A NATIONAL BANK.

Evening Post, Volume LXXX, Issue 15, 18 July 1910, Page 7

A NATIONAL BANK.

■ ♦ Under tho auspices of the New Zealand Socialist party, Mr. J. B. Hobart lectured on finance last evening at His Majesty's Theatre. The principal part of the address was devoted to a plea for conversion of ths Bank of New Zealand to a purely national institution. Mr. Hobart drew attention to how few shareholders there were in this country, most of them being in Britain. The Government, in helping tho bank, declared tho spea-ker, was really protecting foreigners, and not considering the interests of our depositors, who had, including the State, over £14,000,000 in the bank's keeping. This should be altered, and the' bank be made a State institution. Tho private shareholders in the bank — mostly in England — had a paid-up capital of £500,000, and a reserve fund of £800,000, making £1,300,000 in all, but the State had already preference shares value £500,000 — 4 per cent, guaranteed stock, £1,000,000; Government deposits, ,£2,336,167; ;ind the notes in circulation were £919,329 — a grand, total of £4,755,496. To purchase the bank right out, which Parliament could do, in spilo of anything said to the contrary by politicians, the lecturer suggested the passing of an Empowering Act to compulsoriiy buy the shares held by the foreign and New Zealand shareholders, giving them the present market price as quoted on the Stock Exchange, via., £10 per share fot the 130,000 ordinary shares. This would be £1,500,000, add to this £800,000— the amount of the reserve fund, making £2,300,000. The State's credit would be good enough to provide for any deficiencies which might b» found on entering into possession. Better this than having our country injured by sending the people's money to London to finance Boer wars, or the present mad gambla in "rubber." According to the bank's bal-ance-sheet, £3,891,\54J: was in London at present, while confidsnea was so much shalren hero that enterprise was strangled. This country needed the capi- • tal more than London, and tho bank could earn as much on it hers with 1 greater safety.