BANK SHARES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 48, 25 August 1923, Page 11

BANK SHARES

TO THE EDHOR. Sir,—l have read with some interest the letters which have appeared latelY in your columns. I am a small shareholder and bought in with, the idea ofproviding something to keep me when too old to work. Apparently, Mr. Nash' thinks the Government—which means the public—has not got enough out of the bank for the guarantee given many years ago, and under which the country was not called upon to pay one shilling. ,1 would remind Mr. Nash that a few weeks ago a letter appeared in the Press from the shareholders' two representatives on the directorate, viz., Messrs; Watson and Kane, .and this letter showed pretty clearly that the country' had done very well indeed out of the bank. If Mr. Nash has anything further to say, why not have a go at this letter oi tae two- above-named directors It will take some answering.—l am, etc SMALL SHAKEHOLDEB No. 2 ' 22nd--August.

10 THE EDITOR. . ' ■' j v ?jr '.7" The a*svr*r to \ "Small Shareholderis, ingenious use of dates to find a loss on his shares is that before the inner circle decided to iesue the new i capital to existing shareholders only, the shares were quoted at £2 lls 9d, so that lus oTO shares were worth £766 5s Inside purchases gradually enhanced- the! £« cc irii 1 the £3 2a 6d <iuoted by bmall Shareholder" was reached. The clear, loss of £27 referred to.'is accounted for by the! fact-that he has received £40 by way of dividend. Now, 1° „usff ee the Potion of "Small Shareholder. "Small Shareholder" purchased his shares- in 1883 (40 years ago). .-Between that year and the year of the collapse, 1895, he-received dividends, totalling over 100 per cent. He then lost his capital and was left with .a liability of £10 per share for each of the 30 shares he apparently held. , Of this sum he paid up £6 13s 4d, and the bank in 1920 made hima'present of £3 6s 8d to free him from further liability. .How has he fared since 1895? Between that year and l|2o he provided the sura of £200 (£6 13s 4d per £10 share). Presuming, however, that he paid his £6 13s 4d at the first call, .he has received £565 by way of dividend. He now holds 300 shares which are saleable for £900. Here are,the figures: £ £ Amount of cash paid on 30 £10 i .shares at £6' 13s 4d each ... 200 0 0 Dividends 'received from 1896 to 1923 , . 565 0 0 Each £10 share ' has been re- ■ duced to ten | £1 shares, so that he now ha's 300 shares which are mar- / ketable for £3 , ; ;' • each ■: -i 900 0 0 ' 200 0 0 1465 0 0 732£ per cent, is not a baji return in 28 years, and yet/"Small Shareholder" talks, of confiscation. I; have met "Small bhareholder's" sister in the Old Country—she signs herself "Widow who o\vns_ a few shares," and she is always prominent/when the wages of railwaymen and miners are under discussion is one unalterable law in the uni•verse. 'If someone gets something for nothing, someone has to do something for nothing."—l am, etc,, W. NASH, National Secretary, N.Z.LP. 23rd AugUßt.