Corporate Finance

Southland Times, Issue 1148, 18 March 1890, Page 2

Corporate Finance

We have received from tlvi Town C'erk a copy of a circular relating ti luvercaigill municipal finance and re-tmnea, whkh has been prepared for distribution in Louden and will be sent Home along with t ie debentures for L 19.000 which v ill (shortly he placed on the market there. The document has been very concisely formulated arid will show intending investors at a glance the position and circumstances cf the Borough touching money matters, the security of their purchases. With n marked map, which will accompany it, the circular will iniike those who peruse ii > arefully ouite faniiliur with municipal affiirs. A brief resume may not be devoid either of interest or information even to local readers. It says the endowi lents comprise " 122 quarter-acre section:?, hased for a term of years, the present relit il is L 623 12a per annum. It is estimated 'hit when these leases expire the endowment* will bring by auction for the next term of 14 years a very much larger sum. The oaiital value of these 122 Municipal endowment sections is estimated at L' 26,700. In addition to these thore is a block of 1 100 acres of land situated in Seaward forest, three miles from the south-past boundary of the town. This land is not yet leased, hut will shortly be so; probably as soon as the Seaward Bush-Toi Tois railway, now under <:onstruccioD, is finished. The value of this endowment is at present estimated at fully L 7700. The Gasworks, the propel ty at the Corporation, were constructed at a ;ost of L 40,000. The works are centrally tituated on a site of four acres one rood and twelve poles, close by the Government railway station. This piece of land, the value of which at present is estimated at L2OOO, will become, before long of great value on account of its position. The ir creased consumption of gas bait necessitated the • •\tensioii nf the works, ;uui the reticulation of the town with pines fi oi j time lo time. Those works are sell support ing, and the net profits do more than pay the interest, on the cost of their construction. The Water Supply is obtained from an artesian watertight iron cylinder well sunk to a depth of 1(K) feet where a neve;- failing supply of water has been tapped. The water is pumped by powerful engines into a tank n'xed on the aummit of ;i handsome brick tower at a height of a hundred feet abo\ c the surface of the ground. In case of tire the water can be mimed. ateiy pumped direct into the street mains where, with a pressure of I .lolb to the square nidi, the Fire Brigade have been able to effectually extinguish and confine fires to the buildings 'in which they originated. The cost of the completed waterworks has been slightly under L 30,000. This includes over 21 mile* of street mains reticulating the town throughout. Under the head ' Sundry it s&ys — The Borough of luvercargill comprises an area, including recreation reserves, of 1080 acres. During the past fifteen years L 52 ,130 hare been expended in the formation and improvement of its 26 miles of streets; wnilst L 9716 have been spent in the utilisation and ornamentation of its park and recreation reserves. Invercargill is the commercial centre of what is termed "The Southland Education District," which comprises an area of 9,28.), 600 acres. The greater part of the land is flat and undulating, the quality rich and fertile, and suitable for agriculture. The geographical positioii of Invercargill insures its being the natural outlet for the produce of the district. Railways connect Invercargill with Lake Wakatipu- — 90 milea distant northwards — with Riverton, Orepuki and Waicola on the we-st, ■with Dunedin and the northern trunk line to Canterbury on -the east, and with Bluff Harlour, 17 miles distant, southward- -the first and last port of call for the intercolonial steamers trading between Australia and N(w Zealand. The population of the borough was, in 1871, 19<K); in 1878, 3756. aid in IN9O, 5500. The annual value of ratable property in 1871 was LlO,. r )00; in IS7S, L 38.42 0; and in 1890, L 48,000. The total revenue of borough in IST I w« L 2223 ; in 1878, L13,0(17 ; and in 1890, L 16.39."). A statement showing the allocation of loan, the annual interest, iuid the revenue of the departments available to pay interest gives the following figures: — Gasworks: Loan, L 4.1,00 0; annual interest, L 2025 ; available revenue, L 5876. Waterworks loan, L 30.000 ; annual interest, L 135 0; available revenue, LI4OO. Municipal loan, L7o,000; annual interest, L 337- *; available revenue, L 9120. Besides the particulars quoted a considerable amount of statistical information is given al>out the district of which Invercargill is the capital. The circular bears the signatures of his Worship the Mayor and the Town Clerk, and these gentlemen are to be congratulated mi having formulated a document which is at once ooncise and explicit.