THE MILTON POTTERY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2237, 14 January 1897, Page 25

THE MILTON POTTERY.

I At the meeting at Milton ou Friday evening | to take into consideration the position of the local pottery, Mr E. F. Storik said that he had visited Milton in September, and looked over the pottsry, acting on behalf of his own private ( syndicate in Auckland. He came out to New Zealand two years ago, acting for his firm in England, and then first saw the Auckland clays, which, he was convinced, were suitable for pottery work. He had them thoroughly j examined, and, finding them all he expected, ! I he resigned his appointment and got up a syndicate to work these clays. He then heard , ' that Bishop Nevill was anxious to get the Milton Pottery off his hands. He thought it would be I well to take it, aa tttey wonld thus lose no time. ' He was very well pleased with his inspection of the pottery, and he settled with the bishop's agent that, in the event of the company being formed, they will take it over. The Angip-New Zealand Company ' offered to take the flotation of ths company off his hands, stipulating, however, that the people of the south must take up a third of the shares, whioh was 300, or they would have nothing to do with this pottery. He had now secured 113 shares in Milton and 125 in Dunedin. Of the latter, however, 40 were guaranteed by one or two firms under en , indemnity from himself, and if they were not sold he would have to take them. He still required 70 shares, which must be obtained at once. On looking down the prospeotus it would be seen that the capital was £12,000, which might appear small to those who were accustomed to the average colonial industry, where a large outlay was required for the plant. Here, however, that would be saved. The Milton Pottery was already working, and the material was at hand at Auckland, with nothing to pay for wood fuel and freight, so that there would only be labour- to provide for. For himself he . w&s also guaranteeing the company a plant , sufficient to manufacture £10,000 worth of ware i a year, as well as 1500 acres of mineral rights. There would thus be no outlay beyond renovating the kilns here and erecting a factory at Auckland, which would cost about £2000. j . la consideration of what' be a%it th» oom» '

I pany he was to be paid £1000 in ca3h and [ £1000 in shares. Out of that, however, he would spend £800 for machinery and £500 for tho Milton Pottery. Out; of the profits the shareholders were to get 7 per cent, interest! before the vendors tououed a peony, after which they got one-third of all further profit!, the vendors getting two-thirds. This was not bo much when they considered that the vendors received no remuneration unless the company paid 7 per cent. Of the total shares 900 were offered to the public, payab'e £2 on application and £3 on allotment, the balanoe constituting a book reserve. The cash capital would thus be £4500, leaving £6500 uncalled, whioh made tho company as strong as they could wish to see. The northern directors were all well-known men, while there was also a southern advisory board, whose advice would be taken before the directors made any move regarding the Milton works. Touching the Waiheke mineral rights, they had to take these with the clay rights. They had now entered into negotiations with a London o mpany who were taking up the adjoining mining rights for the sale of these. The negotiations, which had to be conducted by letter to London, took a long time, but he had no doubt they would b8 successful, and the shareholders would then receive a large ca*h dividend. Regarding the two works, the plays at Milton were not true kaolin, which proceeded froni decomposed granite or rock* of that claw. They could not, therefore, make fine ware here. They could, however, make common wire, such as teapots, for which there was a good market at more remunerative prices thau for finer ware, «uch as cup* and saucers. The clay at Auckland was true kaolin, from whioh they could make almost anything, from flne porcelain to drain pipes. They did not intend, however, to go in for expensive ware, bnt would make articles which were in common use. They all knew well the opportunities thai existed — how there was a good market for all that could be turned oab. They could see how ths present proprietor wm turning out the goods in large quantities, and when they considered that, they roust realise what could be done with more <i,i-bo-date plant and extra kilos. The pottery at Milton hsd got a bad name in the past through mismanagement, till it had come to be looked o-> as a white elephant. This had been due, in a great meaiure, to the fact that whoever was in charge h»d not been an expert in all the branches, as would be the case at Home. There a manager not only had to know all abotti pottery, but had also to be an expert in chemical analysis, designing, and in the constituents of glazes, enamels, &c. To anyone in the trade it was no wonder that the Milton Pottery had gone wrong. It was practically impossible to turn out a fine gl»ze or enamel unless they knew what it wm made of. Another advantage the company would have was in distributing the manufactured article. Messrs L. D Nathan and Co. would be their North Island agents and Mr James Brown the South Island agent, and they would be able to distribute the ware turned out from both factories. He thought it would be a pity to let the matter fall through for the sake of 70 shares, which only meant £350 cash. In reply to questions, Mr Storie said thatalterations to the Miltou Pottery would cost about £250. They could not disconnect the company from the Auckland concern, an all the investments had been received on the strength of that connection. People would not have anything to do with the Milton Pottery alone. Mr Rowley, the manager, was an expert in all branohes of pottery work. He would have control in Milton, where he would reside tor the greater part of his time. There would not ba any need to send to England for skilled labour, as it oould be got in Australia. The company would be registered as soon as be went to Auckland, and they expected to itart operations in February. The machinery would be out at the end of February with Mr Rowley. All the capital subscribed wonld be available for working the company except what was required for brokerage or legal expenses. The balance of the shares required (70) wer* soon subscribed.— Bruce Herald.