THE FINANCIAL ASPECT of MILTON

Bruce Herald, Volume VIII, Issue 798, 28 April 1876, Page 5

THE FINANCIAL ASPECT of MILTON

The present unsatisfactory state of business in the Tokomairiro district is, doubtless, to be attributed to several causes, chief of which has been overtrading in the past, encouraged, to a large extent, by our banking institutions, and, not to mince matters, by one of them in particular, viz. : The National Bank of New Zealand (Limited), with whose course of procedure we are, personally, but too familiar, as will be seen from the report of proceedings in the Resident Magistrate's Court, Milton, in the case Dickson v. Mackay. In this matter, while, personally, we Avere in a position to prevent publicity being given to the case, having actually paid the money before it was called in Court, and though, at first sight, it may appear to reflect upon the position and credit of the proprietor of this newspaper, he preferred that it should appear in court so that he might have the opportunity of showing the trading community of the Colony the want of principle and commercial morality which has characterised the proceedings of this Bank for some time past, as manifested in the many judgments entered against it in the Supreme Court of Otago alone — to wit, Christie v. National Bank, Webb v. do., and Bird v. do., and perhaps still more in the future case of Mackay v. do. These unsatisfactory results have, in our opinion, been largely brought about by the visit this Colony of a home director of the Bank, whose humiliating appearance before the bar of the House of Representatives is a matter of history. The old servants of the Bank were parted with one after another until not one of them is to be found in its service ; and the success of a younger rival is greatly to be attributed to the securing of these tried and faithful servants, whose chief fault appeared to be that they had been appointed by a previous Colonial Manager of the Bank of Otago, whose position aud credit the director referred to iii vain had tried to blast, as the Bank is now trying to blast that of the proprietor of this newspaper. Banking is of course a branch of private business with which perils, under ordinary circumstances, a public newspaper has nothing to do, save when the protection of the credit of the general public calls for interference, and doubtless even then • the amount of public support accorded to such institutions is the best indes oi their success, or the opposite. Those who are dissatisfied with the dealings of their banker have it in their power to withdraw theiv custom just as they would do with a tailor or a bootmaker, whose fitfcieg powers proved unsatisfactory : still, while this is, ta enme extent, the case, it is not at all times an easy »*&,*<£? for a business man to shift his banking account, were there any choice here, which there is not, *nd the suicidal action of the Bank referred Jo has become ao notorious that public confidence in it has been iargejy forfpjftsd in this district, at least, which is now suffering from the injurious effects brought about chiefly from the fictitious prosperity generated by the action ot the Bank in Encouraging the initiation, and supporting for a time, such commendable industries as the Royal Pottery Works, to an extent to lead his Honor Judge Ward to look upon the Bank as, to all intents and purposes, partners in the concern. But instead of leavingtheenterprising manager under whose auspices this and other undertakings were commenced to see them through and $j.ye the Bank's funds, since advanced with'o.yjfc &?$f security whatever, an incapable Avas ; sent jin hjsfpjiaee, and to this man we are indebted for ,the first nail struck hi the financial coffin of Milton, in' dishonoring 'one" 3'atnr&ay afternoon about thirty bills and cheqiies ofibe and best traders in the district, as iie njfm.seif blasted. "Facts are chiel's itbat wjnna cl^ngr' and if the banking 3S&9nWIS9 #J#se<i yr^Jj these state-

ments of facts they have their remedy. We' unhesitatingly assert, that had the Bank advanced a few hundreds more to Mr White, they would now have a good security in the Pottery Works, for every penny previously advanced of the thousands of pounds since transferred to the loss side of the Bank's ledger, and the general verdict of the public is served them right. Nor is this the only case in which their reckless conduct has brought about similar results, which, by ordinary care and caution, would have been reversed . As in our own case, overcautious and safe men who had a few thousands laid past them — the result of years of industry and careful management — were led into undertakings upon a scale beyond their means, the Bank to all intents and purposes, as in White's case, becoming partners in the several concerns or business enterprises set afoot by their encouragement aud support, at a time when money was plentiful in