AUCKLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 921, 24 July 1869, Page 2

AUCKLAND.

(from otjr own correspondent.) July sth;,Had there been direot telegraphic communication with Dunedinfrom this town, your readers might perhaps have Been, morning after morning of last week, some such telegrams as these : " Thames rising fast j" "All Nations going up j" " Long Drive at 160 ;" " Homeward Bound not to be had j" and curiosity would have been excited as to what was the meaning of them. That may be told in a few words. At no time, since the Thames goldfieldhaa been open has the sharemarket been bo active as during the past fortnight ( or three weeks. Speculation is rife aniong our Shortland and Auckland folks ; indeed I might say that there is a mania on the public for investing in shares, were it not that there are ample grounds for accounting for the present excitement. The business that has been done has been enormous, and the market is still rising, nor are prices at all likely to remain at a steady rate for some little time to come. The cause of all this is to be found in the fact that of late there have been extraordinary yields of gold from not one, but many of our Thames claims, and the prospects of all others are brighter than ever. Though the field has been open for two years, it in only within the past few months that it has been in any jray thoroughly prospected. In the early days, it used to be the case that claim would wait upon claim, the shareholders of the one merely shepherding until they saw what their next door neighbour might get. If no success attended the first efforts, then the ground was abandoned, The impatience of the early workers, coupled with their inexperience, materially retarded the development of the field. Now, however, that capital has flowed in, that machinery has been largely erected, and that owners of claims see the many advantages that accrue from the formation of companies, systematic and better working is the order of the day, and already the results are manifestly appreciable. Numbers of claims whereon many weary months of labour and much money have been expended, are now on heavy gold, and this too, not in one part alone, but all over the field. I could give you a long list of claims that are turning out quantities of stone which will average their two to fifteen ozs. to the ton. On the Kuranui, Moanatairi, Waiotaki, Karaka, and Hape they are to be found ; but those which are at present the richest, are situate on the ridge between the two first named creeks. I say at present, for none can tell but that better may be found. Ido not aay that it is likely ; but past experience leads me to say that it is not at all improbable. But 1 must proceed to give a brief account of the most celebrated cjajma that have lately come into notice— the Long Drive and' the All Nations, The first iakes its name from the fact that in the early days the tunnel or drive on this olaim had been carried much further into the hill than" on any other. It is situated on the spur running down to' the beach, between the Kuranui and Moanatairi Greeks, nearer the former than the latter. For a long time there was no return from the claim, and owner after owner parted with his interest in it, At length it was formed into a company, and for some six months past has been paying Y<>ry fairly. The capital ;a L6.QOQ, in 12UQ aharea, 8$ to oach holder of a full snare, ot L 5 'each, of whiph I*} 6a 8d is now paid up. tn may last, the scrip was saleable at Lso, and, before leaving Auck]krad, the Duke of Edinburgh and Lord Charles Bereaford bought in 60 shares at that figure. Richer atono than had boon previously seen was soon after struck, and, during tho lasjj throe weeks of June shares went up faa*. Paring that month, there were paid in dividends nq less than LQ per scrip, and today another of L 4 io to be dool&red. Shares were at 160 on Saturday laat, and will probably go still higher. Thoao handsome returns have respited from the oruihing of less than one tpn of apecjmena. in tw«e lota, and a few tons of ganpraj stuff. 3fiQ tona of .the latter are being put through, the machine, and the proceed*, whioh will be largo, are to be divided next 'week. H.RH. will certainly havo a vory tangible rominiaoence of hi* last paid visit to the Australasian c.olQttieß, an 4 ono far more a>tiaf»ctory thanthjrtpf l&f t y©*». Aboutthaaarae time that the Duke ipooulatpd. a full el^ro in thi«' something llkoaoUlm' changod ba,nda for LIQ.OOO. $oth buyer* and Bolter wore eatianed, but tl>e former hay© the boat qf the bargain, seeing that they have rogeived in dividends in ono month LtGOG, and that their nronorty i» now worth JtfOjOOO, and would realise that if sold to-

