AUCKLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2957, 29 July 1871, Page 3

AUCKLAND.

(FROM OUR OWN COR-ItESPONDENT.)

July m.%1.

'My last letter waswrit tow |uafc a» the symptoms'-"of'"approacliiijg"pauio in the share market began to develop .theiriselvea. .Sine© tUat Hems ,the fluctuations have been extraordinary^ and apparently incomprehepfriblo. It may bo useful, therefore^ to let you know the exact stato of affairs, with tlie onlj' roasonable supposition one caa derive from them.

\Vhan signs of decline in tho daily yield of Caledonian optcimeua vram first noted, people who had bought in at high rates, tried to aelL The fall from 215 to 150 was xapid, and with-.'fe# pauses on the way. Bat a.t the latter %are» prices for some time remained. Buyers came forward, favourable telegrams were circulated, and the market w»s firm fot some 'Avjfn, Suddenly doabts were felt as to tiie reHability of these telegrams, ■-pttc.V two^f larpe dailies ,■ :ar«::' ■■" reputed .■.to-::ib»':. coutiroDed by parlies owniiig Hm heaviest interesis in the Caledonian and Thame*. Tie othd daily, the Mora'

log News, published telegrams of a character opposite to theirs, and damaging to the protpecta of the mice. The public, gvvaigitß ear to conflicting reportsj bought at one time or mid at another, m th© humotirsekcd ii f tmtil the [fact.,,of a great falling off in production became «o evident that the shares f«H to LJdO. At that point the morning p&perk changed front. .Those which had hitherto aeon "everything coukur dc r</*?,* suddenly &ar matters in a-very different light; while their friend and adversary, tse N©v?s, began to caution peoplo against selling out in a panic to th<se who wanted to buy in.' cheap, and wor* fostering alarm for thepurpoie Thoeffectsof thucpitfUet werecuri^us, and especially (shown when a telegram, in one of the papers that ''the Caledonian novor looked- ao gloomy," warfollowed by an immediate rise of ten pounds per share . Since then, prices have gone up to ISO, at which they are tolerably steady, although for what reason it is not, easy; to cay. There can be no doubt a great chaugo has taken place in the mine, and new shoots at lower levels will have to ho sought for at conatdorftHlo cfjst of time and money. The fluctuations in tho market and the present firmness must therefore be caused ly one of two thhns. Either large holders, wishing to sell out, and knowing public scepticism as to tele-

grams, are turning that scepticism to account; or, what is more likely, tho same holders are " bulling " the market, buying and selling, but taking care tho bvtcr procesa shall largely prodotninaio. If po, a few days will k'll, and the "bulls" once clear* tho'fall'in pries would be rapid and great, ttuless bouio Very unexpected discovery is made in the mi no itsolf. Meanwhile, a system of selling to deliver on a fiiedday— in other words, time bargains—ia growing to considerable, dimensions, and ia about 83 nocd a substitute for unlimited''loo-as couIJ bo well devised.

Tho next ©vent of the day is the lecture givon by His Honour the Superintendent to the members of tho Thames Mechanics' I nstttate." Apart fro^ti th« in tcnsaTTelt in tho lecture, public attention hie been directed to it by ita publication i« cztvtso in tho Morning .-News, while both Cross and Herald have confined themselves to the publication of lettcra or articles ad

verso to the lecture, and more'especially bo to the Superintendent himself. There has been for some time a fend between His Honour and the two dailies, which aro supporters of the present Genera! and late Provincial Government*. Mr.Gillies, however, is one of those men with whom " withering contempt" is scarcely likely to answer, and his lecture having Wen read wid talked of everywhere, wo shall probably find the recalcitrant papers obliged yet to jgiv© it more prommonco. 1 have heard it spoken of f&vouraMy everywhere. Tho dominant feeling seems to to in accordance with it, that a change of some kind is imperative, and cannot long bo delayed. What that change should be is a matter on aijidi opiuton* aro so vague and diverse> that the sooner it is taken up vigorously, and something like a clear decision come to, tho greater the likelihood of the chango being workable, and in accord with the interests of tho people. In this light, and apart from any special opinions enunciated, it is felt that Mr ffillies has done good service in bringing the subject so strikingly forward. The weather has been abominable for some timo, with heavy galea and incessant wet The Waikato has been flooding the country about Ngarnawahia, and the flax-milto and premises there have been ranch injured. We have not heard of floods elsewhere, nor is there yet much fear expressed for growing crops. Some marked cases of forging scrip transfers, and of selling scrip to which the seller had no right, have been occupying attention, I belie to Una i« the only place in which bargains aro made without the scrip changing hands. Few of tho companies have any scrip. They give only a certificate that the holder ia entitled to & certain number of shares registered in. his name. This certificategenerally on a scrap of paper—ia soon lost sight of, and the share* change from hand to hand on the more registration of the usual sale note by tho legal manager. Hence when Bales aro raado in Auckland, and the legal manager's office at tho Thames or CoromandoJ, everything is dona in faith. Tho door is opened very widely for diehones*. people to tako advantage, as somo days must necessarily pasa before the fraud could be detected. Even in Auckland the sale note is generally left with the name blank, so as to a,v<)id filling it in and paying stamp-duty on each successive transaction. Confusion and loss ore certain to result from this loose system, and tho brokers are making efforts to have it remedied, but how, unless by insisting on the scrip accompanying each sale note, is not easy to see; to that remedy, as causing delay and expeuat', thereseems to be a strong objection.

