Cromwell Argus AND NORTHERN GOLDFIELDS GAZETTE Cromwell: Tuesday, September 3, ’95.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXVII, Issue 1375, 3 September 1895, Page 4

Cromwell Argus AND NORTHERN GOLDFIELDS GAZETTE Cromwell: Tuesday, September 3, ’95.

The Bank of New Zealand last week occupied pride of place in the deliberations of the House. All else gave place to this momentous question; and although a fairly accurate forecast of the Committee of Investigation’s report had been made public, the report itself was waited for with much expectation. When this appeared, it did not belie the forecast; on the contrary, it confirmed the worst fears of the Bank’s position, and laid bare in detail its weak spots. The country has become so accustomed to this Institution’s never-ending wants and periodic patchings-up, that its reappearance in the rtlt of a financial edition of the hero in Dickens’ “ Oliver Twist” with hungry eyes and famished frame “ Asking for more,” was anything but a surprise. To some extent indeed., it might even be termed a relief, were it for no other reason than to get within measurable distance of bed-rock bottom, for the present at least. The country’s experience in the past in respect to ascertaining the real position of the Bank has been so disappointing and so far from reassuring, that there is little wonder if an element of scepticism exists pretty generally as regards the question of the Bank being on solid ground, even after the legislation now before the House is given effect to. 'What certainly lends color to such a possibility is the fact, which cannot be got away from, that the investigations of the Committee which has just handed in its report must, from the short period of time allowed to it, necessarily be of a perfunctory, or, at any rate, a vicarious nature ; and the worst'point in this unavoidable delegation of the duties is that the detail work had to be done by the Bank officers. Of course, as against this, there is the safeguard of the President, who is a nominee of, and represents the Government in the Bank’s affairs. All the same, an independent valuation, and an independent and thorough investigation into every‘detaii of the Bank’s business by practical men, would have been more satisfactory than a committee of parliamentarians, who, for the most part, were unfitted to understand the mass of figures submitted to them, while those who may be credited with a fair grasp of figures had no time to do anything else than accept the abstract balances and amounts put before them. However, it is no use now writing of what should have been done ; the bill giving effect to the recommendation of the Committee may be said to have passed into law, and the Colony, for weal or_j!or woe, stands committed to a five-sixths’ interest in the B N.Z., aggregating £2,500,000, and, in addition, takes over and pays for in 3£ per cent, debentures £2,734,000 worth of property from the Estates Company. This latest patch up may be briefly described as follows : Government frees the “ second million,” and hands it over to the Bank for use in its general business, and, in addition to this and the first million, takes £500,000 preferential shares to bear interest at par cent., making a total interest in the Bank of five-sixths, the shareholders subscribing a new £500,000 worth of shares, the old capital of shareholders £900,000, and the call, the last part of which is now being got in, and which will, it is estimated, amount to £450,000 being both wiped off. The Estates Company’s properties, with a face value of £2,734,000 are to be banded to a Realisation Board, and Government are to hand to the Bank, debenl urea for a like amount, carrying 3J per cent, interest. Out of the profits of the Bank, after interest at the rate of 4 per cent, on the £2,000,000 guarantee, and per cent, on the Government’s preferential shares of £500,000 has been provided for, the sum of £60,000 annually, and such sum in addition thereto as may be forthcoming after a 6 per cent, dividend (if such can be declared) has been paid to the Bank shareholders on their new capital of L500,0U0, is to be handed to the Realisation Board to provide for the difference between the face value and the sum which may eventually be realised for the properties. The Government’s position to the Bank may be summarised thus: Guaranteed 4 per cent, loan to Bank L 2,000,000; preferential 3| per cent, shares to be subscribed L 500,000 ; per cent, debentures to be given the Bank in exchange for Estates Company’s properties L 2,734,000, or a total advance of L 5,234,000. The et per contra of this enormous liability may be set forth thus : Security on all freehold and leasehold properties o£ the Estates Company, to-

