DEVONPORT FINANCES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 245, 16 October 1929, Page 6

DEVONPORT FINANCES.

I am sorry, on account of a letter appearing , in your paper signed D. W. McLean, president of the Devonport Property Owners' Associa* tion, that it is necessary for me to again refer to this matter. Mr. McLean was present at the last meeting of the council, when I endeavoured to make an explanation of the flotation of the £132,000 street loan, and I regret I was unable to make the matter sufficiently clear and thus save Press controversy. Objection has been taken by the Property Owners' Association to the fact that a loan of £132,000 has been raised at a cost 'of £4502. This loan was authorised in 1921 by the ratepayers and is to some extent ancient history. The year 1923 was the year of the great slump in New Zealand and local bodies throughout the Dominion were paying as much as 6| per cent for loan money. The Devon-' port Council of that year raised £40,000 of this loan in London. This was done on account of the high cost of flotations in New Zealand. at the time, and the total cost of raising this £40,000, as I explained in my remarks last Wednesday, was £3379. This loan was raised at 5 J per cent at £95 less 3 per cent cost of exchange, etc. The balance, £92,000, was raised locally as opportunity presented itself and as it was required. This was done by various councils and the total cost of the raising of this £92,000 balance in New Zealand was £1183. The total cost of the £132,000 was not in any way excessive. The whole transaction will compare more than . favourably with loans for similar purposes floated in New Zealand, and in London, during the same period of years. My reference to the raising of the £40,000 in London at £3379 was to show that the council did the very best under the circumstances, and were to be mended rather than criticised for the-action' they took on this 1 occasion. J. HISLOP.