TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4137, 27 August 1900, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

- MILLIONAIRES AND TJIEIK - MILLIONS.' [The society papers. If they ?o nothing ' ©lie, keep us lu-etty well, posted as to ' hoW our millionaires handle their ■millions. A case is.' to liiiM in our latest- files. Mr Stephen March/tnd is one .ofithe golden tribe,, who revels in the ' consciousness’ that he can • only dimly approximate the extent, of his wealth. I Jis latest■ freak• is- to • possess the most LeauMfnl hod'chamber in the.-- world; And lie has it at an outlay of £193;740. It seems at first incredible that a vast fortune could ever have been spent on the building and decorating of a. single room to lie unconscious in. But the artists have shown, the millionaire the waj. In the first, place the apartment is i72ft long by 22ft'wide. The woodwork ot the walls' in panelling alone cost £12,800, and the purple and gold

velvet- hangings on them cost £2170. The ceiling decorations were not demo under-£3870. The specially dyed Axih’nstcr■ carnet v, as bought at £G os per ySsd. and.cost £I«0. The b«Mead Mood the purchaser in £uS,OOO. It is of ebony and ivory, inlaid with gold One hand alone of ivory in it employed tour fret-cuttorS eighteen months. No piece of ivory could he found m America- large enough to make the trr.ohv at-' the hcati of the bedstead, and it took seven months’ bunting before a tusk could be- obtauicel Africa largo enough. The .-archo ... matched the bedstead at a cost c. £2b,000, and the entire bedroom siute run' ui» to ‘£93,000. Marcnarnll ;'* raid to bo unite happy when ho settle I Ids little bill of £193,740.A NEW DEfAE-TUBE. : A short time since reference war. made to a proposed now depariuve cipal finance. The “I'inancial Times, referring to this subject, remarks .-that the Glasgow banking .institutions arc keeping a watchful eye, on the proposal of the Glasgow Corporation to issue ; ii). 000 sterling in £1 notes, for they point but that if. the barrier that- has been maintained in Scotland since 18h> bo broken through, the result will_ be an encroachment- ot English banks into Edinburgh, Glasgow and tho other large cities. Scotch banks know veil that; their brethren in England would he only too anxious to retaliate for tho incursion of Scotch banks into Condon by invading. Scotland. It- is strongly argued that the proposed issue- of notes by the Corporation as put forward is not sound baukimr.finance, as the Corporation binds itself to hold a gold reserve of only £2oo ,000—one-half of the issue. It is feared’“Brat in _ times of ’ dear jhoricy' and’. ■ .financial distrust the notes would- not be readily negotiable, for hi sijchi times the public eye turns to gold.

. AFFECTING COMPANIES, blew ’Zealand is, not singular iu pro-, posing’, 'legislation'.‘dealing’ with public companies. In,Great Britain, where a new’ Companies -Bill has been introduced into Jhe 1 lonic of Commons by (ho President mf the Board ol Trade, the main, idea- is .riot to', tilt "fit high profits or to restrict the ’earning capacity of a company engaged iu any industrial ■enterprise,’ but, to..protect,, as far as possible; the- public from becoming victims'of '‘wilfVca’t”' concerns, promoted by designing speculators. Indeed, the fundamental object of (ho British Bill is to secure share-holders from being induced to , invest ■by false, pretences, and it depls particularly. with- the evils of- bogus or fictitious subscriptions. At present companies sometimes proceed to allotiricnt when only -an -inadequate proportion. of;The capital, has --been subscribed. The result is, that the entcrprisrf cannot.get into bona fide working order’, andi has to go into liquidation. Under tho.-riicw: Bill the minimum subscription .upon;: which, the -directors will •go.;id. iallotracht-.tro.ust bo disclosed in the properties, and a: return of the allotment’ must bo made within seven days,- so •■that the . shareholders may know who arc'their partners in the transaction i i The - Bill also endeavours to ‘grapple with the ! evil of secret payments to promoters and vcndois, and provides against the scandals so often practised under : the ’cover of: the waiver clause; by enacting that in all. cases the prospectus;shall; contain' a statement of the precise aiiiount paid to vendors and promoters!’’ Provision is also made that’ tho shareholders Khali. >in all instances j know -what .payment is made to* the,’ underwriters for their services in-guaranteeing capital. Tho Bill does not go .very buy but, as Mr Ritchie paid'- in- introducing it,-- “Tho_ great ina-■jority-of, joint stock companies arc not fraudulent,.and it would not ho politic to penalise the, whole legitimate enterprise of. tho 1 country for-'the sake of cutting the’claw’s’ of the wild-cat promoter.” ' ; THE-KARORI TUNNEL CASE.

Sir Justice Edwards, delivered judgment on Saturday in I lie c;tsc of Slower v. ■■ Loddor* and Murphy - and tlic Karon Borough 1 Council. . The jury in this case found for;the plaintiff for £l6'iß 5s on a claim for £)Bl<> 'l3s 10’d for alleged wrongful repudiation and determination of contract land Koisure of. works and ‘material. ' Tils Honor considered tlie respective .liability of. Loddor and Murphy and, the 'Karori I’orongh Conned, and decided that, in view of the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act el 1886, there was no contract between ;Lqad«r ( , and Murphy and the. Corporation;' no*license was granted by the Corporation to the oilier defendants (o cany on,-the,wok, nor was there any acnuieacencc’on'.their part sufficient io make any. arrangement between Mr Ward, as their- engineer, and Lodd'i* and Murphy n contract binding on the Corporation. . For .these reasons his Honor non-suited the plain! ill' as agiunstotlio . Karori Borough .Council, allowing, • however, Ibo sum of £6O lor material for:which-the Corporation admitted their liability- As ag.ibni Loddor i and Murphy, j bis Honor/ held that- ■they, were-responsible in Jaw for the expulsion of the plaintiff from the works - ho- Was perforini;ip. Tbt*rc_ was in effect, a. •warrant'on" ilic pait of' the person-'.who engaged ■■ a cofitiacter - to do 'work upon" his land that the contractor ‘would - bo permitted, "to carry out ami finish' the work; and if lie were expelled'by; sonic persons "exercising a, • fupotitir' titlfv'ilfb'’Contrail, tor " bad 1 • bis remedy against 1 the' 'one ,who t eniidoycd hint; Tlid Judge then reviewed at length the measure oi' and found that ■ tiicj' .plalntjif.jras'G^iatitlijd.;''jto , recover ,daipagek^fr.ttip l »tho’,'>dcfondailts 5 Hpdder and but/ihat, as Ihq jury had he on left,to decide the ({uesiions of damages > irrespective 01.- ,whether ,be would, iiave-made or. lost xia (he,whole contract, 'the •verdict* of lire-jury mas* he .set-.aside,r.a-nd a new trial ordered, unless the - 'defendants would agree, to nominal,damages being entered -against them.' If necessary, argument will be hoard da Wednesday. , r . • ■