the open market at a cheap rate of interest, and when the Bank's customers referred to could have borrowed to advantage on their freehold properties. "Oh never mind," said the Bank managers of the day, " we are a wealthy corporation, aud possess any amount of capital lying idle. Go ahead with your several enterprises ; give your cheques right and left, the country is flourishing. Take advantage of the tide, which, ' taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.' Our purse is at your command, spare it not ; make full use of it, or the fault is your own." The scene is now changed. In our own case, " a generation has arisen who knew not Joseph." Bank manager after Bank mauager has come and gone ; money in the open market is now tight and scarce, as it appears to be in the bank coffers of the Colony ; rates of interest on discounts and overdrafts are doubled, and the screw is being unmercifully applied in quarters where the Bank's own best policy, if they only knew it, would have been to give a helping hand. A mighty man, of autocratic mien, has appeared upon the scene ; aud, forsooth, because we would not dance attendance upon him in his Bank parlor every hour of the day, and every day, but preferred to give attention to our own legitimate business, the sentence has gone forth, " Sew him up." Not just yet, you representative of aclass unfortunately but too numerous in the colonies, occupying positions of trust for which by- nature they are unfitted. Our commercial honor and chastity is not thus to be cast adrift by one of such calibre, although he has attained to the dignity of a Bank manager. If Banks will throw aside honest, honorable men, whose whole souls were devoted to their best interests, and give preference to men of no character or standing in society, they must make up their minds to plain speaking occasionally, as we now offer in^ no mealymouthed phrases, knowing them to be the words of soberness and truth. This would-be autocrat has spoken of Joseph Mackay as mad, before several witnesses. This was said of the Apostle Paul by even a higher dignitary of his time than W. B. Heath is at present, or is ever likely to become even in this presently downtrodden community, Avhich he has over and over again been pleased to designate " a d rotten hole," in comparison with the North Island, where he had previously been located. Pity 'tis he ever left it. Fortunately for himself, the proprietor of this newspaper holds a name throughout the length and breadth of Otago to which the present manager of the Bank of New Zealand (Limited) can never attain, and which it is bej'ond his power to tarnish or prejudicially affect, despite his most powerful efforts to accomplish such an undesirable consummation for the general welfare of a district in which he has long proved not its least energetic business resident, bringing into it a larger amount of outside capital for expenditure in Milton than any other establishment or industry, aud which but for his welldirected industry and perseverance would be sent to Dunedin or elsewhere. Every trader in this district is directly or indirectly affected by the actiou of this Bank, whether a customer or not ; nor is the other banking institution of the place altogether free of blame iv the matter, although doubtless compelled, to a certain extent, to join in the fatal gallop set on foot by its neighbor in the financial team, which seems destined to rush us all to destruction, unless curbed, and that speedjly too. " You seem to think I have come berg to kill you" all," sajd the successor of one of these Bank managers at a farewell dinner given to his predecessor. The present manager does not say so in words, but his actions betray his intentions, if these are to b" judged from his treatment of the oldest and best commercial firm j fl Milton, whose discounts alone for years past have annually amounted to their present overdraft. This firm also are being dogged, prosecuted, and persecuted, not for the total amount of their overdraft, which would hg excusable in any case, but for unavoidable intromissions \a. busi* ness arrangements here at the present time, when we believe it to be the exception to have a bill met in clue course ; and in many of thp transactions from which they are now suffering, they acted as the bank's agents or middlemen. Newspaper proprietors as a class, necessarily frqm the nature qf their business, are perhaps more subject tp their bankers' suppprt and help thfm any other portion of the trading community, For our own part, our ledger never shows less than £5000 to the debit side of the account, composed of sums varying oh 1 ' 0 ?." from 5s to £5. A merchaut with such an amount on his books could lodge bills re.WsJp ffi'S III 5 £?*t& c ? tft discountable amounts for every penny ; whereas the newspaper proprietor has to collect his cash from door to door, as in our case, in eyery township. y,ud at scattered homesteads aty ' oyer

