WELLINGTON.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1439, 22 July 1865, Page 3

WELLINGTON.

By the Kangatira we have files to July 18. We extract the following therefrom: — New Zealand Affairs at Home. —The correspondent of the Wellington Indepmd/mt thus describes the progress of matters relating to New Zealand iu. England. " You will be glad' to learn that orders were sent out last mail, by the Directors of the New Zealand Loan and Trust Company, to their Canterbury agent to offer the sum of £20,000 for investment in your province, which doubtless, will be found acceptable. The New Zealand Mercantile Loan and Trust Company, to be established in connection with the Bank of . New Zealand, has, in accordance with the intimation contained in my last, withdrawn its original prospectus, with a capital of one million, and reduced its subscribed capital to the modest sum of £500,000-with £100,000 paid up. By the present overland mail, Mr. George (Messrs. Kennard's Superintending Engineer and Manager) leaves for Wellington, to direct the progress of the works connected with the erection of your new edition to the Wharf and also the Patent Slip. I am told it was only last week that the final arrangements for completing the slip were entered into, and that the drawings and specifications for this work will reach you by this mail. A portion of the material for the slip will be sent

not by the Asterope at the end of nexi month or the beginuing of June. A large quantity of material for th< wharf, consisting of piles, &c., is or board the Adelaide' Baker —a room) vessel of American build. The slip it in fength, I understand, 1075 feet and has on each side of it two lengths of platform—each 600 feet along and 6 feet wide;—so that the ways ol the slip under water, stands as it were between two jetties constructed oi open iron piles about GO feet apart, and the spars between them spanned so as to form the platforms by wood and iron girders trussed with stout iron rods. Some of these piles will be 40ft in height, and spread out at the base to 14ft x 10ft. The length of the cradle |to carry a 2000 "ton ship is 250 ft. I am given to understand that the Messrs. Kennard and Brothers having now undertaken the construction of large works, will be prepared to undertake contracts in other portions of your colony. Here, then, is a chance for Canterbury, for its iron pier and breakwater; for Otago, for a new wharf or an iron sea wall to its reclaimed land. Auckland's decaying wooden wharf too, can be replaced by an iron one. In my last letter, I expressed an opinion that your Treasury Bills would, most likely, be taken up at Irom 100 to 101. The actual results bear out, in some measure, this anticipation, as may be seen from the following facts with which I have been furnished: — Ist series £100,000, twenty - one months currency, was tendered for at from 100 to 102. In this series there was one tender for £100,000 at £100 5s 6d, and another £100,000, at £101 Is 6d, and £400 at the highest rate £102. 2nd series £150,000, twentyseven months currency, was tendered for at from £100 to £102 ss. £ a d There was one offer for £50,000 at 100 7 0 A. second do do do 100 8 0 A. fourth do do do 100 9 0 A fifth do do do 100 10 6 A. sixth, the highest £300 do 102 5 0 3rd series £150,000, 33 months currency, vas tendered for at from £102 to £104 l is 6d j £ s d There was one offer for £25,000 at 100 10 0 second do do do 100 1 6 V third do £16,000 at 100 10 6 I fourth, the highest £1,600 at 104 11 6 The minimum fixed for first series vas £101; second series, £101 8s; hird series, £101 16s. At these rates the whole of the first eries was taken up; but of the second bout £20,000, and third series £6800 <jnly was disposed of. Had the minimum been fixed at par, the whole £400,000 could have been floated readily at an average rate of nearly £101. The total amount taken up was about £127,000. The period fixed for the redemption of the Treasury Bills was too long for bankers and too short for investors. This, lam aware, was unavoidable, but the fact was certainly prejudicial to the sale of your Treasury Bills. That there was plenty of money to absorb the whole of them may be seen from the total amount applied for, which, in round numbers, was the following: —

Series (1) £264,000 do (2) 288,100 do (3) 89,600 Total £641,700 Though your Treasury Bills might not be taken up if offered at par, yet I consider they ought to have gone at the minimum fixed by your agents, the Bank of New Zealand ; as on the day before (the 30th) your Treasury Bills were submitted to competition, the bank rate was reduced to 4 per cent. Tour financial agents finding at the close of the day on which they received tenders that there were unallotted of the 2nd series £129,300, of the 3rd series £143,200, advertised these sums for competition, to take place April 3rd—on which the following were the results, which are very simply stated —for only £30,000 ,was taken up, and the total amount subscribed for to this date is about £160,000, out of the £400,000. Yesterday was the last day for receiving applications for shares in the " New Zealand Mercantile Loan, and Agency Company," and I am happy to say that the whole of the shares were applied for. 1 gather from the prospectus of this company now before the public that the directors at Auckland have, as individuals, agreed to take 5,750 shares, or considerably more than onefourth of the whole number. This, I presume, leaves the bank capital untouched, which is very desirable. It was at first reported, as I intimated to you some time ago, that the New Zealand Bank capital would be used for the purchase of shares in the Mercantile and Agency Company. This was incorrect, and arose from the large amount of mystery and alterations which have marked the formation of this company from the commencement. The first prospectus (for private circulation) says the Directors guarantee that 4250 shares will be taken in the colony, but the second one, now public, omits this fact— why, it is difficult to say. The final ratification, by Mr. Weld's Government, of the Panama contract has given great satisfaction to all those directly interested in it, and to other well-wishers of New Zealand who are indirectly connected with the colony. The first ship of the line, the Ruahine, has had the steam up, and will shortly be ready for a trial trif>. An engraving of this fine steamship is, I understand, likely to appear in the Illustrated London News in the course of a few weeks. The other two steamships for the Panama line are well on to completion, and a fourth, I hear, has been ordered at Glasgow, and can be constructed within seven months, The new overland route viA Panama, according to present appearances, is likely to open with the beginning of the new year. This will be a great day for the whole of New Zealand. It will be a memorable epoch in her history. Let us hope the coming new year may see the end of your native war.

The Emperor Napoleon sent the key of his box at the Italian Opera to the United States Consul-General, and the Consul, not being a musical man, gave it to his domestics, who, to the intense astonishment of the audience, filled the Imperial box during a performance, —•Panama Star and Herald.