LATENT WEALTH.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 31 October 1922, Page 8

LATENT WEALTH.

DOMINION'S VIRGIN RESOURCES.

wwwORT TO SECURE CAPITAL.

a: £ i Slii\ ir Hai>DlC/AiriS.

The exploitation of ti^e mineral, laiiu, aua «Pu«i" iitue-Ueve^opeu resources oi the- voniihi&u vere u.scussed at a conrerence at tne l)oin*iuon a armers>. institute, w telungWh,.. last weeK. Lug principal "ob]ewt ot cue meeting was me rarmacion or a company tor the pur-pose ot sending a mission to Great ijntain to secure.the necessary capital tor working the country's 'hidden wealth. Mr. K Newman, M.P., was voted to the chair. The chairman said he had no personal interest in the. project, and had taken it up purely as a matter of national importance. The time had come for the Government to taper off borrowing, and it appeared # only commonsense to encourage the influx of British capital "for the development of British interests. .The proposal to form a de-' veitapmental company, he understood, was being encouraged in England. There/ were two obstacles to the introdtfStion of British capital—double taxation, aiid the fact that mortgagees foreclosing were,' treated as absentees. He urged that th_e Prime Minister should: b^ approached with a view to relief in respect to double taxation, such as was already provided ,in . Australia and Canada.). Under present circumstances it 7 could not be expected that British capitalists would lend money in I New Zealand. Mr. Newman referred Ito the possibilities of New Zealand's unexploited wealth, and to the need for larger immigration. He thought the Governmen€—was sympathetic to the project, and he hoped the conference ■ would achieve its object. I-. -.. The'- Hon. G ; M> Thompson said he had beeii interested for years in the development of the New Zealand fishjeriesi The present difficulty was largely a domestic one—getting fish to the peopfe at cheap "prices—and-' though a scheme had been TFor the de- . velopment of ..the. industry;, it had broken down chiefly through lack of capital. The exploitation of such resources was* bound'to arouse wide interest at : Home, where the nshihj*grdunds were over-worked. Quite apa>t From.- domestic^ requirements he consid-. ered ■ there^ivrere tremendous possibilities in Jtheafislnexport industry•.-..;- ; Markets C6'pid! ber 'developed in .Australia and; Great Britain, and if <the matter was gone into thoroughly a sjcheme might be evolved that, would commend -itself- to people in the Old Country. ! MrV J. E<>rn; M.P. (Duriedin) dealt with the working of antimony, which I contains, gold, a"nd,had been largely dei' velopect' by, the Germans/ There was 1 atiy amount of petroleum in the South" Island only awaiting the formation.'of a syndicate to develop it. He had had considerable mining experience,, and was aware;, of'the possibilities of the mineral wealth&iri the country. ! Mr. R. Pv Hudson, MSP:, referred to the asbeitqs,; marble, minerals, and other valuable products'.of the north of ■fch^'South^sland:; He thought Mr. \ Ma'ssey fullf/sympathised with the project and would" enepurage it, and if 'he | would rejnove the difficulties ■ there was, eyery. -prospect pfr securing' wide British interest - v i The convener of the conference * Mr. A. L. Hunt, said that a large amount of British capital" jwas being attracted to foreign couritries^vand for this ;rea- : son investmeJßt in an Empire possession vras: # tol-;|)be expected' in preference,. Though small in size, and distant ffom .the".great ;cventres .of the world, New Zealand was lavishly* endowed by Nature, arid not the least important ( natural asset was water-power,, which the Government could not hope 10 j fully develop. It was possible that in the'near'future the Dominion would be a large exporter of iron and other nx:nI erals. The thing to be ascertained was I just how many good things the country j had to offer, and these should be work- J | ed for all they were worth. - They, should be ' thoroughly/ investigated, I grouped and marketed collectively, and ' Government support and prestige, should be secured to back them up. .. I Gold, silver, and similar products had j been omitted from the scheme, said Mr. j | Hunt, as it was considered advisable to eliminate speculative ventures. Nothing should be taken up and worked un- J less it could stand an absolutely rigid ' test. A further conference would be called later, when delegates would be ' asked to furnish reports upon the possi- ! bilities of successfully developing the various resources. When full data was , secured a committee would make full , investigation and decide to which pro- ' ducts it was itfbst desirable and most . profitable to turn their attention. Re- ; ports, maps, plans, and photographs would meanwhile be obtained, together ' with specimens and analysis, and pros- ' pective prices and terms of sale would be investigated. The committee would work in collaboration with Government experts, and would report fullv'to the next conference. The final group must be approved at a second conference and by the Government. Mr. ■• Hunt went on to refer to the prospets of success, which, he contended; were never so favourable. The; war had advertised the overseas Dominions; the economic circumstances of Great Britain at the present time, wer<r favourable ; and the steps now being taken for Empire development supported the scheme; and money was available. The formation of a company was preferable to anything in the nature of a syndicate, which would riot bfe able to work with the same facility-. v A company would have limited liabilities, and would be more binding in every way The capital suggested was £10,000, and it was proposed that shares should be issued to members of the final group pro rata to the value of their projects It would probably be advisable to hav© an advisory committee in London with st board of directors as a controlling body m New Zealand. Capital was required to finance the mission it was proposed to send Home. The draft prospectus would be considered at a later stage of the meeting, and finally adopted at the next conference He suggested, that the mission should in elude an experienced and expert company organiser, and a civil engineer who was thoroughly conversant with mining. The assistance it was proposed to ask the Government for was so modest thaFit could not very well be refused; the Government would doubtless appreciate the self-reliance of the promoters of the project. In conclusion Mr Hunt further emphasised the possibilities of the ven ture "1 feel myself a very smal! man, » he declared, "to handle" such a large project, but humble instruments are sometimes used for great causes, and I will live in life-long content if | my suggestions redound to the credit '■ nrosDeritv, and defence of my native land.'' ( Arralausewi " ' Mr. L. "T. Watkins said t^e scheme j ttouM have the support ot public Kor'V, :» f-h© dominion, nticl Mr." ,T ; W. Cv>)_ lins. "f the Depnvtment of Tnrlnct r ie^ ■nivl Co-mroe've. spoke opti'-n-!i«t;c^l]v of the project and wished it every success.

The principle of sending a mission to England under Government warrant, and financed by the parties interested, was unanimously endorsed, and the general proposal was adopted.