PUBLIC TRUST.

Waipa Post, Volume XXI, Issue 1301, 7 October 1922, Page 2

PUBLIC TRUST.

RAPID GROWTH OF THE OFFICE.

A SURVEY OF OPERATIONS

The annual report of the Public Trust Office mentions that it is 50 years since the Department was established. The year 1921-22 was a record one, new business transacted having amounted to £5,383,460. The growth in the number of wills deposited has been phenomenal. There are now 31,839 held in custody. Wills are now coining into the office at the rate of 5000 per annum, and the yearly increase in the number 5 , now deposited almost equals the total accumulations for the 42 years up to 1914. These figures do not indicate the number of estates which will ultimately come to the Public Trustee for administration, since many wills of which the Public Trustee is executor are held by solicitors. The number of new estates accepted for administration during the' y.ar was 2318. Profits for the year were £11,058, notwithstanding the fact that concessions amounting to £57,000 were made to the estates, thereby reducing the profits by that amount.

The report states that the staff of the Public Trust Office is highly qualified. It includes 14 graduates of the university, 10 in law, 3 in arts, and one in commerce. There are 12 barristers, 46 solicitors and 60 qualified accountants on the staff. The system generally has worked well. It enables the testator to secure the benefits of the State guarantee foi his,estate, and makes it possible for him to enlist the special knowledge or experience which will prove of use in the administration of his astate. The office affords an excellent mode of investment for trust moneys and the funds of friendly society lodges and similar institutions. The system in this connection will, it is suggested, commend itself to other institutions as soon asj it becomes more widely known. Interest in the working of the office is manifested in America and in Canada. The profit and loss account shows that the amount required to meet losses was only £6l. As the office is administering estates valued at £25,000,000, this is cited as evidence of careful management in a very difficult period. The amount of interest outstanding, adds the report, is not very great. The policy at the present time is to deal with all mortgagors as leniently as possible, consistent with the safety of the moneys invested. Each case is treated on its merits. There has been a reduction of 121 during the year in the number of officers employed, with annual salaries amounting to £40,842. The saving has been made possible by an improvement in the calibre of the staff and the standard of work is now very high. Office processes have been simplified, and all unnecessary work eliminated.