LOCAL BODIES'WANTS THE NEW BORROWING SCHEME.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 107, 2 November 1909, Page 8

LOCAL BODIES' WANTS THE NEW BORROWING SCHEME.

CRITICISED BY A DEPUTATION. PLAIN SPEAKING BY SIR JOSEPH WARD. "I would not dream of doing it for a singlo solitary moment. It would be a mad thing to attempt. If they aro not prepared to take the money at 3i per cent, and provide the sinking fund, then they should do without it." This outspoken statement was made by Sir Joseph Ward to a deputation lhat waited on him to-day in reference to the Stato Guaranteed Advances Bill. Amongst those present were Messrs. W. F. Masscy, A. &. Guinness, T. M. Wilford, F. M. B. Fisher. W. Eraser, and J. G. Anderson M.P.'s, and Met-ars. J. M'Ewan, J. G. Harknes-s, and Bunny, the Mayors of Petone, Onslow, and Lower Hutt ie?peclively. Mr. Wilford said the* deputation had been primarily arranged by the Lower Hutt, Petone, and Onflow Borough Councils. Under the present Act a local \ body was entitled to a loan for 41 years at 6^ per cent., and at the end oi' the term the principle was extinguished — in other wordfe, the Government provided the sinking fund for this purpose. Last year the Government paid a of £40,000 towards sinking funds for local bodies loans. Under the StateGuaranteed Advances Bill a loan for 36£ years at 3^ per cent, would not become extinguished at the end of the term. The locfal bodies would have lo provide their own sinking funds, and" were therefore in a worce position than heretofore. If. also appeared to him that a Harboui Board which had no. power to levy rates could not come * under the scheme. 1 In reply to these and other representations, Sir Joseph Ward explained that the old system of lending to loc.il bodies was to be repealed, and he wished to say quite frankly that the Government had not the slightest intention of embodying tho sinking fund principle of tlie old system in the new and larger scheme. In the next fifteen years local bodies might borrow 10 or 15 millions of money, and the Government could not think of doing what the deputation asked for. Some local bodies wanted £50,000 and over, and they were being strangled at the present time, 'because they could not get, the money. They could under Ihe new system, however, and at a reasonable rate. The amount of money that could be lent to local bodies in the past in any one year was limited, so that the imposition of the" sinking fund should iiot press too heavily on the whole body of the people. If the House of Representatives did not want the system now proposed, it could say so, and they could go along on the old system. Any one who thought tho country was going to be saddled with" the sinking funds undei the new system was making a great mistake. He added that the Government might be ible to borrow the money at 3 per cent. (Mr. Massey : "Not yet!") He did not think it would be possible to include harbour boards without rating powers in the Bill. _ Some of them wanted as much as -£1,000,000.