DUAL POSITIONS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 207, 29 May 1936, Page 13

DUAL POSITIONS

Chairman of Mortgage Corporation TRIBUTE TO SIR W. HUNT A tribute to the work of Sir William Hunt as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mortgage Corporation was paid by the Minister of Finance, Hon. W. Nash, when moving the second reading of the State Advances Corporation Bill in the House of Representatives last night. All the evidence obtained from the administrators of the corporation, said Mr, Nash, suggested that Sir William had given excellent service.

Mr. Nash said that the managingdirectors of the corporation had advised him that Sir William Hunt’s experience of Ute mortgage and lands position of the Dominion had been invaluable, for certainly bis experience ou these questions was not surpassed by any one in the Dominion. At the same time he was satisfied that the attitude adopted by the then Opposition when the Mortgage Corporation Bill was before the House was the correct one. Their view was that it was impracticable for Sir William to serve all the time as chairman of the A.M.P., which was largely interested in the mortgage business, Wright, Stephenson and Co., of which he was managingdirector, and also the Alortgage Corporation. The Alinister made it clear he was not questioning Sir William’s integrity, but said it was inevitable that there must be at some time a conflict of interests, which perhaps might not be known of at the moment.

The managing-directors, Mr. A. D. Park and 51 r. T. N. Smallwood, were particularly able men. Mr Park was well known as former head of the Treasury and Mr. Smallwood bad had a long experience of the mortgage business. The feeling of the Government was that these two gentlemen should continue in the terms of their contract.