COLONIAL LOANS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1807, 5 February 1884, Page 4

COLONIAL LOANS.

S W<* tho Insurance and linking Record : — Wl y should it be a matter of congratulation that Colonial 4 per cent, loans aie floated ;it par, or nearly so, in the London mm kt-t? The colonies though not so bit:, are not below the United Statein financial s-oundnes I.1 '. Vet in New VoiU, on Nov. 10, U.S. Fours 1907 (both i roistered and coupon), weie quoted at 122] "bi.l" and 1224 "asked' ; and Biadotuvt is able to boast that ''even Biitish eoiibols sell lelativcly lower than our (US) bondb." With such an example, suiely the colonial loans do not fare well. Victorian fouis, " 100 ex. div." on Jan. 2 ; U.S. fours, 122£ on Nov. 16. The difleience is too gieat. Even Belgian fonts sell at JO5. Upon this paiagrnph the Lyttelton Times comments as follows : —Amidst the chorus of rejoicing winch has gone up lately over the fa<:t that the three leading Colonies of Australasia have just floated tour per cent loans at par, at least one voice has remained calm and one head has kept cool. It is very satisfactory to see so high an authority as the Austiaban Bank int.' and Insurance Roi'oul asking why should this success bo matter for congtatulation. It takes the \eiy sensible giound that Aii3tialabiau four per cents are in intrinsic \alue every bit equal to the four per cents of the United States. The statement bounds stai (ling in ordinal}' eais, but it is stnctly and substantially coirect. We pay our mteiest le^ulail^ and punctually : our lesouives are younger, and oiler more scope for development than those of the United States. Our brief lnstoi y — financial, commercial, social, and political — is but a first step towards j gieatness N\hn,Vt is not placed any gieat distance off in the futuie. In none of these elements can the people of the United States siiou belter iceoids or prospects, stale foi suile, country for country. Yet then four pei cent bonds weie quoted last No\embu in New York at 1'22-f, while m the beginning of the present month the toiu per cents of Victona were only quoted at 100 ex div. If the New York puce of thc^Amci'ican bonds is their real value, there is a great margin to be coveied before the four per cents of Aus tiahsia can be said to occupy the position in the money market which is their due, Theie is hope that this margin will be co\ cred, for, as the wealth of the world mci cases, the number of good sound seem ities docs not increase in the same piopoition. As oui semmtiiis aie good and sound, we may confidently expect loi them a steady iiiere.i&e in value. The iaci that the thice leading colonies of Austialabia ha\o in-st floated eight millions ot four per cent bonds at par, is an indication that have begun to move in this dnection.