Mr Beauchamp's Address.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14993, 13 June 1914, Page 10

Mr Beauchamp's Address.

The address of Mr Harold Bcauchamp, Chairman of the Bank of- New Zealand ,• at tho annual meeting of shareholders held yesterday, was, as usual, instructive and interesting. Tho Bank of New Zealand has again had a most succcessful year, and we are glad to see that tho directors havo marked their appreciation of tho work- of the staff by. a bonus on their salaries. The public share iv tho prosperity of tho Ban_' in a measure, seeing that, independently of the dividend on the shares owned by the State, there is somo £57,000 per annum paid in taxation, local and general. Wo venture to suggest, however, that tho time has now oomo when tho Board might vory well tako into consideration the* policy of making some concession to tho customers,

from whom the splendid results shown in tho balance-sheet are derived. Thero are two directions in which this might bo done. The rates of local exchange aro so high as to constitute a serioustax on the mercantile community, and, in our opinion, theso rates ought to bo reduced. A charge of, say, Is per cent., instead of 2s 6d, as at piresent", would, wo think, bo perfectly fair, a minimum of 6d being preserved. It is also questionable whether the Bank is justified in making a charge of 10s a year on all accounts. Such a charge is perfectly fair and reasonable in tho case of small accounts which are kept by the Bank at little or no profit, but it is looked upon as an exaction by customers whoso business is a source of profit to the Bank.

Tho portions of Mr Beauchamp's address which will be read with most interest by tho mercantilo community aro ihoso in which, he'deals with the improvements in the English money market and the position and prospects of New Zealand trade. Although money is decidedly easier than it was, there is, as Mr Boauchamp showed, a hugo demand for capital, and new applications at the rate of 100 millions a quarter cannot continue for long without affecting alike the market for both new and existing securities. In reference to the prosperous conditions of New Zealand trade, Mr Massey's speech at tho Dunedin Winter Show had prepared the public for the gratifying facts and figures disclosed in 3lr Beauchamp's address. The producing power of

this little country is remarkable, indeed, and so far as ono can see we aro on th© threshold of yet further developments. Our exports for last year reached the record fitmro of £22,049,660, an increaso of £920,964, or 4.3 per cent, as compared with 1912-13, which year exhibited an incsease of over £3.500,000 as compared with 1911-12. Tho increases for the past year are derived mainly from dairy produce and frozen meat. With new and expanding markets opening up on the great American continent, with an, increaso of shinning facilities to Vancouver and San Francisco, to say nothing of possible trade with Eastern ports via tho Panama Canal, and with a German line of steamers 6tarting to dovoloD trade with Continental ports, it would seem as if New Zealand wero on tho eve of further expansion which will make even her recent progress seem tamo by comparison. Mr Beauchamp has again furnished a warning note, however, regarding the continual increase in the prico of land, and it would certainly seem that, so far at least as dairying land is concerned, it is time to call a halt, unless tho production of milk is ! larpely increased by moro careful selection of cows and other up-to-dato methods. If wo are to take full advantage of the world-wide demand for our produce, threo things are necessary: land settlement must be actively encouraged, and ample sunplies both of capital and labour must bo forthcoming. Mr Massey has shown that he is fully alive to the importance of land settlement and capital is coming forward much more freely for investment now that confidence has been restored by the more careful administration of tho Government. We still require, however, immigrants of the right $ort—men able and willing to do farm work, and also domestic servants. Tho policy of putting more land on the market will bo onj-n- a partial success unless labour can be found to work it successfully. At present, c%en tho land already occupied is not being used to the best advantage simply because there is not the labour available to make it fully Tiroductive.