£rpyinpe..at! very considerable .expense, and cannot reckon with certainty upon a single shilling of the amount until it actually reaches his cash-box, bereft of a large percentage in collectors' costs alone. So long, as a banker has confidence in a ! newspaper proprietor, special consideration should in our opinion be shown him. Milton on this occasion has led off the ball in tbe longthreatened Bank parlor crisis, closely followed up by Balclutha, its sister township, and others throughout the Colony will, doubtless, follow in due course. It, therefore, becomes the duty of the Press of this Colony to speak out its mind on the present unseemly manoeuvres of our banking institutions, where unhampered from doing so by the exigencies of their several banking accounts, if only from a feeling of fellow sympathy for the early future, when the Press of the Colony will suffer severely from the long threatened dull times coming, for which we are unable otherwise to account than by the unwise action of our banking institutions —the National Bank occupying pre-eminence —in applying the brake too speedily upon their late actions in quite A a contrary direction. Tokomairiro secured the first Otago branch Bank, and we can safely affirm that the Bank of New Zealand has nowhere found a more profitable and remunerative field from first to last. Had that bank fully coped with the increasing requirements and enterprise of the district, the National Bank, or the Bank of Otago, would never have attained the position it occupied under its first managers, and which it has since forfeited, as a third banking institution would speedily discover were it now to step in and secure, a3 it undoubtedly would, a large and safe business. Every lane has its turning, and the silver lining is to be detected in the dark cloud which at present overhangs this district, which will assuredly reach a healthy state when other townships in turn are suffering from temporary depression. Like a contagious disease it will run its course according to a well established law of Nature, with whose modes of working we are nevertheless unfamiliar, and of whose action we can only judge from results. My private affairs have for once during the thirteen years existence of the Bruce Herai/d been allowed to occupy several columns of its space, —l sincerely trust to the benefit o£ the commercial morality o£ the Colony, if not to the purification of the Bank parlors of the National Bank of New Zealand (limited) throughout the Colony, if all arc possessed by similar occupants to that of the Milton branch at the present time, whose whole ability seems to be devoted to issuing writs " thick as autumnal leaves in Vallombrosa." As the Editor of the Bruce Heeald is, unlike some of his predecessors, too cautious a man and too old a pressman to' assume the responsibility of this perhaps strong but truthful statement of facts pure and simple, adopting the style of j the ' Evening Star' of a late issue, I assume all responsibility on my own personal head by subscribing myself JOSEPH MACKAY, Proprietor Bruce Heeald. ■

In consequence of the heavy rain, the Taieri races, to have taken place to-day, have been postponed until the 4th of May. European and other mails via San Francisco, will close at Milton at a quarter to 5 o'clock p.m. on Tuesday, the second of May. The Colperteur of the Otago Bible, Tract, and Book Society now occupies the premises next to Mr Nutsford's shop. He will remain there until the Ist of May. We have received the first number of the ' Evening Mail,' a new daily paper published at Oamaru. From the appearance of our new contemporary, we should say that it has every prospect of^a successful career. Good accounts come from the salmon breeding ponds at Wallacetown. The ova are hutching out satisfactorily, and it is expected that in a few days two or three thousand fry will have made their appearance. Wednesday's ' Gazette' contained notifications of the cancellation of 3053 acres on run 178, and I the setting apart of the same for application under agricultural leases; and of tho appointment of Mr F. G. Pogson, of Bare wood Station, Hindou, to be an honorary Inspector of Sheep. The ball in aid of the funds of the Milton Brass Band has been postponed until Friday, the sth of May, when it will be held in the Volunteer Hall. The services of a first-class quadrille band have been secured. We hear on good authority that Mr J. P. Maitland has been appointed Chairman of the Waste Lands Board. The name of Mr Maitland's successor as Resident Magistrate in this district has not transpired, although several gentlemen have been mentioned, I The proprietor of this newspaper has served the National Bank of New Zealand (Limited) I with notice of his intention to prosecute them in the Supreme Court of Otago for £15,000 damages ■ for their illegal, reckless conduct and breach of agreement