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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]
Loans
Loans.
The total borrowing of the Council amounts to £637,324 17s., and is made as follows:—
No. 1. Consolidation loan of £200,000 at six per cent. repayable in 1907, and for which no provision by way of sinking fund is being made. This loan was raised in 1877, and includes £80,000 for the Karori water-supply, the water-supply account being charged two-fifths of the interest and charges, the other three-fifths being provided from the general account.
No. 2. City Improvements loan of £100,000 at six per cent., borrowed in 1879, repayable in 1914, 1919, 1924, and 1929 (£25,000 at each period). This loan was raised as its name implies for the improvement of the City, but the title is somewhat misleading, the money being mainly used for street formation. It was allocated to the different Wards and the different streets in the same when the loan was raised, but it has been said that a part of it was at first rather carelessly spent. A little over £8000 remains unexpended, the complete formation of some of the streets not yet being of urgent necessity. As the sixpenny special rate, securing the interest of this loan, provides more than sufficient for the whole sum, the interest accruing upon the unexpended portion is allowed to augment the general account, probably on the ground that the general rate suffers through the non-expenditure of the money, as such expenditure would, of course, increase the valuation of the properties in these localities. The sinking fund in the hands of the Sinking Fund Commissioners for the repayment of this loan stood at £11,304 15s. on the 31st March, 1895, the increase during the preceding year being £2370 10s. 5d. There is a further sum of £25,000 represented as additional sinking fund for this loan, but it appears as having been lent by the Sinking Fund Commissioners to the Council on the security of a portion of the Te Aro Reclamation, and without interest, the Te Aro Reclamation evidently being considered to that extent a City improvement. From the sinking fund of this loan a sum of £324 17s. has been lent to the Council on the security of the sections of land held by the Council in the Mangahao district, interest being charged at the rate of six per cent. The total sinking fund against this loan is £36,629 12s.
No. 3. The Wainui-o-Mata Waterworks loan of £130,000 at six per cent. per annum, raised in 1880 and repayable in 1929. Nothing in the way of sinking fund is being attempted for this loan, but the water rates are ample for all requirements of interest and working expenses, including considerable extension every year.
No. 4. Loan for Waterworks and Te Aro Reclamation Account, £9500 at six per cent., raised in 1887 and repayable on the 31st of December, 1896.
No. 5. Loan for Cemetry, £7500 at five per cent., borrowed in 1890 and repayable 1900 or 1907 at the option of the Corporation.
No. 6. Loan for Sanitation, £165,000 at four and a half per cent., raised 1893, repayable 1933. Already a sum equal to one per cent. has been placed in the hands of the Sinking Fund Commissioners, and invested at four and a half per cent. interest. At the end of the financial year (March, 1895) £109,264 3s. 10d. was still available for expenditure, the rate of expenditure for the previous year being a little under £2000 per month. The reduction in the rate of interest on this loan marks the rise in the British Investor's estimate of the value of the Empire City's securities. A difference of one and a half per cent. is significant.