TOPICS of THE TIME.

Hastings Standard, Issue 26, 27 May 1896, Page 2

TOPICS of THE TIME.

Buried treasure lying at the bottom of the sea has always a fascination for the average man. The Catherthun with her case of sovereigns lying in 26 fathoms of water is just now a matter of considerable interest to most colonies. The diver who is hunting for the treasure has a risky task, for the pressure of water at the depth to which he must go is tremendous and there are countless other risks.

A list was recently published giving the ship wrecked vessels which carried the most valuable cargo. In a storm off Lewis, United States, in 1798, the British frigate De Brook was lost, having on board no less than £2,400,000 worth of specie and jewels taken from an intercepted Spanish fleet while on voyage to Halifax. The British war vessel Hussar which was wrecked in attempting to make the passage through Hell Gate, New York, had on board treasure mostly in guineas to the value of £900,000. By the wreck of the French frigate Lutine, 1799, a loss of nearly a million sterling took place. The screw steamer Royal Charter, wrecked off Moelfre, on the Anglesey coast, in October, 1859, had gold on board as part of her cargo, to the value of between £700,000 and £BOO,OOO, much of which has since been recovered. The French war vessel L'Orient, sunk in Aboukir Bay, at the battle of the Nile, in 1798, had treasure on board equivalent to £600,000 in value. In the storm which raged on November 4, 1854, in the Black Sea, the steamer Prince was lost, with 144 lives and a cargo worth £500,000, indispensable to the sufferers in the army at the Crimea. The steamer Amalia was wrecked while carrying a cargo worth £200,000. The route from England to India is strewn with vessels lost on the road, the estimated value whereof is not less than £80,000,000 sterling.

The stocks of the various coloaies are sharing in the advance movement, caused bj the plethora of money and the scarcity of gilt-edged securities. New Zealand stocks stand well and compare favorably with those of the other colonies. Taking the per cents, the following table discloses the

activity of the market, a rise having taken place in all denominations :

The 4 per cents shows New Zealand to occupy third position in the estimation of investors, the present quotation, being but 10s below the price of Queensland's stock. New South Wales at 122} is well to the front. Here is the table showing the weekly variation of the 4 per cents :

Securities. Mav 15 Mav 22 N.S. Wales ... 109 109J 15/- higher Victoria 107} 107 J 10/- „ S. Australia ... 111;} 112 5/- „ Queensland ... 109^ 110 10/- „ Tasmania 109 110A 80/- „ W. Australia... 111 112 20/- „ New Zealand 109 109^ 15/- „

Securities. May 15 May 22 N.S. Wales ... 122 122| 5/- higher Victoria 114:} 1151 10/- „ S. Australia ... 114 114k 10/- „ Queensland ... 1161 117 10/- „ New Zealand 115J 116rV 15/- „