THE BANKING BILL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10621, 13 October 1896, Page 3

THE BANKING BILL.

AN IMPORTANT MEASUI.E. (Feom Our Own Coep.espondknt.) Wellington, October 12. Up to the time of writing the Banking Bil, has not made its appearance, and the chances are that we. shall not see it till to-morrow afternoon. The difficulty is probably the suggested clause to provide that tho liquidators of the Colonial Bank shall have power to arrange with tbe directors of the B.nk of New Zetland in regard to the accounts in the "B " list. Some members are beginning to t.-iik that there may be mora in this than meets the eye, and that it would practically mean that the liquidation of the Colonial Bank would be removed from the 1 jurisdiction of, the court entirely, as it might be i possible in the event of such a clause becoming law to remove other, accounts into the "B" list. Apart from th-t, however, there would be considerable opposition to suih a provision. Tho Premier to-day made a statement bearing on the matter. He explained th-t ha had been unable to get the Banking Bill ready, and the evidenca was not yet printed even,

though tho printing office had beeu working at it ou Suudr.v. He proposed that they r.honld debate the Banking Committee report and the bill at the same tirae. Iv re.-rd to the bill, an amendment had just been suggested by the member for Wakatipu (Mr Fraier), to the effect that provision should bo made for the issue of a yearly iu.tead oE a half-«e .rly bi_lar.ee sheet by the Assets Realisation Board. Captain Russell askrd when they might expeofc the Appropriation Bill, and the Premier was understood to cay that it would be down on Thursday. He hoped ou Tuesday that by taking most of the day they wonld get through with the Banking Bill —(laughter),—aud on Wednesday they could get through the other bills nscassary to be passed this session. Mr Kelly (Invercargill) interjected that Wednesday was Labour D»y. Mr Tanner: "It's all labour days here."— (Laughter.) The Premier said he hoped to finish by Friday, and to let southern members get away tbat day. In answer to Mr Bell, he said he would bring down the Banking Bill as soon as he had it ready. Mistakes had been made ie the past through bringing down such bills too hurriedly.. Mr Bell 6aid if members were not allowed to study tho bill some time before tbe debate he would movo that tbe debate be adjourned. Mr Seddon «nid no doubt some of tbem would like the debute adjourned for a month. Mr Bell: " Why ? " Mr Seddon : " Because they don't want the bill at all." - ' '

By the courtesy of the Premier I receivad a copy of the Bank Bill at a very late hour. Its main provisions are.as follow :— The short title of the. bill is "The Bank of New Zealand and Banking Act Ameudment Act 1896."

On and after the 31st day"of March 1897 the board of directors of the Bank of New Zealand (hereinafter called "th. bank") shall comisfc of eight persons of whom (1) three shall be appointed by the G-v_rnor-io-Council; (2) three shall bo elected by tho shareholders of the bank; .(..) one shall be elected by the members of the Legislative Council; and (4) one shall be .elected by the members of the.House of R.presentatives. Tho directors at present in ofiica shall be eligible for appointment or election. With respect to each of the three directors to be appointed by the Governor-in-Council the following provisions shall apply: — (1) He shall hold office for three years, but shall be eligible for reappoint—ent; (2) he may ab any time resign hy notice in writing to the Governor, and the Governori in-Council may at any time remove him I from office; (3) he,.shall, not b_ subj-ct to the provisions of che dead of settlement of the baak as to qualification, retirement, Or rsmoval; (4) as often as his seat becomes vacant it shall be the duty of the bosrd'of directors (hereinafter called " the board "), to forthwith notify the Governor, and thereupon the Governor'-in-Couucil shall fill'che vacancy by appointing a _ucca.-i>r, who sball take office from the date of his employment, and shall hold office for the same term and subject to the same conditions as his predecessor. With respect to each of the three directors to be elected by the shoreholdew, they must posiess tue qualification prescribsrt by the Brink of Now Zealand Guarantee Act, and be subject to the provisions of the de-id of settlement.

With respect to each of the directors to be elected by the members Of the Legislative Council and the House of Representatives respectively, the following provisions shall i apply:—(l) He shall hold office for three years, but Bhall be eligible for re-election ; (2) he may at any time resipn by notice in writing to the Speaker of the Council or of the House, as the case may be, by whose members he was elected, and they may at any time remove him by resolution of the Council or House if Parliament is iv session, or if Parliament is not in session then by warrant of the Spe.aker, issued pursuant to the vote of a majority of the members ; (3) he shall not be s-jbject to the provisions of the deed of settlement of the bank as to qualification, retirement, or removal. A number ef machinery clauses prescribing tbe manner of appointing directors follow. The directors first appointed and elected uuder this act shall take office ou the 31sb day of March 1897, aud thereupon the following events shall forthwith ensue : —(1) The directors then previously in office shall ceare to bold office; (2) tho president's office shall be deemed to be abolished ; (3) Tha directors shall take stepj to select and appoint a general manager at a salary nob exceeding £1250 per annuoi.

With. respect to the board as constituted under this acb and toe members thereof the following provisions shall apply:—(l) The Governor-in-Oouncil shall appoint one of the directors to be the chairman of the board, and the chaiimau so appointed shall have the power of veto heretofore possessed by .the presidei—;

(2) at all meetings of the board the quorum shall be an absolute majority of all tbe directors who _ aro for the time being in ofl—3; (3) the reoiimeratiou of tbe directors whilst they hold office shall be at the rites following—that is to say: (a) the chairman, £1000 ' per annum ;' (I) each of the other directors such sum not exceeding £250 per annum as is fixed by tbe board, provided that in every case where a director of tbe bank is also au attorney of the Bulk of New Zealand Estates Company (Limited) then, irrespective of his remuneration as director of the bank, he may also receive from that company such remuneration at tha rate of not more than £100 per annum as is fixed by the board.

