ESTABLISHED 1566. The Marlborough Express. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1915. THE TWO MILLION LOAN.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIX, Issue 248, 19 October 1915, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1566. The Marlborough Express. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1915. THE TWO MILLION LOAN.

•The prospectus of New Zealand's ■two million loan, a loan to be raised within, the Dominion, is how before the public, and there is lif.vle reason to fear any failure of adequate response. On the contrary, when the special circumstances under which the loan is being raised, and the exceedingly favorable terms which, are I offered to investors, coir.c to be considered and studied, we should not be surprised were the applications for debentures to be- far in excess of the amount asked for. There was, at one time,' a tendency in certai:i quarters to express regret that the loan wias being raised for the purpose of meeting public works expenditure and not as a. "war loan," the: proceeds of which would go towards meeting the cost of the Dominion's liberal, and timely military assistance to the Motherland and the Empire. This objection has been, we notice, very ably exposed as unfair and untenable by Sir Joseph Ward, who made on Saturday an interesting statement concerning the loan to the j Wellington representative of this journal. "To all intents and purposes," said Sir loseph, "this is a,s much a war loan .as it would be if it were raised directly for the equipment I of armies and the provision of muni- j tions. The Mother Country has! undertaken to provide the money the i Dominions require for their military } ■operat-'-ons—a matter of soino five or \ cix millions in the case of New Zea- ; land alone for the current year—bub with the enormous demands being made upon her in every direction, we cannot in reason or decency expect "her to finance our local expenditure as well." ' i

As a ma.tter of fact, altJiougli the Minister for Fin.ati.ee did not deal with this particular aspect of the question, it •* we'l-niVjih impossib'e for ; the Ovorson. Dominions to raif« loans ; in London for public works purposes at- the present- tiuto, ftavs on terms'' M-Tiioli. would not wai'rant borrowing. ' When British ?vnd Ameficnn investors on'i crot rlobentui'os gmnra-ntpod by not only Ore-nit Britain but France, and

that, at tho srstisfactory late of 5 per vent., cle:rT" of all charges, it is nifi.rufpstly absurd to think tliat a, New Zpaland or Australian public works 10-rn, oA'en if gua.ranteed by the Tmi>orial Govprnnicnt, could ?>o Oontod nt. ;inv lower rato, and «s Sir Joseph Ward has pointocl out, we