in dishonoring certain bills, which they had funds in hand tp meet, and thereby yerj seriously affecting his credit }n business. The heayy and continuous rain that fell on Wednesday and Thursday caused the Toko-, mairiro river to rise several feet, and, a lavge ar«a pf lpw:lylng land in this neighborhood was flooded last night. We have not heard of much damage been dope, Imt had the flood occurred, before the sandbar afc the mouth pf the riverwas put, the consequences would h&Ye been dis» a3tr-ous. Me W. S. ChapmaK met with ft rather serious accident on Tuesday night. Ho was riding from Hilton to Waihola, aud, when near the bridge this side of Blues and Duthie's, h^s horse fell over a broken culvert. Mr Oliapman fell heavily to the ground, and had his leg broken through the hprs^e falling on him,. He managed to. crawl 'to' a bouse close by, and Mr Blues soon, after conveyed him to Milton in a spring-cart. He, i was taken to the Commercial Hotel, any placed ' Wer $W WW $ V* M'Ewn SteWlii

;, Tub -New Zealand • Gazette ' contains a proclamation summoning Parliament to meet on the 15th of June for the despatch of business. A petition praying that Waitahuna may bo proclaimed a road district will shortly be presented to his Honor the Superintendent. Me A. J. BttbnS, M.H.R., ia having a large two-story family residence erected at Mosgici. He was in Milton yesterday, and ordered from Mr S. Bedson a quantity of ornamental tiles for the lobbies and fireplaces of his new dwelling. The following gentlemen have been olected the Board of Conservators for the West Taieri River District, viz. : — Messrs James Allan, James Shand, John Dow, Peter Grant, W. H. Cox, Wm. Snow, P. M. Grant. Wbitiwo- of the Provincial Government land job, the * North Ofcago Times ' says :— " Conscientious, then, as we believe Mr Reid to be, he is inconsistent with his own avowed principles, and untrue to his party, Mien he lends himself to this gigantic scheme of land jobbery." j Teleq-haphic communication between Australia and Europe is now completely interrupted. The cable is broken about thirty-six miles from Port Darwiu. The Company's steamer Edinburgh will probably be sent to repair the break. Work at the Round Hill tunnel has been progressing satisfactorily during the last few weeks. The hill was pierced on Saturday last, and the men are now engaged taking out the bottom lift and removing the old wall. The remains of the late Mr Alexander Sutherland, of Waihola Gorge, were interred in the Fairfax Cemetery on Tuesday last. The deceased gentleman, who was an old resident in the district, was held in high esteem by the settlers, and a large number of persons attended the funeral. At the usual hour of meeting, on Wednesday evening, a sufficient number of members of the Milton Municipal Council had not put in an appearance to form a quorum. His Worship the Mayor and Crs. Inglis and Jones, with the Town Clerk, and our reporter, waited half an hour in vain ex- J peeling the arrival of another councillor, so that business might be proceeded with. It will be scon by our report of the proceedings in the Resident Magistrate's Court, Milton, yesterday, that a man named William Valentine, who lives somewhere in the neighborhood of Manuka Creek, endeavored, a few days ago, to play an exceedingly dirty trick upon Mr F. G. Johnstone. The attempt was unsuccessful, and cost Mr Valentine about £2. Naturally anxious that his meanness and disregard for the truth should not be made public, he called at this office yesterday and asked that the case might be suppressed. In accordance with our usual custom, we have given the matter as little publicity as possible. Oub travelling correspondent writes : — lt is very evident that there are good days in store for Waimate. Buildings are being erected in all quarters, the most prominent being the Club Hotel, belonging to Mr Potter, one of the largest and most commodious hotels to be met with between Dunedin and Christchurch, and Messrs Gaitt and Reid's new brick store, a Catholic chapel, and several other brick buildings are also in course of erection. Dueing the heavy gale blowing at Lyttelton last night (says' Thursday's 'Star'), the Union Company's s.s. Beautiful Star, while alongside Lyttelton wharf, received some damage and sprung a leak, which necessitated her being beached. Owing to the railway strike, she had been unable to discharge her Dunedin cargo, which of course is greatly damaged. From the same cause the Taupo was unable to discharge her cargo in the usual way, and, in order to enable her to proceed northward, her cargo had been transferred to the Beautiful Star. Thursday's 'Star' says: — The heavy rains have flooded the low-lying portion of Kensington and the Flat, and several portions of the northern end of the City are under water. The ground opposite the Turkish Baths is completely submerged. Last night's gale was the heaviest that has been experienced