The Hastings Standard Published Daily. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1896. THE APPROACHING BOOM.

Hastings Standard, Issue 92, 12 August 1896, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1896. THE APPROACHING BOOM.

For the cause that lacks assistance. For the wrongs that need resistance. For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

In the days of the boom we were wont to ppeak of " Marvellous Melbourne " with bated breath and reverent admiration. The Queen of the Southern Hemisphere was " going the pace few could discern or foresee the ending. What the end was we all know. The paragon city after the collapse was held up as an awful example. In the stirring times of the boom there were no end of crack-brained schemes, while "wild-cat" companies became as prolific as rabbits. In the delirium of speculation the maddest acts of a crazy crowd were viewed with admiration, and the leaders of the commercial gamble were followed by a lighthearted battalion of men anxious to grow ricb in the shortest possible time. The insanity of the boom period is marked by broken purses, insolvencies, and, with some few, the broad arrow. The disclosures have not yet ceased, for we have the Mildura scandal and the City of Melbourne Bank financing still to remind us of the peculiar effects of the boom. Melbourne, however, is slowly recovering, but the process taxes the patience and perseverance of the people.

New Zealand is on the eve of a mining boom, so at'least we are told by those who profess to speak with a knowledge of such things. The steady inflow of British capital for the development of our goldfields supplies the chief indication of the approaching boom.- For the past few years the speculators at Home under the spell of cheap money have been the means of " booming " several localities. South Africa has been the happy hunting ground of the company promoter ; from there he has come on to Westralia and taken the Colonies by storm by the prodigality of his company promotions. Cripple Creek,

Colorado, has helped to prolong the mining boom, and now New Zealand is to be turned to account. Fortunately, we are the last to receive attention, and we may reasonably hope that the British public have by this time learned all the tricks and subtleties of the company promoter, and will therefore use ordinary caution and judgment in respect to New Zealand mining ventures. We have some proof that this obtains in the fact that before a property is attempted to be floated in London, reports by properly qualified and independent experts is demanded. Our chief danger lies in over-capitalisation, and unless stringent measures are taken to prevent this a speedy collapse is inevitable. The mining boom promises to be a very real thing for New Zealand, with the prospect of a fairly long life, but it must not be supposed that all this can be got without the expenditure of public money. The goldfields need roads and other public works, which the Government alone can undertake, and the sum asked for by the Colonial Treasurer is totally inadequate. Instead of £200,000, at least half-a-million is required, and it would be well if 'the larger amount was sanctioned by Parliament. The mining boom affords an opportunity of thoroughly testing our goldfields, and it becomes the duty of the Government to give every facility for having the test made. The mineral wealth of New Zealand is admittedly great, and it is a source of pleasure to note the copious inflow of British capital which is so necessary for the development and successful exploitation of our mining areas.