The road (steamer lately imported Is becoming a familiar object, and traveleabout daily. It lia« not yet done any work beyend bringing a large boiler very successfully from Onebunga into Auckland. Having been carefully inspected prior to shipment by the officers whose duty if; is to inspect similar engines for the War Depart meat, and coming out with a certificate oC thorough efficiency from them, this road steamer ought to eottle finally the <jueattoa of their ani'ability to New Zealand. It is manufactured by Koby and Son, of Lincoln, with whom «Vir Thomson haa contracted for tho future manufacture of Ms engines, in order to guard against the imperfections which hive l.een no much complained of in aome of thoao cent to tho colonies.

Among items of domestic news I ought to .mention the abolition of the Maori raalJcet at the end of the Queen street jetty. This market had" become a filthy nuisance, audits abolition was necessary. The Maori protector w;ho.so ti«Hantly : guarded the iritoresta of hia proifgh in Daut;d:n reserves, will, probably insist upon somo aabstttute for .the. mtuket being fouud. Jit present nothiag is eaid of ..such a substitute,-a.i;id the course takea certainly seems harsh and high •banded.

The hawkere, upon whom a tax of 1A a [ year has bc<sn la vied, are also crying out ' against it, and are meetJHg with consider- : wbh?" sympathy. rf ho sttpporkTS of a Permissive Bill are bestirring themselves :to brin^ it before the Assembly, and the Auckland t ranch U. K. A. is getting up strong petitions. Thy iMvitveaarft havinj* a great meeting, professedly to scttlo ail difiicnltics connected with tho To Aroha aod other Uml dieputva as welt bs?he road and telegraph' questions.' Those wb • kn>m Maiiubiri and -thts leading spirita. >n this movement, do not thi«»k them Hkciy t« take up aach su ■ jtHJts withnut duo c^nbideral too, or with a»y other view than tho tinida'oi tho Waikato tribes in support of the King. If thoy succeed in'.ihis they will not leave us long wi hout Bigniiicaat proofs of their irileiltionß. If;.they fail, then all we ahaJl hear ie that the meeting adjourned mth■o»t.Coming to any decision. ■ • ;B«sfc 110 'to the real condition o£ affairs within the ankatf, neither the officials of the JSative Office nor any one else can speak authoritatively whjJe the Bystem of «ec3uaioa is so rigidly ouifikJitfd by T»vbiao utd liia jpeopl*.

After altonmtely laughing at and defyicgp us,, the OMnomari nativenhavo sent ia to a Maori Chief tho long detained letter bag With iwOovcramoiifc despatches and imporfcuafc prival© letters^ leaTinir him t» hand it to the Pakeha if ho wishes to do so. The delays in telegiaphiujr, through: the pltttiuacy of these miaerable Ohin«muritcs, have been much foli lately, when we are obliged to send nouth to the nearest telegraph station in small steamers which sometimes remain weather bound in harbour several daya after iho telegrams are put on Ixwrd.

I he Nebra&ksvbringaoply 11 passengers; this tim«, and 214 tons sugar from Mono-* lulu. Halt's Imo via Fiji continuea to run, and, I hear, Is not likely to be given up Tho City of Melbourne is reported to have left Honolulu with 50 passengers and a full car^o for Sydney; but it i» c?ear one or other of these Hnes mnetgive way, or tno loss will become serious to all -concerned, and a matter for grate con* sid^roiiou to our owa Government,