LOCAL BODIES’ LOANS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3098, 30 July 1913, Page 48

LOCAL BODIES’ LOANS.

1M PO RT A X T LEG IS L ATI 0 X. XEW GOYEHXMEXT SCHEME. £Fnou Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, July 28. The Local Boilies Loans Bill, to be introduced this week, will, it is understood, embody important alterations and amendments in the system under which local bodies now raise such funds as they require. The advisability of differentiating between different Hashes of local bodies has often been emphasised, and the new Bill will probably draw a clear distinction between comparatively wealthy local bodies which are competent to enter the mwkgt on their own account and these which can afford to raise only email sums, and are absolutely dependent upon Government assistance in their borrowing operations. On behalf of such bodies the Government will no doubt arrange to borrow a stated annual amount, not to be exceeded in ;iny one year. Assistance of another kind-will bo lent to local bodies which carry out works upon a large scale, and need correspondingly large amounts of borrowed money. The aim in regard to these bodies will be to enable them to seek the money market for themselves. . . The Government, it is stated, is determined to put an end to the system under which the State borrowed almost any amount on behalf of local bodies when the position of the market allowed it, and lent

enormous sums to individual local bodies. The underlying’ idea of the new legislation will probably be that the local authorities which can absorb loans at this rate should raise the money for themselves, with the State backing their operations.