was finding a means for men to reach the land; Sir Joseph Ward was finding a means for supplying cheap capital. It is fitting that these two enactments should become law on the same day, as they have gone hand-in-hand in a dozen years in the work of the colony’s settlement.
During the few years that the Liberal Government were in office up to 1894, there had been a marked tendency on the part of the money-lending institutions to refuse fresh mortgages and to call in existing ones, even when good security was offered, and land owners found that if they wanted to have mortgages renewed they would have to submit to unreasonable terms. Sir Joseph Ward’s measure was intended to afford relief. It did so almost immediately. Rates of interest came down at once. They have never risen again. It is estimated that the scheme has been the means of saving mortgagees in the colony £8,000,000 in interest alone. The incomes of some people have been diminished by the Act, but the farming classes have reaped a great benefit. The Act has helped materially to bring about the prosperity the colony now enjoys. The Government has borrowed £3,200,000 to lend under the scheme. It charges 5 per cent, which is reduced to 4½ per cent. if the instalments are paid within fourteen days of the date when they fall due. The scope of the scheme has been extended on several occasions, and money is now advanced on city and suburban properties. Mortgages are granted on either the instalment or the fixed loan system. The law costs are very light. Up to the time of Mr. Seddon’s death, the department had made 13,350 advances, representing £4,173,970, against which it holds security valued at £9,172,962. The department is conducted so well that the cost of management is only 3s. 2d. per £100 on the capital employed. The department’s net profits are £35,000. It has absolutely no losses on advances since it started operations; there are no securities on its hands; and there are practically no arrears of interest.
