TREASURY BILLS AND NOTES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 16 April 1932, Page 4

TREASURY BILLS AND NOTES

A-DDRESS BY PROFESSOR TOCHER At the last -meeting of the Christchurch Economic Society, Professor A. It. Tockcr, of the Economies Department of Canterbury College, gave a brief outline of tlm differences between Treasury notes and Treasury bills. It was customary in New Zealand, lie said, for the notes in circulation to lie, issued by the. banks and not by the Government. Treasury notes would he a direct issue of the Government, an, example of which were the “Bradbury s” issued in England during the war to meet a scarcity of small money. It was only an emergency issue, and the responsibility of the whole note issue system was now back in the hands of the Bank of England. It had been suggested that the Treasury should issue notes to cover the deficiency of tile Budget, hut he could see no need for additional currency. Credit was far more important. If we needed it, the one issue might easily ho expanded by the banks. It had also been • proposed that the Governmeiit should borrow from the banks on Treasury bills. Repayment would occur some time in the future when revenue was greater than expenditure. If definite measures were being taken to wipe out the deficit, this would bo a sound proposition, but if there were no possibility of balancing the Budget for some time in the future it would be unsafe.