The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1882.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4269, 6 September 1882, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1882.

There is a spirit of speculation rife at tbe* present moment. The mania takes the form of floating large areas ,of -ground on the flat into shares and then into companies. Anything within half a mile of the Queen of Beauty mine will swim readily. Even at the risk of throwing a damper on enterprise we feel ifc our duty to raise a warning Toice. Everyone who knows anything of the peggers-eut will feel that the policy of some of them is laid on the same lines as that of the razor seller of Newcastle. He sold his razors at one shilling- a dozen, and Hodge purchased one. After scraping vigorously, but ineffectually, at his face for some time, and cutting himself severely, in great wrath he hunted up the razormerchant. Upon finding him he ex« claimed, " This razor won't shave." " I did not expect it would," was the cool reply. " What was it made for then ? " interrogated the dumbfounded bumpkin. " Made for? Why, made to sell." The motives'of some of the persons who are | thus floating these ventures, is to sell—' | their object is to realise on their shares, j not to mine for gold. By the time mining, \ operations are under way, they will have ceased to be shareholders, and the subsequent proceedings will interest them no more. The first to set the ball rolling was the London, formerly Old Exchange. The promoters took out the license with their own funds, received no cash, and only had about two shares each left for their trouble, which no one would grudge them. £500 lies to the credit of the company to start operations when opportunity offers. Good gold was'formerly obtained in this mine, and it is thought it can now be worked more advantageously. Then the Seymour Co., 60 shares, was floated by 0. McLean, and should be well worth prospecting, inasmuch as it adjoins the Queen of. Beauty and runs up to Irishtowm It is thought to have the., continuation of the Queen of Beauty reef, and arrangements have been made to work from the Queen's shaft. Next in order comes the' Old Beach claim, (formerly 'Crown Princess,) now Mariner G.M. Co., of which Messrs H, E. Campbell and P. K. Donnelly were the lucky vendors, securing £500 cash,-' and 15 shares out of 50. Thus of tbe

money realised they haTe half, and also have almost one*third of the mine to the good. Fortunate men ! Then the Que.n of England enters upon the scene, her stride being from the Queen of Beauty to the beacb, and from Albert street to Pahau street. A number of excellent' reefs traverse the ground, no doubt. The projector'of this enterprise is a model'of moderation. Apparently he does not want more than half the mine to himself. We are informed it is divided into 86 shares, 43 of which are placed upon the market at £30 each to raise £1290, to be expended solely in the working of the mine. The Vanguard, 72 men's ground, brings up the rear. It stretches from the Queen of Beauty to the brewery, iip Sandes street, Block 27, and back to the Queen. It is contemplated , floating this ground, into #0 shares, the product of 50 going to work the minef;>teo shares go to the promoters, | and ten to the gentlemen who paid the preliminary expenses. That-is all at present, but we do not despair of being] in a position to add further to the list in a few days, for there is the country beyond the Karaka creek not yet pegged out, at least that we are aware of. We freely admit that a person who pegs out a good piece of ground, and takes out a license on the risk of floating it deserves some consideration for his pains, but £50 to £100 would be ample remuneration. Many people run a much greater risk with far less prospective profit. Do those gentlemen who so readily purchase shares in these ventures, in which a fourth or half goes to persons who are non-contributors, look to the future or to the equities of the matter? The Auckland speculators are to blame for encouraging this sort of thing; they should set their face against anything like extortion. They should enter into a combination to discountenance anything that is unreasonable, or floated simply to sell. This excitement will do harm instead of good if not kept within a legitimate channel, and what should be steadily kept in view is work. We are afraid, however, that not a few of them are tarred with the same brush as the promoters. They lend the weight of their name to the venture to enhance its prospects, with a view to realising as speedily as possible. It woul& be advisable for them when a new venture is placed upon the market to hold a meeting and decide whether the terms are reasonable before taking any interest therein.