STATE ADVANCES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 774, 24 March 1910, Page 9

STATE ADVANCES.

• HOW LOANS ARE ALLOCATED. "NECESSARY" WORKS FIRST. BY THE PREMIER. ■ Some \ interesting observations with reference to the method-of'allocating .''-loans ~to .local bodies under the State Guaranteed-Advances Act were made to & Dominion reporter by the Prime Minister yesterday..' ... Sir Joseph ; said that the'total amount of applications for loans dealt with at . the recent meeting of the States Advances Board was £1,400,155. The total amount provisionally approved— : i£612,000-7nmst bo'.admitted; to be an large .sum.' In no previous period of twelve mouths had'the amount of money advanced to local bodies direct . exceeded £200,000. It was his opinion that the board had rightly given preference: to advances for. the purposes tof; sewerage, drainage, water supply! land , roads, and bridges. Whilst quite .■ in every way, 'applications for tramways, electric light and gasworks : the. building of municipal : theatres could not be: granted, to the prejudice of applications from places I "that would be .very thankful to have those ordinary requirements which could in no way be regarded.as luxuries pro'.vided:for them.. The whole of the applications' were dealt with fairly, but of necessity, the board had to discriminlattf between what one might ■ regard as ■ •;. necessary.,....essentials for the practical ■ : OSes!of..-i-the people as."against those Which,, although,useful, did not come Under •the .category. . It ■_ was i astonishing (Sir Joseph continued) ;how everybody appeared to Jvant ; -to have everything. done at once :in this :matter. v , To have told any local body 18 months ago that it could have -got'-a portion of its loan at the rate of 3* per cent.—and.that £612,000 would be approved at one meeting of ■the board—would' have been doubted. !In a few cases, applicants not being able to bbtain'loans for electric trams or -for some other such' purpose were \np Vdoußt disappointed. The general public,-/however, would recognise that "; Buoh' ; undertakings' should- not' rank ahead- of'drainage, sewerage, water supply,: and roads and'bridges. "I am quite'.-sure," . remarked ,Sir Joseph,"that in. , the case of Karori,-for in-' stance, the' security ■ is all -right: and that the .'suburb is a-rising one, but where -'applications''-,', totalling over £1,400,000 are in .for the first meeting of:-the -board to deal- with,-those, who imagine that such. a sum would bs granted right off must- have extraordinary ideas as to the. way in which financial operations, even for local public bodies, cair be carried Vont; I make this remarkv in consequence; of some observations made regarding, statements made, by me. in connection- with assist,anco to local public, bodies some time ago. "-What,,l stated has.been.fulfilled tothe letter: I certainly have never said : that every application of a local ■public bodyfor any purpose that it requires to devote money to will be granted.', And, ..assuming- that such a thing v;ere' possible, -no board would bo justified jn letting tho whole available 'money at ...possessed out , .at once.?' ■'■ -■ ' _ : 1n... conclusion, Sir Joseph said that ■he was; .quite • confident.-/.the: system would: confer an immense public- boon upon the local bodies. But like in, everything else common- sense would •• " sC< l an d patience exfercised. Whilst'.doing what was reasonable-for the. public bodies requiring money:'for' legitimate works itho Advances Board ■ of necessity, must botlnioWand in tho ■tuture be-careful in discriminatins; as to what ; class of works should receive nrst consideration • esi>ecially when such a large sum as ho had referred to had bceir applied-.for.'. ."One thing-is.'cer-tain, Sir. Joseph .added, "and that is that whether •a ' complaint here and there araesc-r not, the 'goose-that lays the goldon egg' will, not be killed 'in order to .meet unreasonable people who' regard .works in the shape, of luxuries for winch they.'Njply as being.'of paramount impoi-tance, and that thev Bhould be given preference and bV granted -at once, to the exclusion'of the application of ' other local bodies tor more urgent public ."works." ' ■