CHEAPER MONEY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15520, 30 January 1914, Page 6

CHEAPER MONEY.

Tee prediction made in the a fortnight ago that money Would" soon be available at lower Urates has been ' speedily /verified. : The success of the yiotoria,n loan, has been • followed within^a. week by. advantageous flotations , for' the New Zealand ' Government and ' the Auckland .City ' Council. . When Mr. Allen was in London less than a year s ago he was ; gratified that he'was able :■ to raise | a 4 per cent ; loan: of £3,000,000 at 98 the Dominion is now-issuing a 4 ; per cent, loan of £4,500,000 at 100$. The City 'of : Auckland loan,' which has been oversubscribed in London, bears even more favourable comparison with the waterworks loan raised in April last year. . The £150,000 required ' for water .supply brought the ; Council £96 15s for 44per cent, debentures; the same rate of interest is being paid for the loan of £124,500 now raised at par. -, With the lowering of interest, there will no doubt be •a ■ heavy, demand for money from borrowing countries, but as we have pointed out there is a distinct, slackening : in : r the.call for money for industrial : purposes, and all the indications point to generally easier conditions in the money market. This means much to New Zealand- At no time can we cease our efforts to open up the country and make land available for settlement, but it .is obvious that we cannot afford to push public works, so vigorously when : money is dear as we can when! it is "cheap and readily procurable. "The credit -of the Dominibn stands high and we can trust the Minister for Finance to lose no opportunity of securing a good working margin of cheap money for public works when he goes on the London market, for sufficient to redeem the Continuous Government's short-dated' loans now falling due. :■