BILLIARDS

Evening Post, Issue 99, 24 October 1934, Page 10

BILLIARDS

(Received October 24, 9 a.m.) MELBOURNE, This Day. The scores* in the billiards match are: — Lindrum, 15,209, best break 309; Davis, 15,653, best break 441.

the conversion of local body debentures to tho value of approximately £32,500,000, but options to repay the conversion securities prior to the new maturity dates had been included only in a relatively small proportion of the conversion schemes dealt with. Actually, tho. options were included only in twenty-eight cases, involving debt to tho value of approximately £11,000,000. Even these figures hardly showed the position in a truo light, for the reason that by the time the various, options became exercisable, a largo portion of the debt concerned would be repaid, as local body, conversions had taken the form of repayment of conversion loans progressively from year to year. Investors would be able to visualise the position better, added Mr. Coates, if he said that options were exercisable in respect of debt of a value of slightly more than £8,000,000 and these options did not come into force at one time. They operated progressively from 1939, when less than £40,000 was affected, until 1957. This'would show that there was no cause for any alarm. NO GENERAL POWER. It had even been suggested in the newspapers and in correspondence received by the Loans Board that a general power had been given to enablo all local authorities to repay their conversion debentures at any time after 1940. Mr..Coates said that he could assure investors that no such power had been given, nor was there any intention to give such a power. As to the cases in which authority had been given to the local bodies to redeem beforo tho final maturity date, that provision was by no means a new one. It was common- to numerous loans raised on the London market by the New Zealand Government and by the Commonwealth of Australia. Options were extensively used by other borrowing authorities in London, and indeed had also been used in respect of other New Zealand local body loans raised not only in London, but in New Zealand. It was a sound provision from the point of view of public finance, but tho impression had undoubtedly been created—possibly without a knowledge of the truo facts of the case —that tho option had been given to all local authorities which had undertaken conversion under the recent legislation. "It is unfortunate," added Mr. Coates, "that a feeling of alarm has thus been engendered, but it is entirely unwarranted in tho circumstances, and I trust that thero will be no adverse effect on the marketability of local body securities generally. Tho Government is fully alivo to the desirability, in fact to the necessity, of doing everything possible to preserve tho credit "of the local authorities of New Zealand in the eyes of the investing public, and it is with this end in view that I feel it necessary to make a public announcement to clarify tho whole position." By special arrangement Homer's world service, in addition to other special sources of Information, is used In tlie compilation of Hi* overseas Intelligence published in this Issue. nnd all rights therein in Australia and New Zealand are rsserved.