THE NEW LOAN

Evening Star, Issue 17700, 29 June 1921, Page 9

THE NEW LOAN

NOT FOR ADMINISTRATION

ALLOCATION YET UNKNOWN

The cabled news regarding the New Zealand loan is all tho information available officially, as a cony of the prospectus has not been received. Until this comes to hand (says a Wellington Association message) it will not be possible to say under what authorisation the loan is issued. The Government baa a number of nnexpirrd authorisations in various Finance Acts and other Statutes, including authority to borrow for railway construction, hydro-elec-tric power works, education buildings, and general purposes. The allocation of tho loan money is another question that cannot be settled in the meantime. The only statement that can be mads is that the loan, when secured, wijj not enable the administration expenses to be increased. Administration must be provided for out of revenue, and the only time when it is not so provided is when there is a deficit in tho national balnnce-rheet, and it becomes necessary to borrow to balance expenditure. There has not, up to (he present, been a suggestion of the purposes to which the loan will be devoted, though the Minister of Public Works, speaking in Wairarapa recently of the financing of hydro-electric power boards, said that if Mr Massey could got money at anything like a satisfactory rale be proposed to raise a consolidated loan, which would bo better than the power boards themselves going on the market. It is certain that there will be no difficulty in spending tbo money. The wants of urgent works and loc/il bodies which are now before tbo Government are probably quite sufficient to account for five milions.-and much more besides.