ADVANCES TO SETTLERS.

Evening Star, Issue 12900, 24 August 1906, Page 3

ADVANCES TO SETTLERS.

[FROM OtTB. PAMIAMENBffiT BsPORTSfc]

; WELLINGTON, August-23 annual report, of S? Govern ment Advances to Settlors Offine stales thal the number of applications for loans to oeived during dlie year ended March 3L--1906, has been the largest since 1897, whlfo the amount applied for (nearly a mfflion) constitutes a record for the department. The net advances authorised by the department .up to March 31 totalled £4,922,630 distributed' 9Vbr applicants. The sd curities for the authorised advances were valued at £10,817,184, and had for the most part been increased in value by the expenditure of the borrowed money, while at the same time the liability is being reduced by repayments. The advances now outstanding total £5126,987, the average amount being £313. and the total number of advances 9,986. During the last year the sum of £633,452 was advanced to 3,707 borrowers, nearly half of it in sums not exceeding £SOO. The average amount of tie advances was £371, and 80 per cent, of the applications were small settlers requiring) sums not exceeding £SOO. lb© gross pro-, tits for the year ended the 51st March,. 1906, were of maintenance and expenses of the Depart, i ment was £4,438 12s 9d, being 0.13 per , cent., or 2e 7d per £IOO on the capital ©m-.-| ployed (the cost for the previous year was * 0.16 per cent., or 3s 2d per £100). Thai net profits amounted to £54,047 9s 2d. Not-j withstanding the additional expenses con-, nected with the concession granted to monte, gagers, the loan flotation charges have (after* leaving the substantial sum of £50,000 to the credit of the reserve fund) been further written down out of accumulated profits by the sum of £111,725 15s 6d, bringing the extinction of this item within measurable distance. Advantage has been taken of the authority given to the Department under the Act passed last session to reinvest on mortgage the greater portion of the luads-of the office held by the Publdo Trustee. Ite 1 is now an established fact that the with-; drawal and reinvestment of this money, which has assisted the Department materially, was a move in the right direction. * This has enabled the office to meet the growing requirements cf settlers oaring the year practically without recourse to the, borrowing, and will in the future prove to! be a large contributing factor to the yearly j profits. Sixteen freehold and five leasehold!i securities have for various reasons been] realised by the Department up to the pro-! sent time, and in most cases fairly good’ 1 surpluses over and above the advances owing to the Department have been ob-i tained and refunded. In no case has a loss i been made, and the Department has at the present time no securities on its hands. Mortgagors continue to meet their halfyearly payments of interest and principal in a manner creditable to themselves and highly satisfactory to the Department.