OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8627, 17 October 1889, Page 3

OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

(Fkom Oub Own Cobbespondent.) Melboubne, October 9.

A SENSATIONAL "COBNEE."

■ A wave of excitement, such as has not passed over Melbourne Bince the time of the boom, has been experienced during the last few days, and the event will probably be remembered in the future as the famous Hound Hill " rig." So far as can be judged at present, an attempt indif. ferently planned and badly carried out was made to "corner" the stock of the Bound Hill silver ;mine situated about four miles from the Broken Hill proprietary. The immediate effect of the startling operations carried out on the Melbourne Exchange last Friday by one broker alone was to suddenly raise the thares in this mine, which had been ruling at £9 or £10, by leaps to £15, £20, £50, £100, and finally £150. This was followed by an utter collapse the next (Saturday) morning, tho disappearance of the broker, and a denial of any connection with the transactions by the gentleman who was currently rumoured to be his principal in the matter. There are only 16,000 shares in the Round Hill minu, and the area of ground held is large, so that there is reason to anticipate at some time or other a considerable riso in Tallies. The stock of this particular mine is, moreover, especially sensitive just now, owing to the fact that a cross cat is now being takon out iv the direction in which it i 3 expected that the; lodo will be encountered. No better claim could therefore have been selected for experiments of this kind, as the public would readily jump to the conclusion that some new discovery of importance had baen made, upon the ground. It is known, in fact, that the shares have previously to this been more or less inflated at tinim by the operations of a ring of speculator*;. f>st Friday's tiniißactioas, however, v/tro upyti au sUrng'.tber different scale. There nre three stout exchanges in tho city, anil Mr W. V. Dix is a member of the principal one—the Stuck fixcli.-myi'- of Melbourne. Mr Dix is a comparatively young mm), not long married, and living in v stylish houee at Toorak. He formerly etudiod medicine and

