LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 10851, 17 March 1921, Page 7

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

MORTGAGES EXTENSION BILL. TALE BILL PASSED. The Legislative Council sat a.t 2.30 p.m. The second reading of the Mortgages Extension Amendment Bill was moved by Sir Francis Bell, who said that the Act ot last year extended the operation of the Mortgages Extension Act by providing that application to the Supreme Court might be made before June 30th of this year and that the court should have power to extend the mortgage until June 30th of next year. The simple alteration proposed by the present bill was that the dates should be extended. The Act of last year had .the effect of practically putting an end to the legislation, hut the present step had been taken in view of the fact that Parliament would not tat alt the usual time. He wished to make it plain that this kind of thing could! noj; go on. Parliament had, alter long considerafion of both Houses, provided thait if the contract was to be altered as to the date or as to the rate of interest there should in each dhse be a tribunal (the court) to determine the subject matter of the hardship between mortagee and mortgagor. The court had the power to extend the period or determine that the money must be paid. The idea that the same principle could be given an all round application was absolutely wrong. There were many cases in which the terms should be extended, and many others in which the mortgagor was taking an unfair advantage of the mortgagee. Indiscriminate legislation was wrong and could not he continued. The mortgagee was complaining that Parliament was constantly extending the period, but he would have no cause to complain if he went to the court and exercised his right to have the term fixed and the rate of interest increased. POCKETS FELL OP COMPLAINTS. He did not doubt that Parliament would have to deal with the matter more definitely in the later session of this year. His sympathies were almost entirely with the mortgagor, but some very- hard cases were known. Some were the cases of soldiers, who, on leaving for the war. sold their properties and took mortgages which gave them a certain return, and now that they had returned from the war they had to look on and see the mortgagees flourishing on their properties. The offer of the tribunal had produced nothing but complaint, from mortgagor-- and mortgagee that the Act was not doing any good. Something would have to bs done to end all this. What was called the moratorium had never existed in New Zealand, but we could not allow the existing'limited provision for interference with the contract to continue. Moreover, it was having a damaging effect on the money market. He had so spoken beoause he wanted to give warning that so far as he could see there was an end’ to these extensions rales mortgagees and mortgagors would accept what Parliament had offered them. The present bill had been introduced because there would be no other session till after the month of September. Every member of the House and every member of the Counoil had his pockets full of letters of complaint on this subject. His own pockets had long overflowed into the waste paper basket. He had advised people who complained what to do, but had not got a single letter of thanks and no one had taken the advice. , The bill was put through all remaining stages and passed. PENDING BUSINESS.

Sir Francis Bell mentioned"' that before Monday he did not propose to take any business other than financial business, and that ail that would be neoessary would be to provide a quorum. The Council rose at 2.55 p.m.