The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9397, 25 March 1898, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY.

FBIDAY, MARCH 25, IS9S.

JUMPING AT CONCLUSIONS.

In its anxiety to damage the Government our local contemporary indulges in a diatribe against the Adyanoes to Settlers' Department, which, it asserts, has lent far too much money on a property near near Waitotnra. It seems that the Department advanced £1850 on this property on the advice of its valuator, whose name is not disclosed, and that the borrower has since filed, and stated that the setiiuity is not worth moie than £1350. On this statement our contemporary hangs a strong indictment against the Government, quite overlooking the fact, as disclosed in two letters published in tho same article, that Mr Liffiton and Messr.3 Nolon and Tonks had a'so valued the property in question, and that the latter firm had estimated its worth at £2600, or more than a thousand pounds over vrhat its late owner says it is now worth. As propsrty of that class has not fallen in price of late years, but, on the contrary, is improving in value, it seems to us that the Advances to Settlers' Department is not in any danger of making a bad loss over this transact on, as it is more than likely that the property when put on the open market will fetch quite enough, if not more tho,n enough, to satisfy the Department's clnim upon it. A perusal of the letters which passed between the solicitors of tho purchaser and the vendor shows that tho latter was quite ready to rescind tho sale, which the former apparently was not quite sure in his own mind would prove a profitable purchase. This, no doubt, was what pricked his conscience as regards his successful application for a loan of £1850 from the Advances to Settlers' Department, and led to his solicitor writing to the vendor's legal representative that the application for such an amount was not warranted by the value of tho propeity, which the writer estimated at not over £2000. The letter contained this paragraph : " Tho position, therefore, is that you ask my client to sign a mortgage to the Government for £1850, he knowing at the time he is doing so that he is obtaining a loan higher than the value of his property, thus running the Government into a direct loss, and working what is no doubt a bare-faced swindle." Strong woids these latter, especially in view of their writer having in a previous paiagraph admitted that the propeity was worth neaily £2000, while such capable valuers as Nolan and Tonks had sot down its value at £2000. It seems to us that it will be quite time enough to rate the valuer on «hoso valuation tho Department made the advance when the latter has failed to sell its intercut in tiie propeity for the amount of its claim against it. From what we havo heard of the matter, the Department stands little risk of loss over the transaction, which on our contemporary's own showing discloses no corrupt or dishonest features. But any stick is straight enough to beat a dog with, and nothing is too bad to aay of a Government by its opponents, whose real objections aro that so long as it remains t'jt office they must remain out I We shall watch the further history of this charge against the Advances to Setters Department with some interest, and a very shrewd suspicion that it will turn out to be another mare's nest, of which tho Opposition have discovered so many lately.