LOCAL BODIES' LOANS.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16985, 6 November 1920, Page 8

LOCAL BODIES' LOANS.

TOO MANY APPLICATIONS,

(special to "the rnEss.")' WELLINGTON, November 5. In regard to the difficulty experienced by municipalities in borrowing money at o-V per cent., Mr Massey said that lie would bo very glad to look into the difficulty, for it was a. difficulty. He had had a number of communications from local bodies on the same lines. The difficulty was that there were so many applications by local bodieß for loans that there was not enough money to go round. A day or two ago one of the Treasury officials had called his attention to tho fact that there were ten million pounds worth of applications from local bodies, and said that it was impossible to lind the money for them. This was in addition to loans in connexion with which promises had been made. The position we had got into was that the local bodies were competing ono with another for the money in tho country. If that position continued, instead of money being available at oj or G per cent., it was going up to eight or ten per cent., and that would not be good for anybody. He wished to inform tho local bodies, the members, and the country, of the position into which wo had got. We filiould attempt to remedy it by deferring all the less urgent works. There was not enough money to go round among those who wanted it, and there was not likely to be for another six months.