134 THE HIGH COST OF LIVING 



increased national wealth, and greater railway re- 

 turns.* 



New Zealand owns and operates coal-mines and 

 sawmills in the state forests. The state embarked 

 on these undertakings recently and in order to 

 break monopoly prices of coal and timber.^ 



All the states except Tasmania have some system 

 for financial aid for the man on the land. In South 

 Australia the credit agency is the state bank. 

 West Australia has an agricultural bank and Vic- 

 toria a Credit Foncier. In 1908 over $8,000,000 

 was lent to the farmers by these and other state 

 agencies. 



New Zealand set up its advances-to-settlers office 

 in 1895 and was the first state to lend money on 

 agricultural security. The author of the scheme 

 was Sir Joseph Ward, later minister of railways in 

 that colony. Loans at first were limited to a max- 

 imum of $12,500. The sum was later raised to 

 $15,000. Interest rates were 6 per cent., including 

 1 per cent, for amortization.^ The plan benefited 

 the whole colony except a small group of financiers. 

 The help to the farmers was returned to the citizens 

 in the shape of lower interest rates for themselves. 

 The state never exacts usury, offers no cut-throat 

 mortgages, charges no commission and no fee ex- 



^ Australia, J. W. Gregory, p. 121. 

 * Elwood Mead, Metropolitan Magazine, January, 1917. 

 3 State Experiments in Australia and New Zealand, Wm. P. Reeves, 

 vol. I, p. 334. 



