LOANS GRANTED

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 285, 28 August 1931, Page 10

LOANS GRANTED

City’s Applications RELIEF WORK £lO,OOO £ll,BOO To Complete Tunnel An announcement that the Local Government Loans Board had approved loans of £lO,OOO for unemployment relief, and £ll,BOO for completing the Alouut Victoria tunnel, was made by the Mayor, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop,* at last evening's meeting of the City Council. Although the full amount asked for in the Mount Victoria loan—£l6,ooo—had not been granted, the Mayor said he thought the work should proceed. „ . “The application came before the board yesterday, and was approved, with the provision that the board will not agree to-any of the money being spent for the purpose of subsidising the tramway part of the proposal—it must be spent entirely on supervision and supply of tools and materials," the Mayor said, referring to the unemployment loan. That meant that interest and sinking fund would have to be paid out of revenue. It had been provided, too, that the amount included in the loan for supervision must not include engineering or clerical supervision. That made nd difference to the council’s original plans. . Councillor C. H. Chapman expressed gratification that the lo'an had been approved. ' Referring to the Mount Victoria tunnel supplementary loan, the Mayor said the council - had asked for the .whole £16,000 so as to complete .the work, although the actual amount estimated to be necessary was £15,100. With the £ll,BOO that had been granted, the council was left with about £3OOO short of the required amount, unless economies couid be effected in the work itself. ... “I suggest we go on, and if it does cost us the full £3OOO we can meet it out of our trading departments, which will carry us on till March next, arid then out of revenue next year. If, eventually, trams do run through the tunnel, we will have the benefit of the tramway department s £lO,OOO, and then we would have £7OOO over the required amount in hand." Apart from ah inquiry from Councillor J. N. Wallace, , who asked why the Loans Board had reduced the loan to £ll,BOO, councillors had no comment to make, and proceeded to the next business.