MORATORIUM MORTGAGES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18387, 1 May 1923, Page 5

MORATORIUM MORTGAGES.

v Sir, —I heartily endorse all that, Will - Carter and his supporters say re . mort- : gages and high rates of interest, and hops that our _ so-called " Poor man's Government" will do something to help the producers of : the country out of tho moss which most of them have got into through no fault of their own. Low. interest and ft long loan is our only chance of success, and is . only to be obtained through the: Advances' to Settlors Office. 51 our interest were only 6 per cent.., including a sinking fund wo could : pay our way; as " i. it is thousands are in the same case; na myself. When fat stock started •to slump I had to obtain assistance from the • bank to adjust: the loss, on ? each consignment, of stock frozen. When my credit With •' the bank was exhausted I had to obtain . assistance ' from on© of the stock , agents. The. bank now practically owns my;: farm; : the stock; agent my stock; and t "am a working, manager with no salary, The ■ difference between interest at. 6 "per cent. and i what lam paying would mean £300 . a year to mo, which would keep- mo in . • / tucker : and in timo pay 'off 'my over- .> - drafts. . ' .V. Another Back Bloctor, Sir,—Mr. Colbeck deserves the • thanks . of the farming community for his. lucid' L interpretation of their i position/ v > If;» : as . . he says, lenders are now systematically ; withholding investments on farming l»,nS security it. will bo . practically impossible ': for the average farmer to havo his mortgages, adjusted prior to tho termination • of : the moratorium, as others ; have ad-;. vised. The Government v Advances De- ■ partment offers no solution iii tho case - of thousands of landholders,, for : the • simple reason that -.their • terms ; are : not,, ; nearly liberal ■ enough. Of what use in . an advance , of . £2000 in the case' of a farmer whoso total mortgages amount to,. , say, £2500 or more, : or where the Gov-' . ernment valuation. is 20 to 50 per - cent, below the price ho paid for tho land, and which ho holds on . the usual■ small de- ' posit and mortgage - terms ? ' It • mnst be 1 remembered that -sottiers holding on ' these terms represent a-very largo pro-:. 1 portion of tho working farmers of the ■' Dominion who are not speculators " and ' never were. It in easy .to say : . Oh, they - ' should not - havo bought at such high ' values But how could they, do: other- • • ' wise? : Many waited a long time ■'•init,ha ' hops that land values would comedown, ' but eventually had to buy at much 1 higher prices than if they had bought 1 earlier. In any case, without putting the' ' blame ' for the present predicament, on. ' one another, whero is the sincerity o!'. 5 ' the Government, and others,, from . the ' highest to the lowest, . continually, prat: ■ 1 ii! ? about getting people on tho land, : 1 when, after doing so, they are allowed : ' to lose their : life's savings and years ;ol! ; 1 honest labour and many other sacrifices : to be rudely . thrown ' back into thefcitifi'.'; j 1 to follow some occupation of no economic , : . , 1 service to their country, or. perhaps to become inmates.of charitable institutions. Surely some means can. bo devised so 1 that their services can bo retained on the land. This is a xndro important;question 'V. than bringing out immigrants ' from other..; parts: to farm our lands. Our own cx--1 perienced ' people v should undoubtedly 1 make tho best producers of wealth ■_ so much, needed to carry onr ever-increasing ; burden of taxation and interest_ upon / mortgages. , . . T. lip.o. Sir— his / second letter Mr.' Will ; Carter said his scheme: proposes only to . pay off mortgages, under sound valuations. To get sound valuations wo must .'revertbock 3 to normal times.' If we did this, arid • took rthe standard values of from .1804 to . ; ; ' 1914 wo would find that the truo coin'. mercial values of the average ffivra r lands « in the North Island > would bo i.rom .U// • to £25 per acre; Under these conditions sums of from £1000 to £2000 would ho. ouito enough for :aj>y reasonable farm to bo loaded with. A man must- not., leave . ■ his officer to value any farm. It ' 'he. can get a reasonable period of returns he. re- . ■ quires only an inspector to report on . th© state in which the farm is being .kept- ; In regard to rates of interest Mr. . Carter 1 is very much at &ca. '■ I know of. two _ . 1 cases,: one of which was for a sum of : £8000. on a grazing farm, valuation , . ' -£17,000. This money was arranged at 7 per cent. The firm of financiers assurer me that they have hot turned down om good sound proposition. 7 arid the rates -of interest arc in some cases as low as 6 pet", cent, whero tho margin has been ample. In cases of large estates, where sums of, ~ say, £5000 to- £60,000 are required, .and where the securities are satisfactory, I ... venture to sav that if debentures were ... , immd in bonds 'of £50 upwards, there would be no difficulty in raising thaw y. moneys- at .7 par cent, and . giving, the : public the best, security yet offered—secured hv first mortgage:' " KEB» SfßCtATpsu •. - lure rfsd wliih interest,, ths several letters concerning the moratorium, f-r also your comments on; the proposed agri-.; cultural bank scheme. Th'» ides of plenty money being provided by ike Advances to Settlers' Office to \meet farmgrs* oblige " Horn, such as rat.mortgages,. beams 'very . alluring, bat the question is, Cats it ready . bo obtained ? 5 What .we .want- ii« Straight *. business, not merely vague . promises- by politicians. Daring the past' diazen year#.-. I have made foitr separate applkaisons-for ■ loajs monev, the amount in'. «a^' ■ tnjt'ahca' . } not exceeding £500,-, for: the. ;pnrp/m''(it - ] improving - land sad .increasing .produc- . . } tion, Each time I paid tho _ Ceo of : |£1 lis 6d demanded for -valuation, and j the security was ample, ■ bsi .evejry.:iinia |my application was declined vriihont?any •' I definite .rcaAon being*. Xt 4 ««ms : tho J Advances Ofßca does not cat-®r for settler* } tm-Jvm originally intended. ; We are told- ' i that under the ■ Advances to ..Workers j £850 in £-1000' will be available for J home boilding. Pablic ' bodies s«em. to b» rgbie to borrow from the Advances; Office. ■ • ' but tor the coostry .wilier th«re.'j» pw;.. . jiicrflv BJBJ.' ; 1 heartily agree wfih XVill A. Carters letters-, and hope Ma 'pro- .... . i posals. will meet ■ with 3up 'eonaideraSfen- . . J by all who have the best interests of the { country at; heart. If our producers ar« - j unable to ..carry on, the effect* will .-aoott .. Ibe Ht by' the whole cemmunitv. .' *'• i ' - ■ ' p!dKSK&, '