SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1835.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 268, 9 November 1895, Page 4

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1835.

It might be thoughb that by thiß bime the public had made themselves tolerably familiar with tho complex character and disposition of the mining market, for they have certainly devoted a maximum attention to ib durine. the past months. Bub we are certain thab any such supposition would be quito incorrecb. The facb is that tho public are peculiarly ignorant of the naburo of bhe mining markeb. They pretend to know a greab deal about it, aod fondly imagine that they do koow a greab deal. Thero aro Bcores of youthful pencillers aboub who will lay you on to scores of suro things; boys hardly oub of their boons who pretend to an omniscience thab is almosb irresistible. Bub thoir knowledge of stocks and of the intricato ways of mining is aboub equal to tho knowledge of horsolleßh which is possessed by bolf bhat breed of youths who wear contracted trousers, tilt their hats on bheir heads, and generally aiFect the mannors of stable boys and jockeys. Nob that thoy are to bo blamed for their ignorance. It is in their afi'octation of knowledge that the fault lies. To understand the mining market is a very difficulb business requiring long experience, keen discrimination, and unwearied watchfulness; and even those having all these qualities aro very frequently led astray. The public as a body can lay claim to nono of bheso attributes, or, when they can, they never seem to bring them into play in stock exchange transactions. Thoy buy and sell at tho command of ovory rumour, which very probably thoy themselves may have originated, and which thoy certainly have helped to spread abroad. They aro ignorant in perhaps the majority of cases of the mines, the quality of the country in which they aro situated, .the nature of the reefs, the work thab has been done, bhe financial position of the company, and bhe prospects of success. It is really marvellous how ignorant they aro. To embark in any other business with tho meagre knowlodgo somo poople have when they plunge into mining speculation would be considered insane. As a rule men do take some trouble to ascertain bho intrinsic value as against the declared value of an ordinary trade enterprise before they have anything to do with ib; but in dealing with milling scrip the case seems quite tbe reverso. The speculators take up anything thab comes firsb if ib is sufficiently " boomed," and they leb ib down again if ib is sufficiently " beared." They are nob guided, to any greab exbenb at leas., by knowledge or reason, bub are tho sport of every wind of rumour that flies. Ibis obvious how very unstable musb be tho position of a markeb whon bhe immense preponderance of the stocks are held under such conditions. l_ut ib is oqually obvious thab when tho speculative spirib is abroad a groat deal of stock must be so held, and this will be especially bhe case where mining stock is concerned, bhe real value of which, like tho real value of the mines themselves, must bo largely hypothetical. Much as one might desire to alter this state of affairs ib cannot bo done. Tho only porfecb remedy would be to publish a table of bho acbual amount) of gold to be discovered in each mine, with the cosb of extracting ib, which, of courso, is an impossibility ; and if ib were possible it would simply pub an end to all speculation at onco. Bub although such definite information is not to be had, the sagacious speculator gets hold of all thab lie can, and is guided by it in his speculations. Bo also learns from experience—and the knowledge is equally important—bhab tho mass of the public is nob guided in the same way; in other words that the fluctuations of tho markeb, whore atbribubablo to a perfectly honest cause, are tho result, for bho most parb, of empty rumours and strange, inexplicable changes of opinion andsenfciment. If bho public could only bo taught to understand this—the leading characteristic of the mining markeb at bho present momenb—ib would bo greatly to their own advantage and to thab of bhe colony. They would bhen be infinitely raoro careful than thoy are whon entering into ft speculation, and much loss apt to sell oub in a panic withoub any rational cause. They would nob rely so entirely on the broath of rumour as I they do now, for they would understand its I value better. The really good companies i would rise in favour, and the bad ones, which aro a hindrance to them in many ways, would go to the ground very I quid, iv if they ever ,i.s.ssgod to gob floated

ab all. The mining industry would assume a less inflated and healthier appearance, and the market would grow firm in sympathy wibh ib.

Under present conditions there is danger ot the industry suffering from a plethora of inadequately financed ventures, and the market is nervously sensitive. Examples of this sensitiveness are cropping up every day, bub Thursday laeb afforded one of the mosb striking we have Been for some time. On receipt of the cablegram to tho effecb chat the sale of tbe Hazelbank mine had nob come off in London, nob only Hazelbankß, bub a dozen other stocks began to weaken and tremble. The unthinkinsr, sentiment-led, rumonr-driven public never considered whab wore the circumstances of the attempted sale of tho Hazelbank, or in whab way it affected the stock they held, but they rushed like sheep inbo the shambles to sell their shares. Now, if they had known anything of the nature of the mining market, they would have ascertained somebhine. about thab mine bofore they acbed; and they would have found thab bhere was no reason for their haste. The Hazelbank is, no doubt, a good property. Ita position in relation bo tho famous Caledonian enhances its value very much, bub on bhe other hand its intrinsic value is quito an unknown quantity, and this in view of the small area of the property mighb very naturally make it appear no greab catch for a London syndicate. London investors in mining have become accustomed to demand large areas. Again, we musb not suppose thab every mine that is offered in London will find a purchaser, or become panicstricken whenever one fails to go off. The sale of the Hazelbank or of half a dozen other mines, though of course it must affecb other mining properties, does nob mean bhab all the mining area in Auckland is to turn oub El Dorado; and at bhe same time the failure to sell them does not moan that the bottom is knocked oub of all our mines. Tho sooner people understand thiß the better. The Hazelbank incident hasafforded a good example of the absence of any rational sanction in the transactions of the ordinary speculator in mining stock, and of tho unstable, because unreasonable, conditions on which the market rests.