The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1883. Gambling and Goldmines.

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 15, 14 July 1883, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1883. Gambling and Goldmines.

, . «■ Om" ofthe most delightful sen?nt.on« rxprnenc'd by the iu!iubit:»nts <>fa city or town in close proximity to a new gol.ifk'l.i, is tlmt of tbe first burst of gambling en^ender-d by the issue of scrip by comminies »-iij>j>os»-(J to be started to riev.-lipe and work the o-oldfield. As a rule the first Mansac'ions of th>*- neopbyre scrip speculators nre briliisin Ty successful, and the reason is charmingly simple, because all scr'p rises for th-- first few months, audit is only when those objectionable a>ljuncts, ycl«j<t, "calls" begin to make themselves unpleasantly familiar, that there is a depres sum, in the mind aud pocket, which produces an effect not anticipated in the rosy days of success by the youthful gambjer. We use the term youthful advisedly, because a man ol sixty or thereabouts may have flirted With every sin in the decalogue from his youth upwards, and yet have avoided gambling when associated with cards or dice, Scrip is a different matter, to him at least. He buys a few just to " give tbem a start," and when they rise he either sells out or perhaps buys a few more — jiu-t for the children. He flatters himself on his wisdom, and perhaps sells out ■•with 9, fair margin ot profit when he notices a slight lull in the market. Then to his disgust he finds that the shares iiQ has parted with advance steadily until they reach a tearful and wonder- , ful pries. If he buys one single share back at this stage he is a lost man. he has passed the Rubicon. After ihi»* he becomes a regular scrip-maniac ;atid the end is not difficult to foretell. In Wellington the Terawhiti promises ; to fulfil . all the conditions of a new gold field without" the gold. Already [the demand for scrip is more than equal to the supply, and the natural result will be that- new mining companieswiil be. forced on the market.to >be eagerly. bought up by the specula? | tbr or the unwary investor. For a :tiine **ye /may. expect to hear of •some/- notoriously broken man making such "a rise" as elevates hi • ones more into *h e esteem, of his fellow men,- which iB a marketable c-jmmodi'y, 'and is supplied in -au -equal ratio to the known or suspected balance' at his bankers. One or tw • cases of vi heard-of-'uck will tempt hundreds to '-plunge" in the hope of being 'efiualhree.-aiii to win the smiles ol fortune. ' Qnl.y • too, late does the* large majority discover the fallacy ol tlfeir -Jiippea*and the vanjpy of huii an wishes in gold- mining, when their I mondy 'is 'goney < and their only 'assets are a' ie'w'haatifuls' of scrip thatjare' -...'.;;.:.' . j ,l'-il ..'! f notfworth thaxash value of the paper. j they are printed oh. a. few sharp individuals may come out tin the right j side -'or the -ledger, but a very;f'.w ; We are perfectly conscious thaf all attempt's to stay the spirit ofgumblin}* are likely to be futile, and often; ad il to th 6 impetus already given to the offending cause. ' We have thprefbrevery little lio; c that* a'ny good may be done by us raising a warning voice VVe cau onlyasjk our Feilding reader.' not to be led away by any reports that may resell* .hemi regarding payable gold mines and profitable/inyestments, 'tribe mad** iri J shares. ■'"• Such reports have td CornS through doimauy cham nels thatfby* the time they are pjublic property their accurac}' is more j tifan*d6ubtful.:''_The last main fact isj that : payable^ gojd; has ; qqt,y ; et ;becn stjruck\ at Terawhitiy-and until that has been. no«e, : 'Bjiejeuia.tjon in/- shares' 5 is mere' gambling" with 'a\ ! certainty .. _°j_Jbtfs" &' money v It may ibe objected £hat piiY wAiniug to the sett'erson the Manchester Bldcktd avoid scrip is-unne--.. cessa:y seeing the remarkable caution they have exhibited in taking up

shares iv the local Ch-9se and Mutter Factory. This is the very reason ol our alarm Where people avoid a *<afe investment that would be profitable to themselves and beneficial to the district at large, the greatest danger exists, because iv tbe vie case. there is not. eveu a flint of speculation or gumb'.iujc. while, in the other. It is all speculation and gambling, and consequently likely to be peculiarly attractive to weak or narrow minded folk.