The first proviso to section 55 of "The Bank of New Zealand and Banking Act 1895" is hereby repealed, and it is hereby declared that after the first day of July 1897 no overdraft on any account whatever shall be allowed by the bank to any officer of the bank or to any company of which any director or officer of the bank is a director. All contracts aud agreements as to salary, tenure of office, or otherwise, howsoever made, between the bank or the directors thereof on the one part and tbe president, the auditor, or any of the officers thereof on the other p_rt ab any time subsequent to the coming into operation of " The Bank of New Zealand Share Guarantee Act 1894" are hereby declared to be void for all purpose., aud no party to any such contract or agreement Bball have any claim to compensation or otherwise by pension of the voiding thereof; provided that in the event of the present auditor ceasing to hold thab office, and not goiug mm the bank's service, within one year after the coming into operation of this act, theu for tbe purposes of determining his claim on tbe pension fund of the bank he shall be deemed to have been j in the service ot the bank during ths whole !-period of his service as auditor; provided furi the- tbnt in the event of the person now holding | the office of president not continuing in the i bank's servic- iv any capacity after the abolition of tbe office of president, then he shall be entitled by way of oompansation for the loss of office to such sum, not exceeding oue year's salary, as the board thinks fib to grant. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained iv " The Bank of New Zealand and Banking Act 1895," it is hereby declared that tbe annual dividends on tbe preferred shares I issued to her Majesty under section 7 I therefore shall he paid by the bsuk Ito the Agent-general of tho colony lin London by half-yearly instalments ou the j first day of June and th» first day of DecemI ber iv each year, and the consent or authority of the shareholders shall not be necessary. _ I (1) The provisions of paragraph 2 of section 142 of "The Bank of New Zealand and Bank-

ing Act 1895 " shall extend and apply to every power. of attorney, letter of attorney,, or authority given by any person to tbe general manager of tho Colonial Bank of New Zealand, or to any of the managers or officers of the Colonial Bank of New Zealand authorising the said general manager, or the said manager or officers, to do any act or thing for and on behalf or in the name of the grantor thereof, or which was in force at tho time of the transfer of the business of the Colonial B-ilc of New Zealand to the Bank of New Zealand. (2) The general manager of the B-nk of New Zealand shall be deemed to have aud to have had vested in him, from the timo of the said transfer of the said business, all the powers aud authorities granted respectively by any such power of attorney, latter of attorney, or authority to the persons therein named. (3) The words " The general manager of the Bank of New Zealnnd " in tbis section shall extend to and include any pereou for the time being acting ai general manager of tho Bank of New Zealand.

With respect to the accounts in the list marked "B" in the contract of sale and purchase between the Bank of New ZeaUnd and the Colonist Bank of New Zealand, referred to in " The Bank of New Zealand and Banking Act Amendment Act 1895," it is hereby declared that the directors of tbe Bank of Nrw Zealand and the liquidators of the Colonial Bank of New Zealand may lawfully enter iuto and carry out aa agreement for . the absolute taking over by tbe Bank of New Zealand of all or any of the accounts in that list by way of purchase at such price as the snid directors and liquidators agree upon, anything in the said contract or any act to the contrary notwithstanding; provided that nothing in this section contained Bhnll apply to any of the accounts in the lists marked "C" or "D" in the said contract.

The balance sheet and statement cf acconn's of the Assets Realisation Board shall be m ide up annually to the 31st day- of March in each year instead of half-yearly, as nrovided by section 52 of " The Bank of New Zeal and'and Banking Act 1895." aud that section is hereby modified accordingly. (1) In addition to tho auditor (hereinafter called the "chief auditor) appointed uuder section 13 of " The Bank of New Zeal-nd Share Guarantee Act 1894," to set in respect of tbe business of the B*nk in the Australian colonies, and elsewhere outside the United Kingdom, the Goveriior-iu-Couricil may appoint a fit person, being au expert in banking, to act as assistant auditor in respect of such business. (2) The .alary or remuneration of the awisfcani.-auditor, bting a sum not exceeding £1000 per annum, shall be fixed and paid and be FU-ji-cfc to -Iteration in tbe manner prescribed by the aforesaid section 13 in the case of tha chief auditor. (3) The. Colonial Treasurer may from time to tiniß make regulations dt-fioing the duties and powers of the assistant auditor-general. The Gavernor-in-Comicil may from time to time, by notice in the Gazstte, prescribe to every bank within the meaning of " The Banks and Bankers Act 1880" which carries on business in tha colony, the form of the returns referred to in section 6 of tbat act, and also of such bank's annual balance sheet end tho items and particulars that shall be set forth in such return and balance sheet respectively, and for tho purposes of this sect-ion he may, by Gazette notie-., alter the first schedule to .hat'act in such manner r.s he thinks fit (1) From and after the first day of January 1897 it shall be tho duty of every such bank ss aforesaid to at all times ke?p in j the colony bona fide assets to an extent I equal to or- greater t'.ian its total lisbilities in j the colony. (2) If default is ra&de in com-pli-nc-i with the foregoing provisions of this I seotion, every director and attorney of tbo de- i faulting bank is liable to a penalty of nut less j than £10 nor more than £100 for every day i during which such default continues. | The deed of 'settlement of the bank, "Tha | Bank of New Zealand Share Guarantee Act i 1894," "The Bank of New Zealand and Bank- | iug Act 1895," and every oth . act which is in j any way in conflict with this act are her. by l respectively modified in so far as such conflict exists, but not further or otherwise.