8.—9.

perform because of its unparalleled experience in matters relating to wills and the technical qualifications of the officers engaged upon the work, and the extent to which its services are resorted to by the people of the Dominion is shown by the statement in the report that 4,177 wills (which were, with very few exceptions prepared by the Public Trust Office) were deposited bv new clients and 3,726 wills were redrafted for existing clients to meet their altered wishes regarding the distribution of their estates. 6. The complete organization of the Public Trust Office, its long and varied experience m dealing with assets of every description, and its staff of officers with professional and business qualifications make it eminently suitable for the performance, not only of fiduciary work on behalf of private individuals, but also ,°. £ of m a State or P ub lic character, and the Government, bv arrangement with the I üblic Trustee, has frequently entrusted to the Public Trust Office important services °n liehalf of or under the supervision of the Government. In the past the I üblic Trust Office has, for example, undertaken the control of enemy property under the War Regulations during the war, and after the conclusion of peace, the liquidation of ex-enemy interests and the control of the clearing-office procedure lor the settlement of debts owing by or to ex-enemy nationals, and the administration ol important benefit and relief funds, such as those contributed for the IOQo l' Sll f rerS 11 the Hawke ' s Ba y and Wairoa earthquakes of 1931 and r2r i i S ° imdertaken w ere efficiently discharged bv the Public Trust Office, and when during the past year it was thought advisable as a result of the investigations of_ a Commission to appoint a Receiver for a number of companies operating in New Zealand the Government decided to have recourse to the services of the Public Trustee, who, by the Companies (Temporary Receivership) Act, 1934, was appointed to act as Receiver for the companies. Later, when as a result of the investigations of Inspectors appointed by the Governor-General under the authority of the Companies (Special Investigations) Act, 1934, it was decided to wind up the majority of the companies the Public Irustee was appointed by the Companies (Special Liquidations) Act, 1934-35 to act as Liquidator. Responsible and onerous duties involving not only 'the administration of a large aggregation of assets and investments, but also considerable inquiry into the position of a number of the companies, have so been entrusted to the Public Trustee. 7 It will be seen from the Public Trustee's report that, following on an extended period during which the lending operations of the Department ceased owing to financial circumstances, the Public Trustee has resumed lending on the security of mortgages of town and country properties. The investments available have, however, been insufficient to absorb all the available funds, as the cessation of Government borrowing and the restricted financing by local authorities have led to the accumulation of large sums of money in the hands of lending institutions and private persons for lending purposes. 8 The charges for the services of the Public Trustee in the administration of estates and funds are based mainly on a commission charged on the realization of assets or their transfer to beneficiaries and on the collection of estate income. Pending the development of a market favourable for the realization of assets and an improvement in the return from land and other assets the revenue of the Public Trust Office from commission is necessarily much below that obtained m the more prosperous years preceding the depression, but it is pleasing to record that for the past year there has been an increase over the corresponding figures for each of the preceding three years. Having regard to the circumstances referred and the fact that the work involved in the administration of estates and funds and in the control of the mortgage investments of the Common Fund has undoubtedly increased greatly over the past few is satisfactory that the year's working has resulted in a profit of £6,718 after making provision for bad and doubtful debts. Public Trust Office continues to render faithful and efficient service to the beneficiaries and clients for whom it acts, and its satisfactory progress in the future is assured. Geo. W. Forbes, ... . , Prime Minister. Wellington, 23rd October, 1935.

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