THE MORATORIUM

Southland Times, Issue 19461, 28 January 1925, Page 7

THE MORATORIUM

POSITION BECOMES EASIER. EXTENSION NOT DESIRED. MORTGAGES RE-ARRANGED. (Special to the Times.) WELLINGTON, January 27. There are strong indications that a further extension of the Moratorium, for which applications must be lodged not later than the end of the present week, is not desired, but that mortgagees are generously acceeding to the proposals put before them for a readjustment of mortgages. Public interest in the Moratorium will be revived shortly as the period of application for extension expires on Saturday next, January 31. It is not practicable to secure any official information as to the number of applications already lodged, as they will be submitted to the competent legal authority in the district in which the mortgagor resides. Inquiries made during the past few days point indisputably to the conviction that the volume of applications will not be heavy. In fact, it may be assumed with some degree of certainty that there is by no means a strong desire for extension. The opinion generally expressed both by those directly concerned and those in a position to know what to expect, is that the Government’s action in choosing the end of January as the final date for applying has been fully justified by circumstances that have since ensued. In the interim, sheep farmers have had the advantage of the excellent prices for wool that have been prevailing for the past two months, and have been enabled to make a satisfactory arrangement with mortgagors. In a given case, a sheep farmer states that he has taken £BOOO off his holding during the present season as compared with less than £lOOO during 1921. He has been able to make a satisfactory re-adjustment of his mortgage, and his reduction of the principal has been met with an extension of the term at 6 per I cent, which he considers to be eminently satisfactory. This farmer states that others in his district have benefited in a similar way. Not only has it been found that mortgagees have evinced a willingness to accede to the offers put before them for a re-arrangement or re-adjustment of the mortgage, but that the number of farmers desiring an extension of the Moratorium period is surprisingly small, far less than was anticipated when the Mortgages Final Extension Bill was before Parliament last winter. THE DAIRYMAN. Although the dairy farmer is not in so good a position from the point of view of prices, the opinion is expressed that several months ago dairymen were making arrangements, as the Prime Minister predicted they would do, for a re-arrangement of their obligations to the mortgagee The export of butter and cheese for the eleven months of 1924 was valued at £15,302,538, compared with £15,315,342 for the eleven months of 1923. This shows that the dairy farmer’s position is much the same as it was a year ago. Nevertheless, a conservative opinion of the extent to which dairy farmers will seek the protection the Court may give in extending the period of the Moratorium does not indicate that the movement will be appreciable. The next. month should disclose the full extent to which mortgagors will seek a continuance of the protection of the Act.