FINANCIAL NOTES.
As - anticipated, the flotation of the English portion of the Hungarian Loan proved a thoroughly successful operation, and it speaks well for the investment resources of this country that of a total loan for about £12,000,000, by far the greater part should instantly have been absorbed in this country. Moreover, even this large total of about £8,000,000 seems to have been covered twice over, so that large applicants received well under 50 per cent. Remembering the large Joan raised here for Austria a year ago, it must certainly be admitted that Great Britain has- played its part handsomely in aiding not only the financial recuperation of • Europe, bid recuperation in the very countries which so recently were fighting against us.
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The Revenue Returns for the first quarter of the year are not very satisfactory. The actual decline in the Revenue for the quarter of £10,770,000 is, perhaps, no greater than might kave been anticipated after the nature of the Budget Estimates, but not only have the Receipts been swollen al formally by the collection of arrears of Income Tax from the preceding year, but Expenditure appears to have gone ahead a little of Estimates and the deficit for the quarter of nearly 189,000,000 compares' with about £27,000,000 for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
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In view of the activity of the business and the good financial results which continue to accrue to the share- holders—the last declaration of dividend is at • the rate of 12 per cent., with a limns of 2 per cent: both being free of income-tax—if:ii-iwt surprising tb find that the National Bank of New Zealand is again- proposing to increase its capital, the advance this time being • to /6,000,000 by the creation of 200,000 new shares of /7 10s. each. The latest b'a]ance skeet showed that deposits had risen during the year from /9,262,000
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