SOME FINANCIAL POINTS

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 76, 27 September 1927, Page 9

SOME FINANCIAL POINTS

Commenting on: financial matters during his speech at Waiuku, Sir Joseph Ward maintained that tho: Liberal Government was responsible for roducing. rates of interest from 12 per cent, and 10 per cent, to its present level, thus allowing men to secure mortgago at 5} per cent, interest. He was emphatically of the opinion that the present system of valuing land was wrong, and said that the position would never be righted till'a'permanent board of competent valuers was established. He further asserted that the Government created the post-war land boom in New Zealand, and had misused tho £15,000,----000 reserve fund he had expressly provided to meet such an emergency. This amount,. which had been invested at '5 per cent, interest,'he had intended- to build up to £20,000,000 to assist in the reduction of taxation. Sir Joseph Ward went on to denounce the Government for repealing the Sinking Fund Act, for which ho had been -responsible for placing on the Statutes, and substituting a system whicli provided for the paying off of public indebtedness in lump sums. Under tho original system £500,000 a year was paid into the Binking fund, and this was invested at 5 per cent, interest. 10-day,. however, not one penny's interest accrued from the lump sums tho Government provided in a year. Ho attributed the increased laud and in£n?L ta:t-larS ely-t0 the fact that £2,----600,000 had been utilised to pay off loans on the market, when tho amount could have.been retained in tho country.