PROPOSED WATERWORKS LOAN.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 859, 16 January 1879, Page 2

PROPOSED WATERWORKS LOAN.

PUBLIC MEETING. The great length of our report of Tuesday evening's public meeting precluded the possibility of our publishing the whole of it in our last issue. "VVe now give the concluding portion as follows : After some little pause, Mr. Ritchie Young mounted the platform, and said—l want to ask you a question, Mr. Mayor. Don't you think it would have been better for Mr. M'Leod to have had the works measured before re-letting them '? This is a legal question, I know. I think Mr. M'Leod should have had the work measured, and not have thrown the burden on the town. The Mayor replied that the works liad been measured. The work had been performed quite independently of Mr. M'Leod by Mr. Jebson, who had previously been in the employ of the Provincial Government of Canterbury. Besides that, the contracts were paid for by measurement, so that no mistake could be made. Mr. Young then moved a vote of thanks to the Mayor for his very clear statement. This was carried by acclamation, and the Chnirinan, having acknowledged the compliment, was about to declare the meeting at an end, when

Mr. Shrimski stepped forward, and said that the Mayor had made pointed allusion to some person who had gone to Mr. Hislop and said that the Mayor had gone to Christchurch to endeavor to get the station site altered. Would the Chairman say if that person was present'? The Chairman replied that he could not say whether the person was present or not. Mr. Hislop had not told him the person's name, and he had no desire to know who it was that had libelled him behind his back. Mr. Shrimski then said that he had spoken to Mr. Hislop on the matter. — (Oh, oh.) He had received the information from an officer of the Corporation, and he had considered it his duty to speak to his colleague about it. He (Mr. Shrimski) then complained of ratepayers having been kept in the dark in regard to certain matters in connection with the waterworks, and said the Press liad not given full reports of the Council meetings. Having • delivered himself of a fancy specimen of tiie newspaper reports of Council meetings, he said he thought the ratepayers should have been afforded every information. Though the Mayor had made a lengthy statement, he had not said anything about the cost of floating the L 65,000 loan. The Mayor had told them about the loan he (Mr. Shrimski) had negotiated at 90, but he had not told • them what the cost of raising the LGO,OOO loan had been. It must be remembered that when he (Mr. Shrimski) raised the loan at 90 times were very bad and money was very tight. The Corporation had then a large overdraft and a heavy mortgage, and the banks refused to let them have any more money. They were therefore pleased to be able to obtain a loan on such favorable terms —terms which even some Governments were forced to accept, He had not intended to take any part in the present meeting, as he did not feel called upon to interfere, but there was one question which lie wished to put to the Mayor. It was with reference to the Bank charges for raising the loan and remitting interest. He thought that it was a singular thing that no reference had been made to this matter-—it was however

doubtless convenient to pass i$ gvpr. At the same time he thought it was right / that the ratepayers should be told that? * the Bank had charged as much as 4 per cent, for remitting money to London to pay coupons, arid had charged the Council 9 per cent, for an overdraft amonnting to L 25,000, and at the same time allowed no interest on the proceeds of the loan which was in their hands, so that the ratepayers werd paying interest to the debenture-hplders at. the rate of 7 per cent., and to the Bank interest on overdraft at 9 per cent., or together 16 per cent.. at one and the aame time. He thought that they should one and all refuse to support a Bank which dealt in/such a fashion. That waa all he had to say. Mr. Steward said he was glad for Mr. Shrimski's sake that that was all, as it admitted of a very easy answer. The rate of exchange between London and New Zealand during the months of June, July, August, and September the period referred to—was 4 to per cent., and in October the maximum was as high as 6 per cent.and in every case the Bank had charged the Council the minimum rate. As regards the proceeds of the loan, the money was paid by the debenture holders to the Bank in all the 9th April; that was the last payment was made on the day named, and the proceeds were placed to the Council's credit in Oamaru on the sth August. Allowing for course of mail that would leave about 80 days upon which the Council thought it was entitled to interest-. An application was made to the Bank here accordingly and referred Home, and in due course a reply was received Btating that interest had not been allowed because the money while in London remained at call. He (the Mayor) was still of opinion that the Council should be credited with such amount as would ordinarily be conceded on open account; and wrote again to the local manager on the 29tli September last. That letter had not yet been replied, to, and there was barely time to have received a reply from London yet. He might, however, add that he had reason to believe that the application had beon supported by the Bank here, and he hoped yet to receive a fair allowance in respect of. the time the proceeds of the loan had been in the hands of the Bank in London. It might, of course, have been telegraphed out, but in that case the Bank would have been entitled to 1 per cent, commission, which, on L 61,000 would have amounted to more than the interest on the then overdraft. In reply to the Hon. H. J. Miller, the Mayor stated that the National Bank had placed the loan very satisfactorily, the rate obtained being LlO3 lis. 9d., leaving, after paying all expenses, the net sum of L 01,187 18s. Id., or Lllß7 18s. I'd. above par. He thought that was a very satisfactory result, and at least compared favorably with a previous financial operation of the Council. No doubt many of them would remember that a few years ago a 7 per cent, loan for L 20,000 was sold at 90, and that a commission of L 250 was paid on the transaction; in other words, the loan last referred to produced 88 f nett or a depreciation of llj per cent., while the L 60,000 loan had produced over 101, or a difference of 12i per cent, between the two transactions.

Cr. Headland : Who got the commission I Mr. Slirimski : Mr. Shrimski ! and what is more I spent it. Who got the section for nothing ? The Mayor : It is fair to add that Mr. Shrimski received 110 honorarium, and I did not refer to the price obtained for tho L 20,000 loan by way of complaining that the best had not been done under tho circumstances, but for tho purpose of showing by comparison that the present Corporation has been a little more successful. Perhaps I should add that Mr. Slirimski received the thanks of tho Council—l think on the motion of Cr. Headland. Cr. Headland : You are wrong there, as I was not in the Council at the time ; and if I had been, Mr. Shrimski wouldu't have got the L 250 if I could have helped it. The Mayor almost immediately after this declared the meeting at an end.