Manawatu Daily Times French Hoarding

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 6789, 22 February 1932, Page 6

Manawatu Daily Times French Hoarding

In spite of the accumulation of vast gold reseives and the reassuring statements freely issued by the authorities, there is among the French people widespread anxiety and lack of financial confidence. In the cities, little faith is shown by ceitam sections in the soundness of the financial institutions, ioi a common practice is for small depositors to hire safes and withdraw their money and scrip from the care of the banks, the Bank of France does not sell less than an “ingot of pure gold, which at prevailing rates of exchange costs about £2260, out that restriction has not prevented considerable demands foi gold. For ordinary people the cost is perhaps prohibitive; but that has provided an opportunity for dealers in precious metals, who purchase the “ingots” and split them up into small pieces which are sold at a very substantial premium. Another phase of the hoarding mania is revealed from the profitable business that is being done by numerous banks in selling coins from the United States of America, India, Canada and Australia. Banks in the provincial towns are having a specially anxious time, because depositors for some time past have been persistently withdrawing their funds, and many of the banks have been able to continue in business only through the amounts on deposit which borrowing clients have been compelled to make. The anomaly of the position is evident when it is stated that in spite of continuous and heavy withdrawals from the banks, and the activity of the long-recognised French craze for hoarding, there is more money lying in the accounts of the more important clients of the great banks than ever before. There is widespread fear of placing money even in short-term investments. Financial confidence has almost disappeared, temporarily at any rate, from a gold standard nation that is the second largest holder of gold reserves in the world.

Mails By Light ’Plane

Pioneering work with light aeroplanes now being carried out by the Government of India should prove of particular interest to New Zealand, where commercial aviation has scarcely passed the experimental stages. For political reasons the Indian Government will not continue the contract with Imperial Airways for carrying mails between Karachi and Delhi. As a last resort, the extension to Delhi is to be operated by the D-elhi Flying Club, using a Gipsy Moth light aeroplane. A similar contract has been entered into with a Bombay business house to link Bombay with Madras with the Karachi terminal by means of a service of Puss Moth machines. This is the first time that important Government mail contracts have been given to undertakings employing light aeroplanes, but machines of the same type have shown a capacity for hard service by wresting records from mor-e powerful aircraft on the Australian and Capetown routes. Though designed originally for sporting and private flying, light aeroplanes are now being offered by the makers for definitely useful commercial services, and sooner or later we can expect developments on those lines in this country. •

Advice has been received that the following candidates who sat for the radio servicemen’s examination held in Palmerston North on December 7 were successful in securing passes s—G. E. S. Allen, A. H. Bayliss, J. B. Howard, P. J. Kirkland, K. D. McEwen. Sixteen candidates, from Levin, Feilding, Palmerston North and Marton sat for the examination.

The 7th Battery N.Z.F.A. returned! from bivouac training at Waipukurau on Satuday. The battery, fifty-six strong, was under the command of Captain J. Dash who had associated with him Lieutenants Philp, Coles and Page. Notwithstanding the trying weather conditions that prevailed throughout the camp, the unit put up a splendid performance and well deserved the congratulatory remaks of tho inspecting officers,

A man was admitted to the Palmerston North public hospital on Saturday suffering from a fractured jaw, allegedly sustained in an altercation.

Action is to be taken by the North Island Motor Union to urge that the hearing of evidence in motorists’ offences should be possible without the motorist concerned having to travel to the town, which would be in many oases a distant one, in order to personally appear. The decision was made at the half-yearly meeting of the union. 51 Mr. E. A. Batt, a Wellington delegate, said that Inspector Lopdell, at Wellington, who most of tho prosecutions of motorists there, had no objection. Solicitors to both the Auckland and Wellington associations approved of the measures. He did not think the police would offer serious objection.