Sir Julius Vogel and the Agricultural Company.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3316, 7 August 1879, Page 2

Sir Julius Vogel and the Agricultural Company.

A Press Agency telegram of yesterday's date, from Wellington says :— ; The following letter appears in this morning's Times:—The New Zealand Agricultural Company,—To the Editor of the 1 V.Z. Times.—Sir,—ln re the cablegram sent to the coldny on the 14th of February stating that £300,000 had been subscribed for the New Zealand Agricultural Company, yon made the following remarks:—„ Whether English capitalists will readily yield to'tjhe solicitation! to send another million- of money to, New Zealand on the terms and conditions set forth in the prospectus remains to be seen." The Companies Act of 1862 makes the public filing of the register of shareholders within four months after registering the prospectus impera* tite. This was filed on the 26th of May, when it was seen that the English, capitalist^ go far from subscribing a million loan, had not subscribed even the £300,000 the cablegrams announced had been subscribed, aud the. senders of that cablegram' ought to be discovered and dealt with. I send you a print of the Register, from, which yon will .see that on the day it was made up, the 16th of May (being three mouths subsequent to the date' of the cablegram), that the public and promoters had subscribed for. only 10,5)8 shares, and that they had paid up only £43,026; and that even this small sum includes the Maxwells, Larnaclis and other personal friends. I enclose the last attractions issued to draw capital in the shape of speeches from ' the grand financiers,' and reports from Messrs Campbell and Reynolds, and wish you to note-that the company will not sell; any land without a rery large profit. This may be good for the share* holders; but it is certainly, not for the colony, and as I see in one of the papers that the Government has purchased 1,033,000 acres, the sooner it is thrown open the better, if : population is to be drawn to the; colony.- lam sorry'you are about to borrow again, so scjo after the agitation which has been created by men who hare been so identified with the Government, but the credit of the colony stands well. You must not think that the personal influence of Vogel or Larnach, or both, is the value of a straw in raising loans. They have all the names and ad dresses,of the applicants for the last Colonial loan, but from the 4th of January last to the 16th May, they have placed but 5362 shares with the public, .amounting only to tlm, paltry paid up sum of £29,310. The credit of the colony adds to their status, and had the credit of the colony been pledged for their company the capital would have been raised. You should send over a special conjmi>sioner, and let him ast in concert with the Crown agents and the Bank of England, and the loan will be raised. But you ought to resolve to borrow as KtlU as possible. Jour million, you say. I have not the least doubt of your having it, but you must begin, to pull up. I enclose an article from the Scotsman of the 9th. of June, in which everything is said that I could consistently write respecting the colony, but the British capitalists «ro not fools,, and as soon as they see publio positions made to further private ends, they begin to draw in, as Vogel has found in the New Zealand Agricultural Company. He hopes to get into Parliament for Falmouth, and he has told the electors that it is the best port in England for embarking to New Zealand, and that he intends to use his influence as Agent-General to make the plaoe a second Liverpool. I bare been told that the three next ships with emigrants are to call at Falmouth, where Yogel has taken a house and joined the Oddfellows. Falmouth is a Liberal Borough, strongly impregnated 'with' Wesleyans, one of whom is the present member, and I suppose the next move will be Vogel joining that faith.—-Yours, &c, Alex. McOabtney, Edinburgh. June 17.1879.