The Hastings Standard Published Daily. FRIDAY, OCT. 16, 1896. THE BANKING BILL.

Hastings Standard, Issue 147, 16 October 1896, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily.

FRIDAY, OCT. 16, 1896. THE BANKING BILL.

For the cruise that lacks assistance. For the wrnn;,s that need resistance, For the future in tlie distance, And the good that we can do.

We believe this i.s the fifth Banking Bill that the present Parliament has had under consideration, and we are constrained to believe that the next Parliament will be troubled with banking legislation to a somewhat similar extent ; and so it will continue until that halcyon period when the Bank ef New Zealand shall cease to have existence. e believe very firmly that the only true way of ridding ourselves of this monetary nightmare is to send it into liquidation. Whether that is the general opinion or not we are inclined to believe that the political element which enters so deeply into the management of the Bank will eventually strangle it with the overgrowth of corruption. Politics and pelf cannot be safely stabled in the loose-box of commercial morality. Money, which, like water, seel*; its level, will at first find its course impeded by politics; but the stream will cut a channel through the barrier, and in that operation the political element will become porous. In two years we have seen what a mountain of corruption, real and imaginary, can be raised when bankers and politicians attempt to work together. The Bank Bill of IS9G, however, claims our attention. The proposal to increase the number of the directors does not appear to merit special notice unless it be to point out the preponderance of representation demanded by the political shareholders of the Bank. It is this preponderance, together with the miserable pittance that is proposed to be paid the directors, that threatens the future of the institution. The political directors will also probably necessitate further banking legislation in the near future. The matters ati'ecting the reorganisation of the manage-

meat of tiie Bank forms tbe bulk of

the Bill, but there are other clauses •which call for attention. Clause 14, which takes the "B" list of accounts out of the jurisdiction of the Supreme? Court, appears to be a direct violation of the contract of sale, and may in its operation prove detrimental to the shareholders of the Colonial Bank. The clause will not be viewed from this point by the politician and party hacks; to such the sufferings of the shareholders are of little moment compared with the excitement of discovering some hidden political capital. To these the clause will suggest that some ulterior .object is in view, and we can scarcely blame them for entertaining such an opinion. According to the agreement entered into by the Banks it was decreed that " the purchasing Bank shall manage, realise, and adjust the accounts mentioned in the ' B ' and ' C ' lists, &C.," and in the Act sanctioning the sale it was provided that this shall be deemed part of the business of the Bank of New Zealand. We gather from the evidence given by Mr Vigers the reasons for this clause (11) in the present Bill. Mr Vigers informed the Committee that he did not consider a great number of the accounts in the " B " list at the present time worth 20s in the £, and that the Bank of New Zealand had not taken over a gr.-at number of the accounts. The liquidators require more power to deal with the accounts, and to bo free to arrange such terms as will permit of the " nursing " of some of the more promising accounts. This clause will be looked at from all points, but we expect the Legislative Council to give us its true bearing. The Bank of New Zealand will be the curse of our political life, as politics will be the curse of its life, and in the struggle under such conditions wo are afraid the Bank must go.