' PROPERTY SWOPPING. I

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 205, 27 August 1912, Page 8

' PROPERTY SWOPPING. I

(To the Editor.) Sir,— the assessment by Government valuators some five years ago,:pro- _. perties in town and in the country districts have, in • the taxable sense, eno.r- j mously appreciated in value. Does the j fact that A, of Queen Street, buys a residence from B, of Remuera, at an J enhanced value tend, in any way, to the j furtherance of the general prosperity of the Dominion? or, -because C, of Taranaki, purchases a farm from D, of J the East Coast, does such sale aug- < ment, by a penny piece, the ' -wealth of New Zealand? It can, indeed, ] be proved, without fear of contradiction, ' that"the swopping of estates for money J is opposed to the financial stability of the Dominion. During the past five years the State has been the biggest ' buyer of large holdings. For this pur- j pose; it borrowed -from foreign sources no less than six millions sterling. With ' this amount to its credit in London, it bought out a few great sanded pro- ! prietors, who have, perhaps, wisely de- ■ camped with their drafts on the city, leaving the Dominion for all time responsible for the due payment of interi est. Before the advent of the late continuous Government, men with capital ' came out to the Colony. Money then was more brought than borrowed, and if the individual lost it the community at least had no interest to pay on account of his pecuniary misfortune- Would it not, for the financial benefit of Now Zealand, be better to encourage the transplantation of some of the thou sands of the wholesome stock of the British Isles who have capital in place of the nondescript class at present being introduced through the office of the High .Commissioner in London?l am, etc., j H.J.