THE BANK BTLL. THE THIRD READING CARRIED.

Evening Post, Volume L, Issue 53, 2 September 1895, Page 4

THE BANK BTLL. THE THI RD READING CARRIED.

WHAT THI3 DIRECTORS HA.VK DONE. After we went to proas on Saturday afternoon, the debate in tho Honso on the third roading of '.he Bank of New Zealand and Banking Bill was continued. The Premier said the colony had passed through a trying time. The sourco of the Bank's troaoles was not within tho colony. Last year the Government had had to act ; npon the declaration of the Bank, and had k done all in its power to obtain the fulloit information available. Ministers' action was quite warranted upon the information they then had. Mr. Foster plaoed the position of tho Estates Company completely before the Committee, showing its earning power to 'ac 308 per oent. The report showed thi.t the statements made last year by Mr. Murray were substantially correct The soheme to separate the Estates Company from the Bank was the best that oould have been devised. He was in favour of a State Bank, but not in favour of one that would govern the commerce of tho country. For the first time hope had been given to tbe shareholders for the first time shareholders knew their true position. The reserved ottpital would be forthcoming, ami the earning power was not over-estimated Mr. Ward in London only said what ho should have said from the information then at bis command. The policy of graai.ing the Dunking trouble manfully had settled it for ever. The Government had saved *'\a country, and he looked forward with confidence to the returns of the Bank that will be laid upon the table noit year. Everyone had aoted conscientiously in this matter. Mr. Duthie said that the deficiency would take a long time to make up. The shareholders cculd only hope that the Bank would mske a profit. It was without capital. (The Premier— " Half a million.) That was no oapital at all. There was not one penny piece of solid capital. It was a most extraordinary proceeding, almost bordering upon insanity. He could notaccept the Premier's f anoif ul piotnres of the Bank clearing up and meeting its deficiencies. At the best the aotion of the Government was only staving I off the «v d day. If the Government wanted I money to-morrow it could find it within 24 B houri. There would have been soarcely any difference had the Bank closed its doors. He ■ had telegrams from all parts of the colony Btiting that there was no dread of any panic if the Bank olosed. Tbiß oonntrj was in a sound, substantial condition. No property was inflated ; everything was down to bed-rook. The commercial world would not have been affeoted. A State Bank would only end in failure. The Minister for Lands said that if the Bank went down widespread pania would result. Mr. Dutbie was either not so astute as he once was, or else he was giving utterance to opinions that were not his own. Thf Bank of New Zealand had never put any pressure upon the Government -had never held a pintol to its, ear as Mr. Bell had said If the Government had not taken the mattei in hand, it would have been blamed for in aotivity. He deplored the insinuations and inuendoa of members as to the Government being responsible for the position of the Bank. Each member in the House was responsible only to his own conscience. The Government had done the best it oould, and trusted that things would come out as satisfactorily as was anticipated. Mr. Pirani said he had never given a vote with bo much pain aB the vote he gave, from conscientious motives, against the second reading of the Bill, if Mr. Murray did not mislead the Government last year, he misled the manager' of the Colonial Bank in the proposed amalgamation. If tbe Government 1783 not misled, it had misled the House. Last year tho amalgamation proposals had been laughec. out of .he Honee. Now the colony way committed to a liability of three millions Tbe House laughed at the idea of borrowing one million to settle the unemployed diffi culty, and now expended five millions tc settle a handful of shareholders. Mr. T. Thompson said the result of dosing the Bank would have been most disastrous The Bill was the lesser of two evils. Mr. liall-Jones considered the end was not yet. By the proposals of the Bill th< poorer üboreholders would be weeded out There 'ironld he a large deficiency for th> 'Bank to meet. Mr. M'Nab said he voted both against thf amendment to kill the Bill and the Bill itself, as he was interested as a shareholder in the Bank. He disapproved the Bil. altogether. Mr. Hogg supported the Bill up to 5 3( p.m. and after 7 p.m., when the sitting wat resumed. Mr. Morrison was disgusted with th< whole matter. There was no alternative but to come to the assistance of the Batik, but the colony had accepted a huge liability Mr. G. W. Bussell said when the twe millions were guaranteed last year the oolony became tbe predominant factor ii the Bank. The Liberal legislation of the Government had much to do with preventing the tale of the Waikato estates, as settler* preferred to take Ci own lands on lease ii perpetuity. The Government should takt the major part of these estates under thi Lands for Settlement Bcbeme. Very violent whipping had been indulged in in inference to the amalgamation proposals. (The Minister for Education— "l hat ia incorrect "j The Government atrained every effort tc secure it. Mr. (i. Hutohison said the opponents ol the Bill, reoruited from both sides of tht House, represented the trne interests ol democracy in opposing every stage. Not one of its supporters expressed himself af satisfied. Their explanations were apolo g- Mo. The most openly-expressed influence was tho fear of consequences of rejeotin^ the proposals. 