574 PBOCEEDINGS OF SECTION F. 



are anomalous differences in those items in the Financial 

 Statements of most of the colonies. 



But even without federation much might be done to 

 improve the status of Australian securities, not only by each 

 colony gradually converting, as opportunity offers, its numerous 

 petty loans into one consolidated stock, but by all the colonies 

 agreeing to one uniform rate of interest, uniform dates for 

 payment of interest, and a uniform currency. By this 

 means not only would the book-keeping be greatly simplified, 

 but the marketability and consequently the value of all the 

 stocks would be considerably increased. The advantages of 

 a uniform stock seem to have been strangely overlooked by 

 all the colonies, whose debts for the most part consist of a 

 host of petty amounts differing either in the rate of interest, 

 the date of repayment, the periods of interest payments, or 

 in the form of the security itself (whether of debentures or 

 stock). Thus it happens that an investor cannot exchange 

 one parcel of stock for another of the same colony, or increase 

 his holdings, without taking all these confusing details into 

 consideration ; and he is still further hampered in dealing 

 with the stocks of two or aiore colonies. Glancing at a list 

 of the loans of Victoria, for example, it is found that, out of 

 a total of £41,443,216, the largest amount that has a uniform 

 currency and rate of interest is only £7,000,000 ; and out of 

 a total of £46,051,449 of those of New South Wales, only 

 £16,500,000 has similar uniformity. 



There are other matters which cannot be dealt with in this 

 paper, such as the establishment of a Joint Australian Loan 

 Department in London (such as has before been suggested), 

 to manage all affairs connected with the issue of loans and 

 payment of interest. In connection with this, the cost of 

 terminating existing agreements would of course have to be 

 considered. 



In the preparation of this paper I have to acknowledge my 

 indebtedness to the "Australasian Statistics, 1891,'' compiled 

 by Mr. Hayter, Government Statist of Victoria, and to the 

 Financial Statistics embodied in the " Year Book of Australia," 

 published by Mr. E. Greville, of Sydney. 



