MISSING NOTES

Hokitika Guardian, 3 August 1935, Page 6

MISSING NOTES

THE SUPPLANTED ISSUES. TOTAL VALUE £710,086. Although the notes of the six trading banks in New Zealand are no longer legal tender, their use as such having terminated on January 10, the value of those in circulation on June 24, when the last return was issued, was no less than £710,086. Seeing that these banks in'llst still pay duty on their outstanding issue, it is important to them that their notes should be withdrawn from private possession as soon as passible. Holders of the notes have still plenty of time to realise upon them, however. They may exchange, them for Reserve Rank notes at any branches the issuing bank untfl August 1. 1936, and thereafter at the Reserve Bank itself, until August 1, 1976. The Reserve Bank notes were issued on August 1, 1934. Incidentali.v, bank notes which remain “under the clock’ ’beyond the 40-year limit will be valueless. They will be “deemed not to be in circulation and an amount equal to the value theieoi shall thereupon be paid by the Reserve Bank into the Public Account to the credit of the Consolidated Fnnd as if such amount were unclaimed moneys within the meaning of the Unclaimed Moneys Act, 1908.” Some, of coures, have been destroyed in fires, dropped in the mud and lost, crumbled up in unpaid bills and thrown away never to be found. They wiil be what the old compositors called “bunce” for the Consolidated Fund. Great pity to think of this sad ending for notes that were once crisp and crackly and nice things for lining a wallet. Pom old lost notes! Think of their possible experiences! Once over the counter be a nice new hat, oftimes a journey through the window of a totalise tm when no one said “Abandon hope, all ye that enter here.” Once in a moneybox, once given to charity. If they could but talk. Where are the notes that have not been destroyed ? A few of tilnun no doubt here gone overseas and may lie as curios in among old letters and fragments of flowers. It is possible that one of those foreign-going notes of ours lighted a cigarette during a gay night, in Bankok or was “souveiiired” “somewhere in France.”

! There is reason to believe, however, that a considerable amount of the paper money concerned is held in notes of large, denominations by timid folk who would rather trust a “stocking” tliaii ■ a bank that pays interest. Unquestionj ably there are numbers of people who like jtp . hold, iii their possession copI siderahle sum of ready, cash against; a day of uncertainty, .Here and there ; fairly large sums represented by a few:; notes of high denominations have come to light recently.

| It is hardly to bo supposed l that many* people prefer to keep money idle rather than pay as taxation a fraction of its potential earning power, yet who knows ?

1 Seeing that Reserve Bank notes for I £SO are now available it is difficult to I understand' -why the boarders do not make the exchange and thus have in their possession legal tender. The. mystery, however, remains. 'Nearly threequarters of a million not yet accounted for in a country that is supposed to be very hard up! To a man who still has one shilling and elevenpence left out of his last Friday’s pay the whole thing is bewildering.