ADVANCES TO SETTLERS AND WORKERS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2657, 12 November 1909, Page 7

ADVANCES TO SETTLERS AND WORKERS.

REFERENCE IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

When presenting the Financial Statement, Sir Joseph Ward referred as follows to the Advances to Settlers and Workers Department: Advances to Settlers. —This eminently serviceable and profitable Department • continues its success. About 28,000 settlers and workers have received assistance, amounting to £9,810,725. The average amount of the advances now outstanding is £390 for the settlors and £251 for the workers. The total amount of the advances for combined Departments during the year amounted to the record sum of £l,792,019, and this average has been maintained throughout tho year. Four years ago the total amount of advances made during the year was £1,000,000. The Department advanced during the year in the Settlors’ Office alone £l,521,409, an excess over the previous year of over a quarter of a million. It is difficult to conceive what would have been the state of tilings during the past twelve months if the Advances to Settlers Department had not been in existence. Owing to the financial depression throughout the world the pinch lias been felt in New Zealand, hut it would have been positively disastrous had not this Department been able to grapple with the emergency as it did. At the same time the instalment ipayments of principal and interest have been met with the usi al promptitude, the stringency of the money market having apparently not affected the ability of mortgagees to meet their instalment payments co any noticeable extent. A sufficient proof of the value of this Department in affording relief in times of depression is that, the repayments to the Department from all sources totalled £801,980. These show a steady increase as a result of the larger amount of money being advanced annually, hut a considerable reduction has taken place in the amount of mortgages repaid in full or in part this year, as compared with former years, and it will be observed that claims made on the Department have grown unexpectedly, quite out of proportion to moneys repaid. This will, however, adjust itself when money becomes easier. It is therefore clear that there are nunmers of deserving _ settlers and workers desirous of obtaining advances at a low rate of interest at a minimum of cost, so the borrowing powers of the Department must' be maintained and I have already placed before the House proposals to enable this to be efl'ectod._ Advances to Workers.—The system of making advances,to workers lias been in existence now a little over two years and the sanguine hopes expressed for the measure when being placed on the statute books have been more than realised by the great success which has attended operations of that branch of the Department. The advances paid out during the year numbered 1116 and amounted to the sum of £298,184 6s, an excess over the previous year of 386 loans for £94206 3s lOd. L~p to the 31st March last ' loans aggregating £603,800 had been granted to 2399 workers who have been able to acquire homes for themselves and their families under the favorable and liberal conditions offered by the Act. The increase of borrowing powers from <__uu,000 to £500.000 in any one financial year as (provided by the act passed last session has materially aided that branch of the Department in its endeavors to meet and supply the growing needs or the workers.