1 bis fear had Keen created by means whioh would not bear disonssioi. under the rules of debate. The Minister foi Lands told the Committee that if the propoßals were not adopted there would bt increase of the Land Tafc The Minister for Lands said what ho told the Committee was that any increase ii taxation must fall on land. Mr. Hutohison said there were on the Committee large landed proprietors whom •^ the statement influenced. Ihe Ecbemo wa> palliation, not cure. The spectacle of the Minister for Lands associated with the greal landed proprietors of the oolony was a sight for gods and men. The influence of anothei bank was traceable throughout. 3be Trea surer was a well-known friend of the Colonial Bank, who assisted it through the recess bj giving it i! 150,000 of public monoy. If th< Committee's findings were based on tlit evidence of the President of the Ban), it was strangely inconsistent with his state ment at the half-yearly meeting, when he said the Directors had satisfied them selves that with the call then made the earning power of the Bank would be placed beyond doubt, and no further call would be necessary. Liquidation would be better for the shareholders than this scheme, whioh would favour only the " overdrafters," past, present, and to come. The Premier had referred to the Bank as a patient round whom the doctors were gathered, but the surgeon's knife had not out deep enough, and the germs of the cancer were still in tht body in the trading concerns not to be handed over, and representing nearly a ' million. The Minister for Labour eaid Mr. Hntchi son stuck at nothing to oppose the Bill Members were so lost to a sense of responsi bility as to make most reckless assertions. No one could eipresa unmitigated oatisfaction with regard to the events of the week, but they had done the best they could under moE.I difficult circumstances. They had taken o very great responsibility in the hope oi doing good to the country, not as was in•innated to cover up or hide what was done last session. Last -session they acted upoi. the advice of Mr. John Murray and his assurance that they were placing the Bank in a aeoure position. That policy failed, but there waß good reason to hope that what was being done now would be successful. On the Committee were members in no wa> allied to the Government or either of the Banks, and who had great politioal capital to gain by wreoking the Government who came to- the conclusion that to avert a crisis the oolony should give im mediate and effeotual ' aid to the Bank These gentlemen would soon have detected any tcherao or intrigue such as member asserted existed. Ihe Government did not want to identify its name with any Bank The sneer at the Colonial Treasurer as a friend of the Colonial Bank was unworthy There was not a business man in the country who was not connected with some Bank and they oould with just as muob reason therefore, be aocused as friends of the foreign Banks. Ihe Committee was convinced that some absorption Hoheme was neoeaaary. The House had in it a majoritj of untrammelled and independent men who would deal with such a scheme on its merits. They were getting very solid advantage from the Bill in getting abundant land for settlem f n l' Tnoybad only to look abroad to see what the effect might be should tho Bankhave olosed. In Sydney there was no boom at the time of the Bank crisis, yet the dieaster was lamentable, and the working classes were the greatest sufferers. Mr. Buick said the speeohes of Mr. Reeves were always clever, but seldom convincing He accused membrrs of being commercial wreckers beoause they opposed the tfank Bill, but this Bank had been an industrial wreoker by carrying on ruinous competition with various industries all over the oolony. In Auckland it reduced flour at its mills by .