INDEBTEDNESS OF NEW ZEALAND.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 890, 15 September 1879, Page 2

INDEBTEDNESS OF NEW ZEALAND.

On the subject of the Bluff Harbor loan the Pall Mall Ganztte observes that the rapid increase of debt m New Zealand is likely tocause some uneasiness to all who are interested m that colony. Not only is the colony itself largely indebted, but the various towns and municipalities are borrowing to an extent which may easily prove dangerous. This, of course, will Juofc be felt so long as the borrowing, the building of public works, and the assisted immigration go steadily on, but- should any check occur grave difficulties might follow ; for it should not be forgotten that the whole of the debt, amounting to more than £50 per head of the population, is m foreign hands and consequently the interest upon it has to beisent out of the colony. If it should prove that miscalculations have been made m the value of the public works, and if the demand for the Crown lands fall off— both conceivable events — the position of New Zealand might be uncomfortable. We do not say that this is a reason for alarm or even distrust, but there is certainly quite enough m the present state of affairs to make us wish that the people of New Zealand would not discount their future quite so heavily. There is no finer colony within the circle of the British possessions ; the climate is specially suited to men of our race ; and any financial mismanagement which should check its growth would be most deplorable.