STATE ADVANCES

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 10, 6 October 1932, Page 8

STATE ADVANCES

Effect of Low Prices RELIEF IN PAYMENTS Farmers in Difficulty The policy of the State Advances Office in dealing with farmers who find difficulty in meeting their mortgage obligations to the department is defined in the annual report of the department, which was presented to Parliament yesterday. The report states that where, owing to the low prices received for produce, farmers were unable to meet the half-yearly payments under their mortgage, the department was always prepared, subject to the limitations of the Act, to extend to all bona fide cases the utmost relief. Mortgagors, however, must realise that their obligations to the department, as first mortgagee, were to be met before any payments were made in respect of subsequent encumbrances, the report says. Notwithstanding the conditions prevailing during the past few years, 66 per cent, of the settlers paid their Instalments within the rebate period, thus obtaining a concession of £ per cent, reduction in their interest payments. The percentage of arrears to the funds outstanding at the close of the year was 3.218 per cent. The report stated that during the past year the State Advances Board had authorised 783 advances to settlers amounting to £571,790. Mortgages and instalments of principal repaid for the year amounted to £702,680 and the amount of interest collected was £953,557. Since its inception in 1894 the department had advanced to settlers £42,192,505. During that period the losses made were £415,027, or 19/8 in every £lOO of the amount advanced. Advances to workers authorised totalled 316 and amounted to £200,145. Mortgages and instalments of principal repaid for the year amounted to £439,574/4/1. The amount of interest collected was £673,557/1/7. Since the commencement of the Advances to Workers Act in 1906 the department had advanced to workers the sum of £21,363,757. The losses made during that period amounted to £55,034/8/-, or 5/2 in every £lOO of the amount advanced.