cannot" reasonably expect tho Imporial authorities to'help iis'suvv with loans definitely oarir.s>rke<l for purposes connected with the war, which they.are now doing and will probably continue to do until the- war has ended. The duty, therefore, of providing money to carry on tJie work of developing our country and - increasing its productive .capacity mustdevolve upon raid be shouldered by New Zealanders themselves. As the Mini-stor for l*"inance very rightly argues, "the maintenance and expansion of industries, tnwle, and commerce are scarcely of loss consequence than the supply erf men in the present terrible struggle." Those who subscribe to the loan now offered to the public will !k>, indirectly but none the less effectually, providing "the sinews of war," for the greater the facilities for increasing the area of land under pioductivity^ and the furnishing of means, by new railways, roads, and bridges, for the products of the country to loa-eh a port, and therefore a market, the -greater the general capacity of the people to bear the burdens entailed by the war, and therefore, as a necessary sequel, to render concrete and valuable aid. to Great Britain in her hour of need Let no one*, therefore, be debarred from investing in the loan by the specious, but, as we have shown, quite untenable pl«sa that- the loan should have been one for war purposes only. ' '■ t ■ We como.'i-fow to -the favorable terms upon Avhioh the loan is offered ito the public. In view of the special conditions attached to the lean the rate of interest, .4* per cent., must be considered very liberal. It is true that mortgage loans on property cannot be obtained at less than 5£ per cent., but when income and mortgage taxation has been paid and legal and other costs token" into aeoovint there is very little difference botwecn the two rates, and the State loan, it must be remembered, lias the guarantee of 'the-State-behind .it. To the small investor in. particuliU' the ioan offers :\ specially favorable opportunity for easy and safe investment. As low a sum i\?. £o can be invested, and the investor has the option of lending his money for periods varying from five to twenty-five years. Not only is tins the case,, but the' utmost facilities airs provided for the transfer of moneys from. Post Office' Savings Bank accounts for the purpose of purchasing loan debentures. Full information, on this and other points connected with the loan can be obtained at the various Post Offices throughout the Dominion. The special opportunities to -which we have referred will, 'we trust, be widely availed of by the small investor. In France this system of appealing to the small tradesman and thrifty artisan class to lend the product of their economies and savings to the State direct has long been in- operation, debentures even, of-the ■ largest loans hemp; offered 'to the public in such small sums as ."• only twenty francs. The. French system has undoubtedly done much to encourage the habits of thrift for which the French people are so famous, ?nd has probably been a. factor of the highest importance in the successful financing of the war by our.Allies. Sir' Joseph Ward, in the course of the iuteryiew to which we have made reference above, alluded to tbe wellknown loyalty of the New Ze-akmid .ixHiple. Thab lpyaUy has alieady roceJyod pracfcicpl-'a'nd splendid testimony by ttie ilMpat<,'li of our gallant sons to"' tho iistlitinsx line in ■ Europe. Tint proctioiil loya3ty ' siud patrif>tism can, ns Sir Joseph points out, b« displayed by "those who "are uripble, thrpujrh.... age, physical .disability, domestic responsibilities, or oth*v causes, to .'go to the front." . By assisting the Government with its pubiio works .''system, assistinxc it .■financially, tho invwtors in the loam will, as the Minister- nuts it, be "romindina our kith aiAl kin r,t tho front t'^at we are r^ad.y to do our part without.-stint.', a rid to' flemonsti a-te to our pnemies; that no difficulties and no sufferings, fio. opposition, however 'formidable it may be, can weaken'our resolution nor lessen our enthusiasm." Sir Joseph closed his statement, by expressing his desire "to sco 'every man and woinaji .in the country joining in a united effort to send tha, enemy an answer to the malign niiaf representations—Which have receimy appeared in the German press—-wiab Great Britain's Oversea Dominions were tiring of the war and wtre prepared to place pressure on the Imperial Government ■to stop the struggle." Sir Joseph wants New Zeamnders,.one and all, io ''send the enemy back tJie. answer which has been flunjr, back by our countrymenat, the front and in the tranches. We can all hurl the silver bullet according to our financial a-b: !ity. Let us do it now!" . . /

Sir Joseph is quite right. No doubt New ZeaJandcrs are "tired" of the war, as must be every nation participating in the struggle; but theA' are not and never will !>e half so tired of the. war p-s the enemy is destined to be before the. war is ended, and Germany witnesses, as she must 'witness, the downfall .-of hehateful military arrogance and tyranny. By assisting the Government with, money to expend upon | public works we a.re, indirectly perhaps, but none the less certainly, hurling a silver bullet at the etien'y. We have, as we have said, no fetir of the loan/proving jii failure. It is well known that the -banks contain ah immense amount of deposits for which investment cannot be, or at least has not been, found so readily as depositors might desire. This is proved by the banking returns for the September quarter, which show tli&t the quarter's deposits exceeded" £-29.0Gr..000, as compared with £2-5,000.000 in the corresponding quarter of last year, while- the excass of <]pi>osit<? over'advaiiices-'wa*: actun-Ily £5,800,000, an against £539,000 a year ago. There is therefore an abundance of-mdnftv avnii'ible for investment, amd we/ look with confidence, not only to the Treasury's requirements being nieb in full, but to such an over-subscription of the loan as will prove to the outside world tbo prosperity and solvency of tho Dominion. Our Ifi.-^i- word on the subject i<;—subscribe to thr> loan, even if only to tho ex-bant o-f taking one single £5 debenture.