The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 1901.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 11647, 2 April 1901, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 1901.

At the banquet tendered to the Minister of Public Works at Stratford on Thm\>d ly la->t Mr Samuel made a suggestion which, if not new, had at least the merit of being well-timed. lie was speaking of tho efforts made by the Government to encourage pix>duction by providing cheap railage to the ports and by assisting in obtaining cheap steamer frsights to foreign markets, which it is also endeavouring r/> find. While giving the < Tovcrnment

credit for its dibits ii r i these directions, he pointed out that a g.ip was left which would prevent full advantage being reaped from the .success of those efforts. The weak link, he said, was tho deficient harbom* accommodation and the heavy harbour dues, and he argued that the harbour* of the colony should be taken over and managed by the Government as part and ptrcel of the railway system. This, of course, means; nothing more or less than tha nationalisation of the harbours, rather a large undertaking, but one which it cm be shown would be to tho advantage ol" all concerned. One of the greatest advantages to b« reaped from such a course would be the saving in annual interest upon the various harbour loans by becoming colonial loans. Altogether the various Harbour Boards have outstanding loans aggregating £.'3,81."), 881, bearing interest at rates varying from three to seven per cent., and averaging a very minute fraction over five per cent., the total interest being Gl'J'i 83.' J. Now it is quite safe to say that iu< coloniol loans, or with a colonial guarantee, there would be a saving of lh per cent., and if the conversion operations cost four per cent., the gross amount would be £4,000,000, which at '.l.\ per cent, would give an annual charge of £140,000. Thus there would be k clear saving of over .£50,000 a year. The conversion operations would require timo nnd c.ivcful financing, and thus conducted might cost oven less than four per cent., whi'e 81 per cent, is, we should think, rather over the mark ns the cost of money borrowed by the Government for such a purpose. The application of such a scheme to tho New Plymouth harbour loan would be distinctly profitable to the colony. Tbo total loan is £200,000, and there is sinking fund accumulated to tho amount of, in round figures, £40,000, leavinga nett indebtedness of £100,000. The conversion of this at a cost of four per cent, would bring the amount up to £1()(),400, interest upon which at 3.\ per cent, would amount to £5824 annually. As a set-oft* against this the Government would resume tho Harbour Board's fourth of the land revenue amounting in round figures to about £0000 a year, and in addition would lake over this Harbour Board's endow-

liif-nts, which in the near future will ! yiol 1 n very respoctjiblf [unmml rent. Thus in r.'.spoct of interest on the loan the Government could not possibly bo v loser, while in taking ovor the miinn^oment of the hnrbouv as an adjunct to tin 1 railway system it would bo able to niunngo things at least ns woll as —probably bettcu- than — under the pi(!setitcontrol,!uul would bo taking over a highly profitable business. Whilst thus henofittinjj itself tho Oovei i uiii'>!it, would also be removing that obno\ions tax, tlio li-u-Lour rate, and would, moreover, gcb rid onco nnd for all of thy fl.iiin of the <lif4,ri<;t iv regard <

tn confiscated lands. The scheme has, mr! -~-(\, so much to recommend it. th it one almost wonders why some Colonial Treasurer has not carried it out long ago. The Hon. Mi' Ward, when Mr Sjunuel brought the matter to his notice, seemed impressed with the soundness and feasibility of the idea, and it wil' be surprising if more is not heard of it. The conversion of all local bodies loans into (lovernment guaranteed loans is calculated to lead to so larye a saving by the country that the idea must appeal to the statesmanship and undoubted financial ability of Mr Waul.