mcprpw^jiYouymay notice I ha^e quoted the)^xpresMoi| ' something j like] a claim. 7 Thesross nßFlbng ago beaded With that Jitl&an.'extrapt', from the "Mineral DiatiiHfcs of 1 Viotbria/ wherein 'a very-ricK claim in the sister oolony was spoken of. The Thames papers justly, enough took the matter upy and proved that Hunt's had turned but richer than the one mentioned in the extract. The Long Drive promises to outrival it .aLjp. . The stone hitherto taken out has only cdme from the drives and winzes : when the. whole is blocked out the returns will be fabulous, inasmuch as the stone certainly gets richer the lowor the works are carried. Hunt's or the Shotover Company's claim still continues as good as ever, and the leader from the Long Drive is said to run into it, though they will not work it until all the stuff used- previously for throwing into the road is crushed. It yields from 2 to 3oz, to the ton, and the shareholders have entered into a contract for the crushing of 2000 tons. Bordering on the Long Drive, but further back up the hill, is the All Nations, a claim which has from the first proved itself a mine of wealth to its owners. Latterly, however, they have struck the rich leader from their neighbours. A company has been formed with 5400 shares, of LlO each, and these have gone up within the past week to over L 23, at which price a Melbourne capitalist bought. One of the shareholders, lucky fellow, sold out his full share, or 600 scrip, for L 12,000, on Friday last. Shares of another of these rich claims, the Homeward Bound, on the same ridge, were not to be had before last week ; they are in the market now, at L2OO, being originally only L3O. It is quite true that these are all on the same part of the field, and there are dozens there besides all paying well. But everywhere is to be heard the same good story. There are claims in which but a few days ago a share might be had for a song, but which now hundreds, and in some cases thousands, would not buy. There is one company whioh I must not omit to mention, because in my humble opinion it has done a great deal for the Thames, and that is the Thames Gold Mining. It was started a long time time ago, with no flourish of trumpets, but quietly by some of the moneyed men of Auckland, for the purpose of buying into claims, and thus assisting the miners with capital. At first aa usual their operations were looked upon with mistnißt, but that has gradually disappeared, and those who then ventured are now reaping the reward. They hold interests now in over a dozen good paying claims on the field. As a consequence, the shares are in demand, and during last week took a leap from LlO on the Monday, to L2O on Saturday, at whioh price they are not now to be got. By next Saturday L3O will not buy. I must not, however, trespass too much on your readers' patience. That I have only put the truth in a aober guise before you, you will find if you turn over the files of the papers from this town and Shortland. In them you will have evidence enoxigh that we, in Auckland, are not going beyond the mark when we cry up our goldfieldi as likely to tiirn out the richest \a, tho world, Jt is qxute true that a ' poor man cannot make his pile here as on an alluvial diggings ; but 'taihoa,' 'you wait a bit/ as our dark friends say, and Auckland province will yet, and at no long date either, show you a sample of what she has jn, that line, something that will perhaps put Otago in the ahoae. Of course, there are all florta n f reports as to how much this and that person has made within the past few daya, but I havo it on realty good authority that a well-known gentle* man in town ia receiving at the rat© of LCOQ a wook for dividends and commission ; that anothor made something like LB,OOO in as many days ; and anothor over L 2.000. And the end is not yet. Thoro will not, however, bo such a reaction as thoro was twolvo months ago ; for then the speculators in shares had no data whoreon to go : now there aro «uch data, and very good onoa too, all things considered.

The intelligence of the dofeat of tho Stafford ftftniatry by such a largo majority was received in Auckland with groat and evident satisfaction. It was felt that the oolony, and this provxneo in particular, could not fall into worse hands than thoy have been in for tho pajt two yean, ana that any chango mult be for the better. Thia, of cxmrao., remajns, to be proved. At any rate, the akoich, of the policy intended to bo puranod by tho Fox Government, so far ao it has boon indicated to ut hero, seems to moot witft wry gone* raj approval. Should a diaaolntion aoon talf a place, I am oeriain that no mambev would ba returned from thii port of tho colony who would not ondorao aome. Buoh. lino of pojioy w has but jjuat now hoon an omitted. Thero is one point to whioh I may rofor in oonneotion with the now Government, and I know that I am only eobolng the opinion of our townspeople genorftUy when I nay, that I hope.

