WANGANUI BOARD’S APPEAL

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1933, Page 9

WANGANUI BOARD’S APPEAL

HIGH COURT RESERVES DECISION. DISPUTE ON INTEREST REDUCTION. The Australian High Court has reserved decision, a Press Association cable from Sydney states, in the appeal of the Wanganui-Rangitikei Power Board against the decision of the New South Wales Equity Court in the board’s claim for a reduction of interest under the New South Wales Interest Reduction Act on certain debentures for moneys borrowed from the Australian Mutual Provident Society. The grounds of the appeal were that the Court was in error in declaring that the Act did not apply in that case and that th- board’ was not entitled to the benefit of the Act in payment of interest.. ... Acting-Chief Justice Harvey’s _ judgment in the Equity Court said it was clear that the parties intended that the contract should be a New Zealand contract from first to last, and that it was never intended that the. obligation to pay interest at Sydney was to be subject to any law which the State of New South Wales might make. He held that if a resident of New South Wales borrowed money in England, contracting to pay interest for it there, and returned to. New South Wales before his creditor could sue him in England, it obviously, could not be set up that if the creditor followed him to New South Wales he was discharged from obligation to pay the full interest by reason of the existence of the New South Wales Interest Reduction Act. It was too clear for words that these loans and security were to be interpreted and enforced according to New Zealand law. The fact that the debentures were made payable at Sydney was a mere accident, and whether that was an obligation which was an inherent part of the contract and could not be varied except by the consent of both parties seemed unnecessary to consider.