gether with stock and plant thereon, estimated at L 1,879,00 latest valuation ; and the entire reversionary interest of the Bank of New Zealand, as, to secure the Colony against loss the shareholders are to give a lien not only over the new L 500,000 which is to be called up, but also over the remaining L 500,000 of uncalled liability. When these changes have been given effect to, it is asserted that the B.N.Z. will have arrived in harbor, ready and willing to ship fresh cargo to any port in the world to which it will pay to go. Its tonnage capacity is expected to be so large, and its eagerness to increase its earning power so great that it is prepared to swallow the Colonial Bank at one gulp, and, with that view, provision is taken in the new Banking Bill for amalgamation or absorption of other banks. Whether the needs of this hydra headed monster of New Zealand finance will stop short at the Colonial Bank, or whether some other institutions will fall a prey to the necessity of enhancing its earning power, time and experience alone can tell. It has bulked largely in New Zealand politics of late years, has unsettled finance and provided as arm chairs and couches for merchants and traders, a smouldering volcanoe. It is to be hoped that permanent relief is at length attained, that the weight which the Government has to carry will not be increased and that, though the process of unloading the burden will necessarily be prolonged into a decade or two of years, eventually the colony may emerge with but little loss. The dislocation of trade and commerce, which the liquidation of the B.N.Z. would undoubtedly have caused, is an undoubted gain, but the cost for the present is severe. Practically it means increasing the public debt by £5,234,000, a sum which should have been spent on public works to open up settlement.

We have received a copy of the proposed new regulations of the Otago Education Board, and as the local Teachers’ Institute meets shortly, we shall make a few remarks on these regulations. The great differences between the proposed regulations and those at present, in force, are : (1) By the new regulations schools and school teachers are both classified, and each position in the Board’s service has to be filled by a teacher of a certain fixed status. (2) That teachers can be promoted only to a class immediately higher to the one the is at present in, thus making “step by step ” the rule of the service. This admirable principle is embodied in regula tion 32 —“ no teacher shall be promoted except to a class next higher than the class from which he is promoted, may be regarded as the keystone of the whole scheme. If this regulation be deleted, and its safety is not assured, the vital principle of the scheme is taken from it, and the classification business becomes a farce. This regulation is strenuously objected to by the assistants in large town schools, as it would prevent them from taking the beadmastership of the schools they are at present in. They coaid only attain to the beadmastership ot these schools after being headmaster of schools with an attendance of from three to five hundred, such schools as those at Oamaru, Kaitangata, and Mosgiel. This of course does not suit the books of the fortunate young men holding positions as assistants in town schools. The present mode of procedure is ; first of all, to get a position as jiu.ior assistant in such a school, and by effluxion of time and family interest move up until the beadmastership is attained. In order not to disappoint country candidates, the Board ought to add the warning “No country teacher need apply ” to advertisments calling for applications to fill such positions when a vacancy occurs. The new regulation 32 puts an end to this promotion of a teacher, gained solely by “ holding fast to that which he hath.” Consequently the “Tite Barnacle’’family and “ their sisters and their cousins and their aunts ” are in a state of ferment, and are lobbying tooth and nail against the clause. The members of the Education Board are called upon to decide, when these regulations come to be finally passed, whether the welfare of the great majority of their servants, who are doing good work in all sorts of remote and unpleasant places, is to be sacrificed to the selfishness and greed of a dozen—that’s the number—teachers, who already hold choice positions, bub who will not budge, being determined to wiu advancement rather by “ Tite Barnacle-ism ” than by taking charge of a suburban school of three or four hundred pupils, receiving a salary of £3OO, but, ay, here’s the rub, not getting back in to the position they now look upon as theirs by heritage, but which, under the new rule, would only become theirs by competition. It behoves the country teachers, as a body, to unite in protesting against the perpetuation of this state of affairs. It is better for them to fall out with their fellow professionals than to lose for ever their chance of earning promotion to the highest positions in the service. The setting up of an Appointment Committee is a step in the right direction, and this committee could be improved by the inclusion of a teacher elected by the teachers of the province. But appointments will never be satisfactorily made until the Board practically take the power of selection out of the hands of committees. At present all sorts of influences, very often of a family nature, lead to an appointment being made. The laU three or four appointments of assistants in and around Dunedin amply bear this out; the surname of the successful candidate is found on the list of members of committee. The idea of regulation 25, in which the Board binds itself to take into consideration (1) teaching skill; (2) literary attainments; (3) length of service ; (4) special suitability of applicant; and (5) to recognise claims of teachers who have served the Board well iu out of the way places, the idea is, we say, excellent, but unless regulation 32 be retained, the idea will simply, in most cases, remain an idea. Regulation 38, excepting teachers who hold a D certificate prior to July 1888, is very objectionable. It is simply giving, in the way of status, a bonus to age, and age already receives a good substantial cash bonus, and will receive it until shifted to another school. This regulation almost appears to be framed to meet some few individual cases. We believe the regulations would be improved by its deletion. The injustice in the distribution of bonuses still continues, but we cannot expect too much at once, Mr Cohen and his supporters deserve the warmest thanks of all the teachers of the province for their endeavors on their behalf..