THE "FINAL" EXTENSION.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 168, 17 July 1924, Page 4

THE "FINAL" EXTENSION.

The best that can be said for the Mortgages Final Extension Bill which the Prime Minister introduced yesterday—the humour in "final" is suggestive of the successive farewells of "stars"—is that the arrangement it proposes is more favourable than the present one for the extinction of moratorium mortgages. At present the onus of appealing to the | Supreme Court i 3 cast on the mortgagee. : Realising that the Court is at least as likely to find against him as for him, and I that costs will be substantial, this longj suffering party rarely takes such proi cowlings. Under the proposed law the I obligation to go to the Court is placed lon tho mortgagor. That is to say, the mortgagor is required to pay up unless jhe goes to the Court and satisfies it that he should be given more time. We doubt jif many mortgagors will go to this j trouble and expense, but if they do not i they must pay off their mortgages. It should be noted that the "Court may exercise its jurisdiction notwithstanding any agreenient between the parties," which presumably would apply to arrangements already made for the ! reduction of principal and interest in the wiping away of arrears. The principle .of the Bill is wrong. An end should be I made of the whole business at the end of this year. Apparently, however, it is . too much to expect a House lacking in moral courage to press tlio Government .to do this. Failing this, however, it 'should cut down the extension period ot two years from the end of 1924 to one | year.