£1 a ton to kill its opponents and gain a monopoly. The Premier It had prophesied that Mr. G. Hutchiaon would oppose all his proposals. Mr. Seddon knew Mr Hutchison waß better informed in the matter than Ministers. He opposed the principle of the country's crodit beiDg used to bolster up any private institution, especially when the position was ■>ronght about by internal evils, from what had happened in this dase it was evident that the Loan and Mercantile Agency Company made a mistake in not doming to Government also, when it might have been upheld and carried on. -There was no finality i ia tbe soheme proposed Dr. Newman said the connection of the i Bank with the colony had been one long i vourae. Ihe Bill was most vicious, and ought i loever to have been introduced. The ' more he looked into tbe position tbe t more unhappy it seemed. There was 1 no finality in tbe Bank coming to the t colony for assistance. Jt was a oalamity that at a tme when there was stagna- £ tion m public works Government should ( seek to put go much money into the " gap " f It was nothing short of national humiliation c and national disgrace that such legislation I abonld be passed. The oolony was in all ( committing itself to a liability of .£B,OOO 000 * on behalf the Bank. f ;; 1 Mr. O'Retran said last year we bad a I M»V,marria(?e ceremony, and JNew Zealand might be likened to a bride sacrificed on the (: unholy altar of expediency. 'He regretted (: having voted for last year's Bill. If tbe (1 Hank of New Zealand had tho right to h demand assistance, other banks had the X ■ame right, and if that right was recognised fc what moat be the effeot on the colony at (I large P The triok Mr. Murray played on (1 tbe oolony last year was nothing short of H that of a politioal adventurer. It would A

havfl been infinitely better if the Bank had lioeu allowed to go into luiuutauou. i Government had refused to gnivranteo the Bank laat year any disaster would have been of a mo9t transitory nature, and on the other hand thero would havo been thrown on the market a large number of ostatea which would have provided ampin lands for settlement. Sir Robert Stout said tho voting by the Honso on the disqualification clause wa 1 evidenco to the Ministry that memberß werp heartily sick of the system of tho spoils to tho victors. Members should refrain from attacking the Bank which was so inoxtricably mixed up with tho colony. The success of any Bank was dependent on confidence, and they should be careful not to prevent the recovery of confidence. It was to bo regretted that Ministers had made Patty speeohes, though those of the Premier and the Minister for Education wore exactly contrary in tone. The one wished to cast responsibility on the members, while the other sought to justify the action of the Government last year. The Government oould not be divested of its responsibility. The valuations given to the Committee this year were made in 1891, and should have been available to the Government last year. Had it asked for them they would have shown the deficiency between the book value and the ascertained value, and had the House known that the two millions would not have been given. (The Premier said Mr. Murray had assured them otherwiso ) The main losses were known then The i! 200,000 deficiency was in Australia, and was not known till February. It waa safer for the colony to allow the Bank to try and work out its destiny rather than close itd doors. It had a large goodwill, which had even now a considerable value. It ough to retrieve itself. Their legislation had affected this institution, and it was unduly affeoting commerce and industry. Government must take care that it appointed the best men to the Realisation Board, abßOlutely irrespective of politios, if confidence waa to be restored. If they went forwari with hope they would see the Bank restored to a sound position, and becoming a oredit to the colony and its institutions. Mr. Saundera said the Bill had been much improved in Committee. Mr. Ballance pledged himself to non-borrowing, Mr. Seddon pledged himself to carry out Mr. Ballanoe's policy, and Mr. Ward in his first Finanoial Statement avowed a non-borrow-ing policy, yet Mr. Ward had been borrowing in many forms, and this Bill provided further borrowing. Therefore he could not snpport it. Mr. R. Thompson said that anyone who had watched events of the past week or so must have become very Buspioioui The order of reference to the Committee was carefully drawn up to produce a certain result, and that result and the soheme was known in various quarters weeks ago A number of members still wished to speak, and as it waa evident that in Buch case the debate must extend over Monday, the Premier personally went round the Houße seeing individual members, and then announced that the Government haddeoided certain 1 amendments must be made in the Council, and when these oame baok the number of members who desired to speak would be given an opportunity. Mr Crowther said the position waa that this was not our Bank, though it was our money. He had failed to eeoure control by the finders of the money. Mr. T. Mackenzie having made an explanation, The Treasurer said it was the easiest thing in the world to find fault. While members had ungenerously criticised the Joint Committee, not one of them had been able to suggest any way out of the difficulty. It did not matter to these member* that the Committee consisted of independent men. In marked contradistinction to the Leader of the Opposition and some other members of his Party, men like Mr. K. Thompson and Mr. G. Hutchison sought to make political capital out of the