LOOKING FOR CAPITAL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 127, 7 September 1910, Page 7

LOOKING FOR CAPITAL

NEW ZEALAND VENTURES. SOME PROMOTION DIFFICULTIES. London, July 22. It is some years since there were as many ventures from New Zealand hiking capital in the London mark.. as there are to-day. Some of them w..l be successful, but it is only fair to the dozens of syndicates in the dominions which possess mines, mining options, or patented inventions,* to repeat the warning that very few of the many can ever hope for success. London has the money, of course. That mysterious little area which is generally known under the designation of "The City" can finance any proposition, and, indeed, any Government in the world, without undue stress; but it is the most conservative little spot in the universe. That fact cannot be too widely known in the overseas dominions, where it is to be feared the holders of prospects, or promising patents; are too often deluded by the belief that they can float them easily simply by coming to London.

Here, from recollection, is a summary, and it is necessarly incomplete, of some of the propositions from New Zealand which are now seeking English capital:— First and foremost is the Parapara iron mine and the neighboring property. Other mining properties include a coal mine on the West Coast, and an alluvial mining and water-race proposition in the same neighborhood. Quite the most hopeful of mining propositions at present are those which involve areas close to the Waihi and other bonanzas in Auckland province. New Zealand has a wicked name in London for wild-cat gold mines. If it were not for the Waihi, the Talisman, the Grand Junction, and the West Coast group, it would be practically impossible for a holder of gold options in New Zealand to show his face in the city. There are at least two gentlemen on the spot awaiting the psychological moment te launch their proposals regarding areas which apparently share the resources,of the Waihi. One who has been here for more than a year is just beginning to see signs of hopefulness. . The_ other, controlling several large properties, has not yet commenced work in earnest. A few weeks ago New Zealand was mentioned pretty freely in the oil market, and I suppose the options of at least half a dozen companies are now available in' London, but company "promoters are showing great reluctance to undertake liabilities on the now very doubtful probability of an oil boom. The capitalising of patent inventions is one of the most delusive errands upon which a man can come to England. The number of inventions brought to England by oversea patentees, and particularly by New 'Zealanders, is legion. The number that are satisfactorily disposed of, or financed, infinitesimal. Many a heart has been broken at this work, and it cannot be too strongly affirmed that the chances of. success are small. I know a dozen New Zealand inventions which have been pressed on financiers in London for a year, two years, even, three, and are still not accepted. If the gen/ blemen who are sent to negotiate them are well supplied with money, so that they can live well and spend freely for an indefinite period, then the patent may eventually be accepted and financed. If they are not able to withstand delays •and disappointments they need not come to London. Then, when a proposition does get a hearing—whether it is a gold mine or a patent shoe-lace—the owner is dismayed at the sacrifices he is exvected to make. Financiers are not usually philanthropists. Company promoters are certainly not, and. many a hopeful holder of an option, or a patent, has Ibeen crushed with disappointment to discover that he can only get his proposal accepted if he parts'with, probably, a half interest in it. These are some of the little difficulties that confront the man who goes to London looking for capital.