AMERICAN GOLD BONDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 48, 26 February 1935, Page 5

AMERICAN GOLD BONDS.

AUSTRALIA'S INTEREST. Australia was vitally interested in the Supremo Court action in the United States to test the validity of President Roosevelt's gold devaluation policy. Australian Government and local governing bodies owe about 274,500,000 dollars

(normally £54,900.000) in New York in "gold bonds." The debt is made up as follows:—Commonwealth Government, £33,000,000; New South Wales Government, £10,000,000; Queensland Government, £4,400,000; City of Brisbane, £4,000,000; City of Sydney, £2,000,000; Sydney Water Board, £1,500,000; total, £54,900,000.

As there is no immediate probability of the debts being repaid before their obligatory redemption dates, the payment of interest is the principal question that would have been affected by an adverse decision of the United States Supreme Court. The annual interest amounts to 13,952.500 dollars (normally £2,790.500), made up as follo-.cs: —Commonwealth. £1,<300,0C*1; New South Wales, £500.000; Queensland, £288,000;

City of Brisbane, £210,000; City of Sydney, £110.000; Sydney Water Board, £82,400; total, £2,790,400.

At the current rate of exchange this interest payment is increased io

£.*),o9!),000 in Austinliau currency, but on the old gold dollar basis it would amount to a considerably larger sum.