Land-owning Companies

Evening Star, Issue 8406, 6 January 1891, Page 3

Land-owning Companies

Among a batch of parliamentary papers just to hand 'w a return to the motion of Mr Hutchison giving the names of the several land, loan, and banking companies returned under the last property assessment valuation as owners or trustees of land in the colony, showing tho area and value of such lands. From this we find that the Bank of New Zealand at that date held a total acreage of 255.73S acres, returned as of the value of LI, 108,683, in which the bank was interested as owner to the amount of L 996,523, the lessees' interest in certain of the lands beiog only L 50.000. These figures are exclusive of those set down opposite the name of the "Assets Company " (which we take to mean the Globo Atsetß Company), which are—47,633 acres, value L 51.085. The Bank of New South Wales figures for 25,920 acres, value L205.267—in which lessees' interest is only L 700; the Colonial Bank of New Zealand for 12,030 acres, valued at L 177.845; tho National Bank of New Zealand for 12,600 acres, valued at Ll4l 601; the Bank of Australasia for 17,1)34 acres, valued at L 109,345; and the Union Bank of Australia for 676 acies only, nearly all town properties, valued at L 124.583 The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company is set down as owner or trustee of no less than 405,287 acre?, returned to Property Tax at a total value of L 650.297, of which only L 48.200 represents lessees' interest, the company's valuation as owner being L 584.244. Then comes tho New Zealand and Australian Land Company with an acreage of 241,544, valued at L 1,063,410; the Kauri Timber Company with an acreage of 350.153, valued at L 345.566 (less than LI an acre); the New Zealand Agricultural Company with 151,137 acres, valued at L 240.977; Robert Campbell and Sons, Limited, 143,710 acres, value L 155.028 ; British and New Zealand Mortgage and Agency Company, 303,124 acres, valuation L 76.491 ; Auckland Agricultural Company, 102,182 acres, valuation L 141.113; Colonial Investment and Agency Company, 22,769 acres, valuation L 86.546; New Zealand Mortgage and Investment Association, 42,222 acres, valuation L 93,976; New Zealand Trust and Loan Company, 43,265 acres, valuation L 122.203; New Zealand Thames Valley Land Company, 195,328 acres, valuation L 97.726 ; Otagoand Southland Investment Company, 31,327 acres, valuation L99.3G5; Scottish and New Zealand Investment Company, 32,719 acres, valuation L 93,189; Waikato Land Association, 84,777 acres, valuation L 215,931 ; Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, ltJ9 329 acre?, valuation L4a5,100; Naseby Pastoral Investment Company, 37,973 acres, valuation L 29,940; Morton Mains Estate Company, 32,465 acres, valuation L 54.657; Maractai Land Company, 43,,")03 acres, valuation LS,6SS; Moorabool and Timboon Estates Company, 10,142 acres, valuation L 14,012; Land and • Loan Company of New Zealand, 9,759 acres, valuation L 34,074; Dixon Investment Company, 12,771 acres, valuation LI 7,629; Australian and New Zealand Mortgage Company, 5 930 acres, valuation L 20.417. The return of course includes a number of other company owners of land, though the figures dealt with are comparatively small; but from a study of tho above the startling fact comes out that twenty-eight banking, hurt, or land companies own together no less an area of the lands of the colony than 2,906,301 acres, up.in which the Property Tax valuation i 3 L 0.970,227.