In this case the opportunity of giving evidence against the Mortgagors Relief Amendment Bill had been lost, and the Bill had become law. The report of the conference, including the change of name, was unanimously adopted. A vote of thanks was passed to Mr Buxton and the executive. The meeting decided to try to expedite the appointment of mortgagees' representatives on adjustment commissions.