wag dispenser at the Alfred Hospital, but for some years past has been carryiug on business hero as v broker successfully, holding his own well, and not infrequently running some pretty lively risks. In short, ho was a spirited .operator, not free from suspicion of an occasional tendency to " pluugo." 0" Thursday last, Round Hills ruling at abput ±0 2s 6d, Mr. Dix entered tlie market and bought about 800, sending up the quotations a little. On Friday morning he sold a few, the effect being to ease off the price a little, but in the afternoon he was again a buyer, and had purchased about lsooshares at the time the exchange closed. They were then at about £11 10a, but did not remain so long, for in the vestibule Mr Dix developed extraordinary activity and literally bought every share offered him. Excitement grow until thero was a dense crowd outside the exchange, and prices rose gradually from £12 to £60 and £75, and then with a jump up to £150 for a small lot booked to the same buyer. One lino of 100 shares wag disposed of at £90 each on condition that delivery was to be tskeu aud cash paid at 10 o'olock tho following morning. Meanwhile telegrams were despatched to all parts of the country to secure shares, and the prices of Rouud Hills in Adelaide, at Broken Hill and olsewhere rose proportionately, the " boom " prices in these ceutres reaching about £45 and £50. At about 0 o'clock in the evening only tho gathering about tho Stock Exchange of Melbourne began to disperso ; but before this, and indeed throughout the whole transaction, it was pretty generally understood that Mr Dix was operating on behalf of Mr Fitzgerald Moore, a wealthy speculator who came hero from America somo years ago, and has since done big things in silver at Broken Hill. No one doubted who was tho principal iv the matter, and when Mr Moore got into his carriage to drive away from the exchange both he and Mr Dix must have been satisfied that the mine was effectually " cornered." Mr Dix remarked, in fact, to one acquaintance that they had about 30,000 shares, while there wore only 16,000 in the mine. To be accurate, Mr Dix, by indiscriminate buying, had secured about 18,000 shares—2ooo more than could be possibly delivered to him. A great deal, if not the greater part, of the deals by the other brokers had been what is known as " spec" selling to vendors selling stock they had not got at a high price, and having to provide themselves with the scrip Bomehow in time for delivery. It is a practice extensively carried on, although of courso unpermissible according to the strict ethics of stockbroking. On the following morning (Saturday) Mr Dix was at his office punctually, and before 10 o'clock the brokerß who had been sellers the previous day began to "shoot at him" with scrip against the general rule on the exchange, by which Saturday and Sunday are dies non. All the previous evenipg, not only had the telegraph wires been at work, but cabs had been conveying brokers to all parts of the suburbs wherever a man or woman was known to reside who owned Round Hills few or many. In consequent there was a formidable array of scrip flourished in front of Mr Dix s office on Saturday morning—a good deal more, probably, than he reckoned on, seeing the distance of the mine and the fact that three days is the time allowed for the delivery of such scrip as this. That, counting Saturday and Sunday as no days, would have postponed delivery until the Wednesday. On presentation of the first batch of scrip a few cheques were given by Mr Dix, but he then left he office, and it was reported had gone down the street to his bank. To the general consternation, however, he did not reappear, and then a panic set in, intensified by the fact that at about half-past 12 o'clock several of Mr Dixs cheques wore returned from the bank. One was marked "Refer to drawer," and several were wrongly dated—no doubt with intent. The situation of those who had paid extravagantly for scrip, iv order to supply Mr Dix at the boom prices, was, of course, serious iv tho extreme, for news had meanwhile been received from the mine to the effect that nothing whatever had been discovered to justify any inflation. of the shares, and the prices accordingly dropped down with a dismal fall from £150 to £16, at which they remained for a day or two, and then receded to their old figure of £9 or £10. Enquiries at Mr Dixs residence during Saturday, Sunday, and Monday failed to elicit any news as to his whereabouts, but a telegram had been received by his wife addressed from an outlying suburb—Ascot Vale. This ran as follows:—" Consternation, dismay; hope for best on Monday." Monday camp, but no Mr Dix, and an army of anxious faces confronted the chairman at the morning's sitting of the exchange. The process of calling over the investment, stocks was hardly listened to, and the moment it was finished discussion began upon the Round Hill. Everyone looked to Mr Fitzgerald Moore, who was present, for an explanation, and that gentleman seeing this was the ease, rose and directly disclaimed having had any part or lot in the purchases of Round Hills by Mr Dix. His statement was heard with unconcealed incredulity, and efforts forthwith were made to "fix" him. One broker, aMr Greeuaway, had seen Mr Moore just behind Mr Dix iv the thickest of the throng at a time when the latter was bargaining for a parcel of shares, for which he offered £80 each, but for which the seller demanded £90. Mr Moore touched Mr Dix on the Bhoulder and said," Advance," whereupon Mr Dix said, " All right, I'll buy," and closed the deal. From that time he purohased with absolute recklessness, his course being to take every share offered at any price. Confronted by this bit of evidence, Mr Moore again rose aud assured his fellow members of the exchange that what he had meant by saying "Advance" Was merely that Mr Dix, who he saw was buying too recklessly, should push his way on through the crowd and have boom refreshment with him. At this the exchange nearly laughed, but not quite. " That is my explanation, gentlemen," eaid Mr Moore, " and I have no other to offer." Whereupon the sittiug terminated, the chairman vaguely remarking that members must use their own judgment. At subsequent meetings of the Exchange, and ;n reply to interviewers, Mr Fitzgeraid Moore has repeated his denial of any connection with tho affair in greater detail, but a letter from Mrs Dix was read out to members affirming positively that Mr Moore was her husband's principal, and that she would produce proof of the fact. Private detectives had been put upon tho track of Mr Dix by his friends, and it was understood by this time that they knew pretty well where to lay their hands upon him if required. The knot was cut, however, by the return of the missing broker to his home suffering severely from the effects of morphia, at 3 o'clock on Tuesday morning. He had not been far away, and .his. return makes a very awkward inquiry necessary. Briefly Mr Dixs statement is that he acted throughout under the instructions of Mr Moore, who was by, endorsing his actions at the time of the most reckless purchases in the vestibule aud whose directions were " Boom them." After the operations of Friday he arranged with Mr Moore to meet him at his bank (the Bank of Australasia) at 10 o'clock tho following morning, aud Mr Moore was then to put him in a position to take up all the scrip. On seeing the crowd outside his office Mr Dix repaired to the bank as arranged; but Mr Moore did not appear, aud then the broker not unnaturally became alarmed, and was absolutely afraid to go back and face the assemblage at hia office. He repaired to the Federal Coffee Palace, at the foot of Collins street, where he knew Mr Mocre had a room, and waited for him all day, taking some morphia meantime by way of a sedative. Tho drug, however, had the opposite effect, and he wandered away from town during Saturday aud Sunday iv a dazed condition, and when finally found aud visited by his wife and friends wa3 seriously ill. He was brought home, put to bed, and a message was sent to the chairman of the 'Stock Exchange to the effect that he would meet the members aud make his statement as soon as recovered. This he subsequently did, and tho stock exchange has been edified by the reading of sworn affidavits by both gentlemen giving diametrically different versions of the affair, and by a dialogue between the two, which in pniut of directness could not be excelled. Mr Dix informed Mr Moore that his statements were "deliberate lies," and in this unsatisfactory position the affair at present rests. An exhaustive inquiry by the stock exchange and subsequent legal proceedings will no doubt follow. That the mine was successfully "cornered" on Friday night there seems no doubt at all, but the reason that induced Mr Moore (if ho were the speculator) not to pursue the adventure to a finish can only be guessed at. More stock was boucht than could be supplied, but it is possible that Mr Moore found that beyond the ruin of a number of brokers there was nothing very profitable to be achieved out of the transaction.

That the jury appointed to try Robert Landells for the Rinswood murder should have returned a verdict of guilty was an unaffected surprise to the majority of people, acd an active agitation has been on foot to obtain a remission of the death penalty. Viewing the case dispassionately, it eeems one of black suspicion, but the fact of murder in by no means proved beyond a reasonable doubt. By Landells' after ants he has been judged and condemned, and in the light of those acts there is a strong presumption of his guilt. But since the trial people turning over the ca?e in their minds have also como to tho conclusion that there are several points which tell in the condemned man's favour. In the first place Sherlock was not decoyed to Riugwood by the prisoner, as would probably have been the case if murder had been premeditated. Ho <vent on business with tho view of tendering for a contract there, and Landells accompanied him at his request. Then there is the fact that it was the deceased, and not Lanuells who took a weapon with him. The gun belonged to Sherlock, and was in liMidells hand presumably by chance. This evidence, against premeditation goes to show that if murder was done it was done" by Landells in an impulse, suddenly suggested by finding himself in the position to kill his companion. Moreover, medical evidence showed that the shot might have been fired with tho mtiii in the positions described by the prisoner. However, the petitions representing this view of the case havo not convinced the Executive (Council, which has confirmed the sentence, and fixed the date of execution a we (It hence

Yon ca.'i't exn?ct to »r>™- vounirer us U\a years roll by. but you a-,m preserve rlie mtfiustivo colour anil yoiifclif.il frof.hu.-s9 of your Imir by using Mrs 8. A. Altai's Worl<raHiilrncii(.r.'r S

Mrs ,T,ili~ Htrlnjfw, of Uoxlmrßh TCnst. died vcr suddenly on Monday. Sh« li'mw a kiliy snraii months o'd. Much bvoiiidtliy is expressed for Ika > oum< husband iv hie bereavement.