THE MORATORIUM.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19198, 14 June 1924, Page 8

THE MORATORIUM.

The references that have been recently made to the subject, principally at meetings of branches of the Farmers’ Union, indicate that the approaching expiry of the moratorium—bn December 31 next—is considerably exercising the minds of a good many people. It has been publicly suggested that the withdrawal of the protection which the moratorium legislation has afforded will not cause any serious trouble in Otago and Southland, aud that is a view which seems to us to be well-founded. Land values never soared in this portion of New Zealand to heights that bore no true correspondence in normal times to the productive capacity of properties, and instances must be rare indeed of lands being mortgaged many times over in the South as they commonly have been in some portions of the North Island. But there must in any case be an end sooner or later to the mora-

torium and no convincing reason has been advanced why tho end should not come sooner rather than later. The moratorium has already been in operation for ten years, and mortgagors who have taken advantage of it and have been unable, or have neglected, to make any adequate preparation against tho time of tho withdrawal of tho protection they have enjoyed under it will, generally speaking, ■—whatever may be said in special cases —have no great cause to complain of hardship when the time comes for tho effluxion of the legislation. Mr Massey has professed a dislike for “this continual interference with business” and has expressed a conviction that “the less Government interference there is tho better,” but he has stated that be will propose fresh legislation in the coming session in terms of which a mortgagor will be enabled to apply to the Supreme Court for protection fox, an additional term. “If the Judge thought the mortgagor had a chance to recover, then he would make arrangements for tho carrying on of tho mortgage for a couple of years, but not longer.” There has been some rather hysterical talk about people walking oft their farms, unable to sustain the burden that is pressing them down, and the proposal which Mr Massey has foreshadowed is clearly designed to give a further chance to mortgagors whoso difficulties are so extreme that they are in a desperate condition. We are not at all sanguine that it is going to help them in the long run. They committed themselves ic many cases to bargains which wore extremely foolish and’on the strength of those bargains they contracted obligations which it was impossible for them to discharge unless they were favoured with good luck so exceptional as to be beyond the likelihood of realisation. They victimised themselves, and it may be rendering them no great service to postpone the day when they must submit to the loss which they courted.