"ONLY ONE DANGER."

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18374, 14 April 1923, Page 10

"ONLY ONE DANGER."

INFLATION OF LAND VALUES. OPTIMISM AS TO FUTURE. [BT . TEIEGBAPH. OWS' CORRESPONDENT.] CHBISTCHT7RCH. Friday. Much criticism was levelled, at; financial institutions of the Dominion because of the attitude they took up during the " slump,' said Mr. J. Mac Gibbon,. manager of the Bank of New Zealand's Christchurch branch, to members of the Lyttelton Harbour Board. Mr. MacGibbon staTed that many of the institutions had strained their resources to an almost dangerous extent in meeting the situation. Trading concerns had also done Their share and later were in the difficult situation of having bought goods at peak prices and therefore haying to write them down to present-day prices, in which task they were met by the financial institutions. Mr. Mac Gibbon said- he believed there was no reason to feel pessimistic as to the future of the Dominion. From information he had received he understood the price of meat and wool would be good for some years to come. There was only one danger to be feared. It was that land should again be exchanged beyond its true . value by ? speculators. In the North Island particularly land had been bought, not for farming purposes at all, but for speculation, many of the transactions being only on paper. If,' there-, fore, farmers traders j found that financial institutions were restricting their operations they should remember the institutions were only acting in their interests. -" ' M -<<