for a considerable time. The wind was so stormy as to blow several umbrellas inside out, and in more than one case night lanterns came to grief. A portion of Mr CargiU's concrete villa at the Forbury end of the Ocean Beach, in course of erection, under the supervision of Mr Petre, architect, was blown down, and it is -reported that several chimneys in various parls of the City and suburbs suffered greatly. We (N. O Times') are glad to bo able to note the commencement of what proinisoß to be a very considerable export of slate from this district. By the cutter Hope 11,000 slates have been forwarded to the Dunedin market, and we feel sure this will be the precursor of mai>y similar shipments. The slates in question are from the extensive quarries recently opened near Ofcepopo, which are being worked by a company formed under the name of the Otago Slate Company. The company has already about forty men in its employ, and will be able to turn out 12,000 slates a week to commence with. The slate is of first-class quality. It is difficult to over-estimate the value of this important addition to our mineral resources, more especially when there is reason to believe that the slate formation extends for some miles, specimens o j excellent slate having been show^ as ft, um l i n the immediate neighborhood, tf Hampdcn. There was ft, meeting of the Balelntha Town Council on Tuesday night. The Mayor and Crs. Mason, Dunne, Kilgour, Hope, and Hogg were present. The minutes of fcho previous meeting having been vead and confirmed, a letter was yeoeived from Messrs Potter and Doull, calling the attention of the Council to the state of Hasborough Place. It was stated that the work that ha.d been done on this road up to the present time had been paid for principally by private individuals. The firm was about to start a sawmill, and -trusted that the Council would t^s. step's to render the road fit for traffic, aa 6>ie mill would be in working orcle? in, about three weeks. The Mayor c^d <pouncillors present expressed their, gratification at the fact of a new industry having been started in the township,, and it wl--resolved to refer the matts* to thfl 1^ c Om . mittee, with p.o^er. to, act. T^era {ov \ he righfc to. graze stock jp $ w Si,. acre pa ddock were then opened, s^ that of Joseph Robertson at £36 5s j wtta acoepted, The Town Clerk was instructed i to call fai? applications for the office of valuator, Ifee ?emvinei'atio3 be #10, '

Mb David Kennedy, jun., of the talented " Kennedy Family," in his " Notes on New Zealand," published in tho ' North British Advertiser, and ' Ladies' Journal,' Edinburgh, writes : — "Waipawa is an embryo country town, with stores and a hotel. Two new banks had just been ' established ' here — that iB, two rival banks had, in expectation of this place becoming lively, sent two managers here. They lived at the same hotel, helped each other peaceably to beef and mutton at dinner, and smoked in the verandah together most part of the day. One held his bank in the hotel parlor, the other in the bar, though I am afraid the deposits were not very numerous." We regret to have to record the awfully sudden death of Mr James Wallaoe, who for many years has carried on business as wheelwright and undertaker in this township. On Wednesday Mr Wallace appeared to be in the enjoyment of his usual health, and during the evening was in company with several friends, speaking of the depressed state of business in Milton. He retired to rest at his usual hour, and awoke at about seven o'clock in the morning. Mrs Wallace noticed that he was trembling violently, and at length became so alarmed that she ( sent for the doctor, but before he arrived Mr | "Wallace was dead. The immediate cause of death is not known. The deceased was an industrious man, and was much respected in the district. He leaves a wife and nine children. An inquest will be held at the Milton Courthouse at ten o'clock this morniDg. Some years ago (writes our Lawrence correspondent) a large culvert was built in Boss Place, to convey the creek water into the main channel. It is now said that this caused a diversion upon the private property of Mr Wootton ; be that as it may, Mr Wootton was recently requested by the Town Council to allow them to cut a drain through his land to carry off the water. Mr Wootton declined to do so, and then the Local Board of Health gavo him notice to drain off the water, which had become an offensive nuisance, whereupon Mr Wootton commenced to fill in the ground complained of, aud it is likely he will complete this filling in. The result will be that tho water will have to flow down Ross Place and find its own outlet. The people here do not seem to take much notice of the matter, but they will find, if we get one of tlie old-fashioned floods, or any near approach to it, that some of them on the lower level will have to "paddlo their own canoes," and sing "I'm afloat."