STATE-GUARANTEED LOANS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 41

STATE-GUARANTEED LOANS.

! STATE ADVANCES BOARD | , . CRITICISED. NAPIER, March 25. A The Napier Borough -Council ■■ held a i special meeting oh Thursday to consider ' ] jhe position, regarding the borough, loan, j : The loam authorised totals £134,250 tor ; various nufposes, bub the State Guaranteed Advances Board is granting the Council only £35,000 for drainage. The municipal solicitors advise against the \ acceptance of the Government loan- of'; le?.s than the whole amount applied for, j unless the whole loan be granted, though actual payment of some portioii, may be deferred. Considerable feeling was displayed over the board's decision, and it was decided that a deputation from the council should proceed to Wellington j to urge the granting in instalments of j the''total sum. applied for. There was a j good deal of discussion over the position I of the Hastings Borough Council; it hav- | ing been reported that that body had been ! granted its loan in- full, which would I include a sum for the installation* of ' ' electric light, one of the purposes for j which money was refused in the case of j Napier. In, the telegraphic corresppn-. j deuce with the Mayor of Napier, however i I Sir Joseph Ward states that the Hastings I loan- has not yet been granted, but" that ! consideration of it has been postponed' i pending particulars beinjg supplied. ;"*& ' - j ! THE HASTINGS MISUNDERSTAND- ; INC., '■' . ' • : NAPIER, March 27. j The following is a copy of the tele- j ! grain ' received by the Hastings Borough j Council from the superintendent of the ■ State Advances Department:—."Town j j Clerk,, Hastings.—Provisional approval j ! £85,000 postponed pending: further par- ! I ticulars being supplied.— J/ W. Poynton, j Superintendent," The wording of the j telegram as given to the reporter by i the -town clerk was: "Eighty-five thouI sand pounds loan granted, provided that [ further particulars be supplied.—?oyn- j I ton." The town; clerk was then speaking [from memory, the Mayor having taken [ the original, telegram with him to Wei- : lington.- The omission of' the word | " postponed " from the particulars given fc/to the press representative was the- cause i of the misunderstanding which took place > before the position was made clear by I the Prime Minister. ; ORDER OF PREFERENCE. j- WELLINGTON, March 24. ! I Some disappointment having been ex- j i pressed by local bodies at not at once { having their applications for loans under the State Guaranteed Advances Act granted, the Prime Minister stated that the present position with regard to advances emphasised the fact that care must be 'exercised in discriminating as to the class of works that should receive first consideration. " The total amount authorised by the board at the sitting on the 18th inst.," said Sir Joseph Ward, " was £612,000 —an uncommonly large sum, which must be recognised by any- ; one who has knowledge of. the advances made to local public bodies throughout the country up "to now. I am right in | saying that in no previous period of j 12 months has .the amount exceeded . £200,000 —that is ; , -moneys advanced ' to ! local public bodies direct. The total. _. amount of the applications for loans under j the State Guaranteed Advan«es Act .sub- j mitted to the board at the meeting I have referred to was £1,400,155, board, j rightly in my -opinion, gave preference to advances fox sewerage, drainage, water

supply, and roads and bridges. To have entertained applications , for tramway loans, electric light loans and gas loans, and for building municipal theatres, to the exclusion of loans for the other purposes named, would have practically been making provision for what, if not luxuries, are certainly recognised adjuncts to the convenience and comfort of the people in the towne. While quite legitimate in every way, they could not in my opinion be granted by the board to tile prejudice of applications from places that would be very thankful to have ordinary requirements that cannot in any way be regarded as luxuries provided them. The whole of the "applications," continued the Prime • Minister, " were dealt with fairly, but of necessity the board had to discriminate between what one may regard as necessary essentials for the practical uses of the people and those that, while useful to them do not come under the same category.; It is astonishing how everybody appears to want to have everything done at once in this particular matter. To haye told any local public body 18 months ago that it could have got portion of its loan at the rate 'of 3-£ per cent, to the extent of £612,000 at one meeting of the board would have been doubted, and now in- a few cases only the applicants not being able to obtain loans for electric trams or 'some other such purpose are no doubt disappointed, but the public generally will recognise that these are works which should not rank ahead of drainage, sewerage, water supply, and roads and bridges. I certainly have never said that every application of a local public body for any> purpose that it requires to devote money to will be granted. Assuming that such a thing were possible, no board would be justified in letting the whole available' money it possessed out at once. I am quite confident that the system has conferred an immense public boon upon local bodies, but, like everything eke, common sense must be used. Patience must be exercised. In any case, while doing what is' reasonable for public bodies ■ requiring mocisy for legitimate works throughout the country, the board of necessity must bej both, now and in the future, careful in discriminating to what class of works should receive first consideration, especially when such a large sum as that which I have referred to hais been applied for. One thing is certain," said Sir Joseph-. Ward in conclusion, "whether complaint here and there arises or not, 'the goose that lays golden eggs.' will not be killed in order to meet 'unreasonable people who regard . works in. the, shape of luxuries for which they apply as being of parmount importance, and that they should be given preference and be granted at once to the exclusion of applications of other local bodies for more urgent public works."