Manawatu Evening Standard. SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1920. LIVING ON THE FUTURE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1844, 19 June 1920, Page 4

Manawatu Evening Standard. SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1920. LIVING ON THE FUTURE.

will certainly have to be exorcised if iwe are to, escape anything approaching a financial crisis in the affairs oii this Dominion. Although, in a tpahneir of speaking, "the hanks are full of money" and the deposits are. greater than at any former period in our history, the amounts thus held having more than doubled during the last ten years, there have been enoimous extensions of credit, both on the part of : private individuals and the Government. The bank advances show a'rise;of; nearly 100 per cent., but evidently a'.careful ]X)licy is- being pursued by the managers of those institutions, as'the.'tatio of advances to deposits lor the,' March quarter of the present yestr (65.01 ."per cent.) is the lowest on record'., In 1912. it was as high as 94.?2 per ceht., but the war period has been marked by a gradual tightening of t'ltc purse strings that has not been without its-good, effect . upon the community. There has, however, been an enormous extension of credit in other directions, and, on, March 31st last, the lands of this Dominion privately held were saddled [with mortgages amounting to £160,662,483, actually representing more than two-thirds of unimproved vjil'uc of; the whoje of the lands in Now and rather more than a third of their* capital value, which includes both th£ land and the improvements. Eurther! mortgages to the value of £4,650,073 were registered during the month 'of April, the discharges (£2,129,520) accounting for less than half that sum. Allowing for the very liberal advances made by tlbe Government under its repatriation scheme to returned soldiers, a very big sum has still to \)e accounted for, in ,respect of which mortgages were registered during the'last financial year (April, 1919. to-March 31, 1920), the total valuescovered : being more than three time? greater i than those of the mortgages registered ten years ago (£50,068,914 in 1919-20 !as against £16,896,484 in. 191011,), and over thirty millions greater than ..the values registered during any previous year, the next highest being £19,128,732 in 1911-12. The statisticbefore us do not permit of a, comparison being made between the rwumber o< mortgagors carrying the lighter burdens of ten years ago with those'of today; "but-it may be pointed out that o'riJtTTe': papital sum of £166,662,483 repi'ese\}£ed by the mortgages, the mo'-t o%##s''must be paying interest closely approximating ten millions per annum and possibly more, as, at 6 per cent., the.:'':" interest charge amounts'. t> £S?999<T$. The 44,313 mortgages' registered j last year represent a liability oP;:£SQ-959,914, on which the interest payable,! averaged at 6 per cent., wctfld am#foit'!to £3,059,334. How far -this, and 'tJv?j interest payable in respect tfu other,, mortgages is apportioned be-

tween town and country, propertJM, and between the town worker-and tno rural producer we are not ma tion to say; but a veiv co " s,u hj latproportion must be. by «*Jg tor which remains as a first charge upon his land. Under -ex.st.ng conditions the burden is probably not .felt to any appreciable extent, because piices have been high and the markets secure. AtSend of the month, however, the producer must leave a P.?""* 0 " 'cuse teinty for one which is likely cause him considerable, anxiety, and one, in which he may have to seek the financial accommodation which the promptjg£ ments by the Imperial Supplies.Depart went, in respect of his produce have hitherto largely obviate£ Even producers with unencumbered pi opei tits, may find it necessary to make arrangements for similar which, within reason, will doubtless be forthcoming. But Mr Harold Beauchamp's pointed references yesterday, t> this phase of the producers anxieties are, or should be, arresting enough to check the wave of speculation which has been sending land up m this country to absurdly high limits, and which is tending to keep back many prospective farmers who would otherwise be acquiring land for either cropping, dairying or grazing purposes. Money, Mr Beauohamp told the shareholders of the Bank of New Zealand yesterday, is going to be dearer, lne Bank of New Zealand rate is 7 per cent.; the British Government is paying 6J per cent, on its Treasury Bills, and its Exchequer Bonds, with a currency of two years, are reported to be yielding over 7* per cent, to the investor. The New Zealand Government cannot therefore, look to London for loan moneys at a rato of interest which would enable their profitable employment here. For such public works as may be undertaken loan moneys can only be raised locally. Further borrowing's depend largely upon the surplus incomes of the' producers; upon the wealth they create, and upon the successful marketing of their produce. The moral of it all is that there must be increased production, and that such production must be made as remunerative as possible to the man on the land. Onlv in this way can we increase production and avoid the financial disaster which invariably overtakes a people or individuals, who, living extravagantly, fail to utilise their re- - sources to'the fullest possible extent.