3

8.—13

advances were first made up to the 31st March, 1910, amounted to the sum of £1,663,784, in addition to the repayments of principal, .£3,670,020, making a grand total of £5,339,810. Applications are now being carefully examined when first received before a valuation is ordered. If the grant of a loan is considered doubtful, the facts are submitted to the Board for preliminary consideration. When the property offered is not considered satisfactory for a loan, the application is declined and the valuation fee returned. In this way delays are avoided, and loss of the fee —which to a poor man is considerabli —prevented. The term for repayment of small loans is too long, and should lie reduced. The improvements on many small holdings are not of a lasting nature, and deteriorate rapidly. Thirty-six and one-half years is an unreasonable time to have small sums owing. The shorter term would mean a difference of a few pence per week only in more rapid repayments of principal—the interest, of course, being the same. An inspector of securities is needed on the office stall. Many of the office mortgages are on properties in remote places. The experience of such an officer would lie very useful in checking valuers' reports when further advances are applied for, and where the local valuer is too sanguine as to the prospects of his particular district, The phenomenal good fortune of the Department up to the present cannot be expected to continue indefinitely, and provision should be made for writing down any doubtful securities, and debiting them againsl the ample Reserve fund provided to meet losses. This cannot lie done unless a fairly accurate estimate of the value of the Department's securities is periodically obtained. The volume of business transacted during the year has been very large, and a word of praise is due to the staff for the care and attention given by them to their work. J. W. PoYNTON, Superintendent. State-guaranteed Advances Office, Wellington, 19th July, 1910.

ADVANCES TO WORKERS BRANCH. Third Annual Report and Balance-sheet. The Government Advances to Workers Act was passed on the 29th October, 1906. Applications for loans were first considered by (lie Board at its meeting on the Bth January, 1907. For the year ended 31st March, 1910, the applications received numbered 2,028, amounting to £550,651, as against 1,78+ applications, amounting to £472,989, for the previous year—an increase of 244 applications- in amount, £77,662. The advances actually granted during the year numbered 1,359, for £362,352 lis. Kid., which exceeds those of the previous year by 243, for £64,168 ss. lOd. from the Sth January, 1907, up to the 31s( March the Board hail authorized 4,253 advances, amounting to £1,071,225. Applicants to the number of 148 declined the grants offered them, amounting to £41,900, so that the net advances authorized to the 31st March, 1910, numbered 4,105, and amounted to £1,032,325. Classified according to provincial districts, the total advances authorized are as under :— ~ . . , -v i <■ Amount of Advances 1 '?v..K-ml Number oi authored. District. Applications. £ Auckland ... ... ... ... ... 1,110 250,275 Taranaki ... ... ... ... ... 114 27,045 Hawke'sßav ... ... ... ... ... 234 59,755 Wellington ... ... .. ... ... 1,026 275,875 Marlborough ... ... ... ... ... 136 34,460 Nelson ... ... ... ... ... 11l 24,995 Westland ... ... ... ... ... 135 28,265 Canterbury ... ... ... ... ... 900 246,780 Otago ... ... ... ••• .. 338 87,285 Southland ... ... ... ... ... 149 33,490 Total ... ... ... ... ... 4,253 £1,074,225 Classified according to provincial districts, the advances authorized during the year ended 31st March, 1910, are, — _ , , , v. —i, . •„( Amount of Advances Provincial Number of auth orked. District. Applications. £ Auckland .. • ... •.. .. -'00 111,310 Taranaki ... ... •■■ ■•■ ••• 47 11,445 Hawke'sßav ... ... ... ... ... HI 28,140 Wellington' ... ... ••■ •■• ■-• ''7 130,720 Marlborough ... ... ••• ••• •• 56 14,935 Nelson ... ■'■■ ••• ••• 36 8,315 Westland ... --- ••- 39 7,980 Canterbury ... ... ... ••• ■•■ 378 104,045 Otago 142 37,020 Southland ... ... --- ••• -•■ 68 16,515 Total ... ... ... ... •■• 1,854 £470,425