RURAL CREDIT SYSTEM

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21929, 12 October 1934, Page 13

RURAL CREDIT SYSTEM

MORE NEW BUSINESS INCREASE SHOWN LAST YEAR CONCESSIONS TO BORROWERS [*BT TELEGRAPH —SPFCIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON, Thursday Signs of recovery are noted in the annual report of the. Rural Intermediate Credit Board, which was tabled in the House of Representatives to-day. " During the first three complete years of the board's operations, business increased rapidly, but since then thero has been a falling off. the reduction for the year ended June 30, 1933, being very marked," says the report. "The retardation of the rate of increase ot new business must be ascribed mainly to the reluctance of farmers to ; incur further liabilities in a period ot j low prices for farm produce. As a I ireneral rule, farmers feared to borrow ! . I even for developmental work because ot i the doubt whether the outlay would ! be recouped by the additional returns j received. The reduction of the values j of stock, consequent on the fall in revenue received, also adversely affected the amounts which could be made available on loan. "it is satisfactory to record, however, that during the past year new business has shown an increase over that for the previous year, this result being no doubt attributable to some extent to the improvement of conditions in the sheepfarming industry, although the greater part of the increase is due to new business obtained from dairy farmers, notwithstanding that the prices received for their produce were almost the same as those received during the preceding year. "For the year ended June 30, 1934, loan moneys advanced by the board under all headings totalled £78,417, compared with £72,154 for the year ended June 30, 1933. It seems probable that any material increase in the value of dairy produce would be reflected in a substantial expansion of the board's lending business. The total amount advanced by the board to Juns 30, 1934, is £1,065,179, net investments at that date being £274,963. Borrowers have repaid a sum of £790,216, or slightly in excess of 74 per cent of the amount lent, of which nearly two-thirds has been repaid in the last three years. "Arrears of interest owing as at June 30. 1934, amounted to £317 only. Borrowers from the board have nofc as a general rule required to avail themselves of provisions of the Mortgagors Relief Act. Although a few applications have been made against the board or associations, only in isolated cases has the Court granted relief which the board would not have been prepared to grant voluntarily without recourse to the procedure laid down imder the Act." MURDER TRIAL EVIDENCE PRODUCING HUMAN BONES PETITION DISCOUNTS VALUE [BT TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL REPORTER"] WELLINGTON. Thursday The opinion that there must be a grave risk that a miscarriage of justice will occur where a verv small quan- ! tity of quite unidentifiable human remain:} are allowed as "the production of the body" in murder cases i» expressed in a petition from Albert H. Chappie, of Swanson, which was tabled in the House of Representatives today. Therefore, the petitioner prays that some amendment be made to tho Crimes Act so that it will be Qointed out to the jury by the presiding judge that, the remains being quite unidentifiable, the case has not been proved. The petitioner contends that human bones alone should be ruled out as evidence in murder cases, for if they are quite bare of flesh and are white, they must represent an old skeleton, and if there is only a very small weight of bones, that admits of the possibility of conspiracy. The petitioner adds that he is quite unrelated to any convicted person.