The Te Puke Times TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1920

Te Puke Times, 19 October 1920, Page 2

The Te Puke Times TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1920

The Prime Minister's statement in the House of Representatives on Friday week last when, in his capacity of Minister of Finance, he outlined the financial position of the Dominion and expressed the opinion that it was eminently satisfactory, is borne out by the bankingreturns which were made public on Monday. Although since 1914 the war had increased our indebtedness up to the 31st March last by £80,089,025 and a further debt of '£11,120,000 had been incurred on behalf of our discharged soldiers, which with other loan moneys increased the State indebtedness from £99,822, 510 to £210,170,755, yet against this, Mr Massey explained, tangible assets are held to the amount of £51,709,791, while the total amount expended on railways, public buildings, telegraph and settlement lands amounts to £72,371.643 for which the Dominion holds good value, Lands still held by the Crown are valued at £25,000,000 and a sum of £18, 125,154, which has been expended on indirectly productive services, may also be set off against the debt. Bearing these facts in mind Mr Massey expresses the opinion that "the financial position of the Dominion is eminently satisfactory, and that investors in our loans are amply secured. The banking returns still indicate a large excess of deposits' (both fixed and free) over advances atid discounts although both the latter show a marked increase for the September quarter over the previous quarterly period.