difficulty and the strain which was placed upon Ministers In Loiidon he told the shareholders that he could not promise that another call would not bo made. What the ibaroholders had before them was the speech of the President at the meeting of the shareholders. It was only in June that the actual position of the £states Company was knonn to the directors of the Bank. Mr. Walter Johnston and Mr Bonth had inspt cted nearly every property of the Estates Company with a view to ascertaining the truth. Another director went to A uatralia, and went through the books and properties there, and the Gcueral Manager waa sent to London to do the same there. It was Lot till June that the results were known, and the whole truns fer of the books of tho Estates Company from the head office in London to Wellington had to be made before the position could bo fully ascertained. Such imputations as were made by Mr. George Hutchison were unworthy of any honourable man. The Government waa not misled by Mr. Murray (Various members -•" The Premier said so."), and the Government did not mislead the House It was probably an arguable point whether they were right in their judgment of this two millions being required, but it was evident since that it was required. (Mr. Collins — " You said it waa sufficient and final ") That was to on the information then available. (Mr. Collins — " Then you were misled.") Tho first proposition was not for two millions of stock, but that increase of phare capital It was only when tho A gent-General cabled advising staok that the ohango was made from shares to stock. Had tho share capital been raised instead of stock there « culd have been no need for tbe Bank to come to the House for farther share capital now. '1 here were few members who did not know for some time before the two millions was asked last year that the Bank was weak. The Government knew, and the previous Government knew, that the institution was weak. (Mr. T. Mackenzie — " What about the Governor's Speech '") The Bank had previously come to ask f(jr authority for fresh share capital, and it was only when it failed to get this capital that it afked the House to come to its assistance. Members with this knowledge conld not divest themselves of their liability. Last year he saw the necessity to separate the Estates Company from the Bank of New Zealand and told the House co, and after June, when the Directors discovered the losses of the Auokland Agricultural Company and placed the whole position before the Government, the Government would have been failing in its duty had it not come to the House and set up the Joint Committee. (Mr T. Mackenzie — " Why did you not give ua a Committee last year?") It would have been absurd to do so, as the information was not then available. Any Committee would have required Bix or twelve months then to investigate, and delay would have meant disaster to the country. (Mr. T. Mackenzie — ' No.") Three-fourths of the colony sdd "yes." Ministers had telegrams from all parts of the colony saying they were doing therightthing. (Dissent, and Mr. Pirani suggested "Mr. Hallenstoin, of the D.I. C." — Mr. Hallenstein was on the floor of the House ) Members who taid otherwise were out of touch with the people. Mr. G. Hutchison waa referring to his (Mr. Ward's) private affairs in and out of the House. If he wanted to do that he was prepared to meet him in his own district, and discuss his private affairs, and Mr. Hutchison might do the same in Inveroargill. Lying statements had been made of him (Mr. Ward) in the lobbies, and it was unfair for any man to make suoh statements. (Hear, hear.) The Boheme of the Committee was only written out the day before it was considered by the Committee, and he did not believe the stories as to its being known in the country. There was no compact in this matter. It was to the credit of the House that the large majority of members treated the matter entirely apart from Party. He hoped they would be able to look back with pleasure to what they had dono that night in a difficult position. They mu6t have good results from what the emorgenoy had caused them to do. (Applause.) The Bill wan then read a third time by 33 to 21. The division was as follows :—: — For the Bill, 33— Buddo, Cadman, Camcross, Carnell, Collins, Dunoan, Flatman, Fraser, Green, Hall, Harria, Hogg, Houbton, W. Kelly, Lawry, Mackintosh, Maslin, M'Gowan, J. M'Kenzie, M'Lachlan, Millar, Mills, Morrison, Parata, Pinkerton, G. W. Knsaell, W. K. Russell, Seddon, E. M. Smith, Stevens, Steward, Ward, T. Thompson. * Againßt, 21— Crowther, Earnshaw, Graham, Hall-Jonea, Heke, G. Hutchison, W. Hutchison, J. W. Kelly, Lang, T.Mackenzie, Maasoy, M Gnire, M'Nab, Mitcheleon, Newman, O'Regan, Pirani, Saunders, Tanner, R. Thompson, Wilson. Pahs— For the Bill— Meredith, Carroll, Buchanan, Stout, Willie, Montgomo y, and Reeve 3. Against— Joyce, Larnach, Allen, le Ao, Bell, G. J. Smith, and Buiok. '1 ho House adjourned at 12 6 p.m. till 7.30 p m. to-day, when the Bill is expected back from the Counoil with amendments.