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that Dr'PoUen^wiirfind it -compatible . -with his duty'as well as inclination to t'ftke.| the post of resident- minister in' this' province. He has already filled iti so; well, and has proved himself so fully equal to the emergencies that have arisen while m office, that everyone feels we could not have a more competent or more courteous gentlemen to occupy the position. Rumours, which will also have reached you, have been afloat, to the effect that our present Superintendent had been offered the appointment, and probably, if Dr Pollen declines; he will be the successor. The general aspect of native affairs throughout the province and island, is very uninviting, and the statement attributed to Colonel Whitmore that he believes the King party are preparing for war, though contradicted and scouted by some who are supposed to be good authorities on such matters, gathers more and more weight as the current of events runs on. Various reports have been ia circulation that a general incursion into the Waikato confiscated lands will take place early in the spring. It seems to be true that East and West Coast rebel leaders are to meet the King at Tokangamutu to hold a runanga, at which the subject of war or peace is to be debated ; and possibly it will be found that the moderate party, of whom Rewi is the head, will not be able to restrain the more turbulent spirits. That ohief, who nobly fought against us in the Waikato war, has declared that he will bring about a peace, and there is no question but that his tribe, the Ngatimaniapoto, are excessively annoyed at the high tone the Waikatos (who are refugees in their territory) take. Who knows, if the cards are but skilfully played, thatjwe may not see his powerful tribe engaged on our side ? It would go far towards settling the present uncertain state of affairs. In matters purely local, besides the excitement anent our goldfielda, already spoken of, there is not much to interest your readers. To begin with the highest, the Superintendent. There is already a candidate in the field in the person of Mr H. Ellis, who, though not much known beyond the province, not having taken any very prominent part in politics, is making goodrunningf or firstplace. Hehas been holding meetings at the Thames, and has apparently received good support. This district will, I suppose, prove his stronghold, and another will probably be found at the Bay of Islands. I do not presume to enter into the question of the qualifications which the gentleman possesses to fill the important office to which he aspires, but if we take Mr Creighton's word for it, when speaking in the House on the subject of the Miners' Representation Act Amendment Bill, there is but little hope for the new against the old. I am, however, inclined to doubt that. Ere the time comes round it is quite possible that we may see one, if not two, more candidates in the field. The Supreme Court held its sittings, both criminal and civil, during the pa&t month. There was no case of any importance in the former, but in the latter there were three which excited considerable attention at the time. The first, Roberton v. Morrin, arose out of the destruction of a quantity of sugar at a fire in Graham's bond, some six months ago. Immediately after the fire defendant denied his liability to pay for the sugar, inasmuch as, although the sugar had been knocked down to him at public auction, it had not been delivered to him, and was not placed in bond in his name, but in Roberton 'b. The verdict of the jury on tho several issnos was as follows : — That defendant did purchase tho sugars ; that he did not pass entries for the same ; that plaintiff did deliver ; and that he is entitled to LSOO damages. , The defendants solicitor claimed a verdict on the second isßue as a vordict for the defendant gonorally, and tho case was to have been heard in Banco, but nn amicable settlement has, it ia understood, been arrived at. The second case wasj that of Mr Hall, losseo of tho Princo of Wales Theatre, against Mrs Fanny Heir, tho celebrated actress, who is woll- known in Dunodin. It was for breach of contract, that lady refusing to fulfil her ongayd- j mont unless certain other actors and actrosaon whom she deoraod necessary were allowod to play in some pieoeo that had boon selected by Mr Hall. Many witrfosßOs wore called on both sides to givo evidence as to theatrical custom, &o. Tho vordict, howevor, was for plaintHf — damages. Ll5O. A now trial has boon moved for on sovoral grounds, one of which is, that refreshments woro supplied to tho jury.by tho plaintiff's solicitor ; and another that Mr Smart, tho foreman of tho jury, bad said to Mr Bennott, Mrs Heir's agont, when he refused to amalgamate a certain claim at tho Thames with ono in which ho (Mr S.) was interested, " Mind, I'm on tho jury in Mrs Heir's case," or words vory similar. The arcuxnont is to bo hoard on Wodnondny. Tho third case at intoroat was J. S. Mao farlano v. Dargnvillo, manager of tho Union Bank, and wm brought to rooover

damages (LS000), for .the alleged cdnver- j .'siori'by the defendant of a bill' of 'lading ,$f certain goods, whereby the I plaintiff alleged that his credit and reputation as a merchant had been affected in commercial circles. Damages were , given for the plaintiff,. 4os. . A new trial has also been moved for in this case. '

That the apathy which characterises the good folks of this town can at times be aroused, has beeifnaade manifest at the recent election for the City Board, which exists here in place of a Municipal Corporation. The scenes which had so frequently been enacted at the meetings of that august body, had at length reached a climax, and it was felt that something must be done to elevate the tone of, and to remove some of the disfavour attaching to, the office of City Commissioner. Energetic steps were successfully taken to induce some new men to come forward, and there were eight candidates for the three vacant seats, while previously it was difficult first to get a citizen to consent to take the oflice, and then to find proposer and seconder for him. On one occasion, it happened that the first passerby, who was also a ratepayer for the ward for which the election was being held, had to be induced to come in to second the candidate. However, things have altered for the better, and more interest was taken the other day than has been known for years past. I hope the new Commissioners will mind their own and improve their companions' ways. Lest it may have escaped your notice, I send a copy of a lecture delivered by the Rev. J. Buller, on the "Maori War," and hope that you will see fit to reprint it, in extenso, in your widely circulated paper. It ia without doubt a most interesting lecture, and the subject is dealt with most impartially, by one who has had the beat opportunities of studying the Maori character during his long residence of 33 years in this colony. Business has been of late more than usually brisk, and is likely to continue so. There can be no question that the tide of prosperity for Auckland is now on the flow, and that Mr Stafford's prognostication as regards the future of the North Island, and of this part in particular, will soon be realised. Let only the authorities be strong, act resolutely, destroy the Native office, and inflict summary punishment on rebellious Maoris, that so the tribes may fear to fall into our hands and to engage against us, and the recovery of both South and North Islands will in a short time be rapid and complete.