AUCKLAND.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 18, Issue 1077, 25 July 1871, Page 2

AUCKLAND.

f:FRO3Jf OTTR OWN 00EBESPONDENT.] July 17. Our Supreme Court has just concluded a very heavy session, probably the heaviest it ever had. One case took up two weeks, and ended in a verdict which was almost equivalent to "As you were," except that both parties must have had to fork out freely to Counsel, witnesses, and interpreters ; for the plaintiff is a Maori, and the dispute arose out of some arrangement made for cutting timber before such agreements were allowable by law. I have heard that <£G S OOO worth of kauri has been got off the ground, and it was admitted in Court that as much more is actually lying in log on the ground, ready for the saw-mills. There have been many disputes between Maori landlords and limber dealers, but never one fought more obstinately than the one in question, Mohi v. Craig. A case of conviction for perjury at the last criminal sittings has attracted some attention, mainly because the jury were locked up all night, and it having been asserted that the majority were for acquittal, but eventually yielded to the minority. Yet it. is hard to see how any rational man, having respect to his oath to give a true verdict in accordance with the evidence, could consent to any other verdict than that given ; and it is satisfactory to find that our respected Chief Justice told the jury that he fully concurred in the verdict, and could not see how any other conclusion could have been come to. I do not know who formed the jury, but I feel convinced that there were several conscientious men on it, who risked their health rather than consent to an acquittal. Such men deserve the thanks of the community. Our Superintendent has been delivering a lecture at the Thames, which has raised the anger of the hostile press. He does not like being misrepresented, and has not hitherto had a friend in the press, except the Evening News ; but he was elected in the teeth of the opposition of all our journals, and consequently perhaps placed too little value on their opposition, as he might have checked them effectually at that time if he had chosen to do so. Now the task is not so easy. But, after all our press has very little political influence, as was lately demonstrated. Our old City Board was changed into a Corporation in June. A strong feeling was shewn against the members retaining their seats, and the Cross, Herald, and Star, ail went in for having a change, or at least the formality of a chance being given the citizens to put better men in. Two members, not the most objectionable, did resign, and one of them was re-elected unopposed ; the other members of the Board stuck to their honors, and even refused to resign when a memorial was sent asking it, although said memorial had some hundreds of signatures. So, spite of ratepayers and an almost unanimous press (the Evening News took no part in the question pro or con.) the Board became Councillors, and the press tamely shut up. The Council have about doubled their staff expenditure as a commencement, without heeding the grumbles; of the ratepayers. Finessing and dissimulation appears to be the order of the day with them. They advertised for a town-clerk, having fixed a salary to the office with a distinct assurance that they needed a man with some knowledge of law, and yet rejected several solicitors, and chose a layman. As they frequently have to sue for rates, and prosecute for breaches of Muuicipal Police Act, &c, to have had a recognised solicitor as town clerk would have saved the expense of retaining counsel on every occasion. We have likewise lately got a Harbor Board constituted, and their first official act was to fix on a secretary at .£3OO a year. Had their secretary been an engineer, or a solicitor, the amount would not have seemed extraordinarily high, as professional assistance would thus have been secured ; but it seems rather high for a mere clerk and accountant. Fuur of the members of the Board are also members of the City Corporation. The appointment of secretary was made by ballot, when four candidates for the office shared thirteen votes, each party believing themselves sure of four, whereas three had each three, and the successful man had four, only a minority of the Board after all. It is believed if a second ballot had been taken one of the others would have won. I

Our papers don't approve of the Southern press having correspondents who don't pipe the same tune as the Herald and Cross. Don't they fall foul on the unlucky wight who dares to tell more of the truth than themselves. One of them, lately took up a paragraph from your columns '* respecting the goldfields being mainly dependent on the bountiful yield from the Caledonian," and professes to give facts and figures to prove your correspondent in error. Well, facts are not always attainable ; but figures are given which shew our export for past six months to be 149,234 ozs. of gold valued at .£528,417. That looks well. Bui; the same article tells that " the Caledonian in dividends in the same time .£404,690," which deducted from the above total of ,£528,417 leaves a balance of £123,725. Suppose =£lo,ooo more deducted from this, as the supposed working expenses of the Caledonian, and there is finally £113,727 as the half year's yield of the rest of the field. la that anything but a miserable return for the capital sunk and labor expended } However, further on the same article gives the yield for the past month as 34,119 ozs. of gold, and quotes five of what it calls the leading companies (omitting the Caledonian), and gives the yield of these five as 3,731 ozs. of gold. Here again the Caledonian's yield is what really puts the gloss on the field. Unfortunately the Caledonian has fallen off considerably this month, and its shares have consequently come down, and will probably fall much lower, unless a marked improvement in its prospects takes place, The yearly reports are now gazetted, in which the small number of companies which have paid dividends is striking, and undisputable evidence ; and excepting a few, say less than half a-dozen, of the best, the dividends actually paid are ridiculously low. No amount of high-style-leaders bragging of our gold mines will overturn the figures appearing in the gazette. The Golden Crown Company have gazetted their company afresh lately at a greatly reduced rate of capital. Originally eight full shares, they were gazetted at £24,000 each, or a total of £192,000 in £I,OOO shares. I doubt i£ any of them cuuld now be placed at one--fifth of that amount.

July 20. P.S.—I missed posting by the Luna, her mail having been advertised to close at 11 a.m. on the 18th, and the notice only given in the papers of that morning ; and I happened to be busy otherways until after that time. As a specimen of the manner in which the old journals are made subservient to the views of certain parties, and of the way reports are cooked up, I commend to your notice the report appearing in the Herald and the Cross of an interview between a deputation and the Superintendent, on account of the John O'Groats gold mining company. Compare their report with that in the Morning News of the same date, the 18th inst,', and you will find a very important part of the proceedings omitted by the Herald and Cross, and the omitted por-* tion refers to action taken by Mr Wilson, (publisher of the Herald, and a member of the deputation) and done on the advice of Mr Whitaker, also a member of the deputation. When a director of a com? pany obtains a judgment against his com* pany, and gets the property sold by auction, and bought at a low price was mentioned) by some one in league with him, it looks queer ; even though a, proposal is afterwards made to the old shareholders to take an interest in the now company. I should have supposed that the directors of a company would not have been allowed to become creditors of it.

It was stated last night in the Star that the Caledonian is to pay a dividend of <£3 next week, which I may remark is much less than any dividend they have lately paid.