STATE ADVANCES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 247, 2 April 1910, Page 5

STATE ADVANCES.

The Government's New Scheme. Sir Joseph Ward made a statement on Tuesday last in regard to some recent criticisms of the action of the State Guaranteed Advances Board in refusing applications for loans. He said that at one meeting the Board had passed no less than £612,000 worth of leans, at 3J per cent., with sinking funds, to local public bodies in diiferent parts of the Dominion It was a very large sum to deal with, but, apparently, some people thought that the sum, large as it was, ought to be doubled or quadrupled. It was evident that ihey had a very indifferent appreciation of the responsibilities that attached to financial operations of that nature. At no time previously in the history of the Dominion had the sum advanced to local public bodies reached £200,000 in one year. The new Board, at a single meeting, had authorised more than three times that sum. In the face of that fact, and of the certainty that local public bodies would need further large sums during the next six months, all who were not prejudiced or wilfully blind would realise the great services the new institution was giving to the local bodigs. Only eighteen months ago, the Prime Minister continued, local bodies were trying to obtain loans at rates as high as 6 per cent., in many cases without success. Under the Act passed by Parliament last session the legitimate requirements in that direction throughout the Dominion could be fully met. In some cases applications had been made for what he might term extraneous purposes. Those who had the responsibility of administering a large fund like that must discriminate. They must use the funds available for the urgent and practical needs of the people served by the local bodies, and loans- for works which might be regarded as luxuries must take second place. Preference had rightly been given to such works as drainage, water supplies, sanitation, roads and bridges. In the other category, applications had been sent in for municipal theatres. They were very good things, and they were a proper subject for municipal enterprise, were harcliy as urgent and as practical as other works he had mentioned. Wlectrie lighting, gas works and electric tramways might also be given secondary consideration. He did not say anything against special undertakings of that nature, but they seemed to him to have more of the character of luxuries and conveniences than roads, bridges, water and drainage, which in many places were very badly needed. Applications bad been made for loans totalling no less than £1,400,000. Many of them were for the municipal luxuries he had named, and the £612,000 authorised represented the practi cal work which had to take precedence.