Public Opinion LOCAL BODY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 109, 11 May 1938, Page 6

Public Opinion

LOCAL BODY

Si r> —will you please j|rmit me pef medium of your columi to ask the following questions of (ir aspirant for positions as our civi administrators:— (1) As, excepting the lan of £121,000 domiciled in London,bur local indebtedness has been prodded for by adequate sinking funds, for which, with interest on the loaii we require to provide £57,000 annual|/ to the detriment of our maintenaibe and improvement, would it not ty considered that the interests of the ratepayers would best be served h( a policy which would enable rejbesentafions to be made to the Local Sodies Loan Board, and to the Governnent, in cooperation with other Deal bodies similarly placed, with a view to having the maturity date of the loans domiciled in New Zealand extended and the sinking fund instaments correspondingly reduced, parteuarly as the original instalments, vhfch were calculated on a much higher interest rate for the instalments, were substantially lower than the present instalments. (2) Considering that our loial body indebtedness domiciled in Nnv Zealand is bearing interest at 41 per cent., that that domiciled overseas is bearing interest at an even higher rate, with exchange payable in addition, would it not seem that tie interests of the ratepayers would best be served by a policy of co-o)erat!on with the central governing ajthority with a view to funds being irovided by overdraft at 3i per cent, by the Reserve Bank to enable our debentures to be purchased at appropriate times before maturity on the Stock Exchange, regard being had to the price of debentures purchased and the interest due thereon in relatioi to the overdraft rate, and also, as regards the debt domiciled in Ixmdon to the position of London funds and the rate of exchange, particularly considering, as regards the latter that if the rate of exchange goes up. as it will do if an inflationary policy further depreciating our currency in terms of sterling, is pursued by the central Government, our annual and capital indebtedness will automatically increase in terms of N.Z. currency.—l am, etc., L. S. DROMGOOLE. Wanganu? May 9, 1938. INSURANCE FOR TUNNELLING Sir,—For reasons outside the writer’s control, some delay has occurred in replying to your correspondent, Mr. W. R. Brown, in your isue of April 30. In his assertion that tunnelling can be fully covered for a premium of £l3 per cent., Mr. Brown would be more convincing if he had cited any such policies he himself had taken out. Irrespective of the widely varying risks attached to this class of work, your correspondent has confidently assumed that this £l3 per cent, covers the whole field of such risk. The possibility that this figure was only a nominal rate or that all tunelling (so far as the writer's inquiries went) is on a “danger list,” would appear to be of no consequence. The fact that your correspondent has found two companies prepared to insure a hypothetical tunnelling job does not carry any weight. Two companies whom the writer approached at the time, turned the proposition down flat. Mr. Brown would find, were he dealing in practice instead of theory, that there are varying grades of such risk the greatest of which, being work of ths nature carried out in “papa.” In this particular "farm job,’’ not under the supervision of tunnelling engineers nor carried oui by qualified labour, the risk would be at its greatest. Were the conditions as stated by your correspondent, I should not have been turned down flat by these companies, nor should there have been any question of anything but a full cover. Owing to a fairly substantial "minimum premium” I do admit to some confusion in the matter of the premium on a percentage basis and. owing to the delicacy of discussing such matters, must confine myself to retracting any reflections on those concerned. In view of the difficulties connected with the insuring of this particular undertaking and in view of the multiplicity of premiums covering almost identical insured risks, it will suffice to state that Mr. Brown is not correct in giving the impression that tunnelling insurance in "papa” anyway —can be secured without any trouble whatsoever; the more so that this class of work is, in some instances anyway, definitely on a "danger list.” —I am, etc., R. O. MONTGOMERIE. Wanganui. May 6, 1938.