8.—24,

2

The dates at which the further payments will be required are as follows : On Friday, 27th February, 1903, £19 10s. per cent.; on Tuesday, 21st April, 1903, £20 per cent.; on Tuesday, 23rd June, 1903, £25 per cent.; on Tuesday, 28th July, 1903, £25 per cent.; but the instalments may be paid in full on or after the 27th February, 1903, under a discount at the rate of £3 per cent, per annum. In case of default in the payment of any instalment at its proper date, the deposit and instalments previously paid will be liable to forfeiture. Scrip certificates to bearer with coupon attached for six months' dividend payable Ist April, 1903, will be issued in exchange for the provisional receipts. These scrip certificates to bearer can be inscribed (in other words, can be converted into stock) as soon as they have been paid in full. Applications must be upon the printed forms, which may be obtained at the Chief Cashier's Office, Bank of England, or at any of the branches of the Bank of England; of Messrs. Mullens, Marshall, and Co., 4, Lombard Street, London, E.C. ; at the Bank of New Zealand (the bankers to the Government of New Zealand), 1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.; of Messrs. J. and A. Scrimgeour, 18, Old Broad Street, London, E.C.; or at the office of the Agent-General for New Zealand, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W. The list of applications will be closed on or before Thursday, the 19th February, 1903. Bank of England, London, 13th February, 1903. Note.—A memorandum, giving information as to the disposal of the proceeds of the loan and the position of the colony, has been prepared by the Agent-General, and should accompany this prospectus.

New Zealand Government Loan. Issue of £1,250,000 New Zealand 3-per-cent. Consolidated Stock. (Authorised Trust Investment Security.) The proceeds of this loan will be applied towards providing funds for the following purposes: First, as regards £1,000,000, for the construction of railways, roads and bridges, and for other public works required for the development of land-settlement, and for providing additional rollingstock to meet the requirements of the rapidly increasing traffic; and, second, as regards £250,000, for advances to bond fide settlers in New Zealand on the security of landed property. The system of advances to settlers has been in operation for more than seven years, and in the latest report it is stated that the manner in which instalments continue to be met by mortgagors is highly satisfactory. The amount to be applied in aid of public works supplements that which has been provided for years past out of the surplus ordinary revenue, which has supplied within the last ten years no less than £3,205,000 for that purpose. The public revenue has exceeded the expenditure during the following years by the amounts named below: In 1891-92 the surplus was £151,608; 1892-93, £318,206; 1893-94, £256,459' 1894-95, £139,794; 1895-96, £185,534; 1896-97, £288,728; 1897-98, £466,858; 1898-99, £399,717 ; 1899-1900, £559,490; 1900-1901, £427,213 ; 1901-1902, £237,921. It should be noted that the above amounts represent the net surplus of each year, and do not include the surplus brought over from the preceding year. Out of this surplus revenue the sum of £3,205,000, as mentioned in preceding paragraph, has been transferred to the Public Works Fund, and used for the purpose of opening up and improving the public estate. Trustees are authorised under the provisions of the Imperial "Colonial Stock Act, 1900," to invest in the New Zealand 3-per-eent. consolidated stock, which will be issued on account of this loan. The total gross amount, on the 31st March last, of the public debt, including that domiciled in London, and also that issued in the colony, was £52,966,447. Included in the amount of the public debt is £800,000 4-per-cent. debentures guaranteed by the Imperial Government and deposited in London, part being held on behalf of the Post Office of the colony, and part held for the purpose of meeting any possible unexpected financial contingency. New Zealand has always stood in an exceptionally strong financial position by the fact that these debentures are thus held. It should also be remembered that over £18,500,000 of the New Zealand public debt is represented by the Government railways of the country, which earn nearly 3J per cent, per annum on their cost, a fact which is often lost sight of when comparing the colony's public debt with those of the United Kingdom and other countries. The capital represented by the railways of the United Kingdom now exceeds £1,200,000,000 of money. Add that amount to the national debt of this country and the comparison between it and the New Zealand debt can then be made on more equal grounds. It is only necessary, in order to produce satisfactory evidence of the progress of the colony, to call attention to the statistics given below. W. P. Reeves, Agent-General for New Zealand. 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., 13th February, 1903.