ISLAND CREEK GOLD DREDGING COMPANY (LIMITED).

Otago Witness, Issue 2490, 4 December 1901, Page 29

ISLAND CREEK GOLD DREDGING COMPANY (LIMITED).

An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in the Island Creek Gold Dredging Company (Limited) was held at the registered office of the company, Crawford street, on the 26th. There were 20 shareholders present.

Mr T. Ross, in the absence of Mr J. H. Hancock, chairman of directors, took the chair. Shareholders, he said, had already been apprised by circular of the restilt of the working of the dredge, in consequence of which it was considered advisable to wind tip the company. He had, therefore, to move this resolution: — "That it has been proved to the satisfaction of this meeting that the company callnot, by reason of its liabilities, continue its business, and that it is advisable to wind ap the same, and that the company be wound up accordingly, and a liquidator appointed for the purpose of such winding up, and hi« r--numeration fixed."

A Shareholder asked why It was necc'^R-y ie submit the motion.

The Chairman said the reason was thr : Three months ago a new dredgemaster (Mi M'Kenzie) was appointed. He had to put tables on the dredge to save the gold, to lengthen the ladder to be able to dredge to the bottom, and to make other alterations that the vendors said were necessary to make the claim p. payable one. In .a few weeks Mr M'Kenzie had the necessary "work done, and then had some foui or five weeks' dredging, and the most he got in that time was soz. It was thought the dredge was m a wash-out — the vendors said so — and therefore not much gold could be expected. But so soon as the dredge got to the edge of an alleged rich lead — a lead that, it had been reported, yielded 3£dwt to the yard — it was found that for a week's woik the return was only 2oz, and there was no doubt the dredge had saved every particle. The tables were so constructed that they would save every pprticle. The chairman went on to refer to the early reports sent in as to the value of the claim, and detailed all the steps taken np to Jiu, time Mi; M/Kenzie took over the upsikaß,

of dredgemaster. On the 3rd November last Mr M'Kenzie sent in the following report . — " I am somewhat late in sending in a report. I thought it would be advisable to wait until I got to the bore. I got on to it on Friday (first) without getting any result ; in fact, the gold is much finer than we have been getting. The gold in the bore was supposed to be a much coarser sample, yet it is very strange that I cannot get the same sample nor yet anything of a return It seems to me that a mistake has been made somewhere. I am positive now that there is no payable ground of any extent on the claim. The gold is only suifaco gold, and the deeper down we go the poorer it gets, until the sea sand is reached, and it carries no gold whatever. I consider we have given the claim, as far as we have worked, e> very good trial, and I am perfectly satisfied that I cannot make it pay No doubt this will appea) somewhat contradictory to my first report, but I coxild not have then reported otherwise, seeing that I secured Boz "foi the week's wo:k, and knew that the gold was going over the stern, yet when the gold which was being lost, and which I now save, is collected together it amounts to very little compared with what it looks Last week I kept the washings of the tables apart, and streamed down the washing of the chute separately. I find that barely one-third is being saved on the tables, and at the same time 1 was led to believe that the gold was on the bottom. One would naturally think then that the claim was rich. However, I have proved it to be otherwise. I am perfectly satisfied that we are losing very little gold, if any, as the second plushes oa the tables have no gold on them. It seems very strange to me that -^hen the ground was first prospected no steps were taken to find out' the extent of the 3dwt bore, and which way it ran, and whether or not gold was on the bottom. I was led to believe that the 3dwt bore was on the bottom and sea depth of 27ft, and now I am told by the same parties that they only got down 19ft when the pipes broke; then again on the terrace a bore was put down to the bottom to a depth of 25ft. Now I have been dredging a good deal deeper than that, and al the same time I am told no gold was-got on the bottom or supposed bottom. It seems to me the prospecting of the claim has been very misleading. I am very sorry that ,the claim has not come up to expectations 1 have done my best to make it pay, and failed simply because the gold is not there to psj, and the opinion of myself and other experienced dredgemen is that the claim is not payable. If the company intend going on I would advise getting another dredgemaster, as I am satisfied I cannot make it pay, and I dc not like the idea of working and receiving wages when I cannot do any good. I would not feel it as a. slur if the company decide to appoint anoihe dredgemaster in my stead." — He might also inform shareholders tha f after the last meeting the directors suggested to the vendors that they should themselves have the claim bored, but the reply was that it- had been exhaustively bored before the company took it over. Further correspondence had taken place, all of which the chairman read to the meeting, leading up to the receipt on the previous day of this telegram. — '"Positive now claim salted; sunk bore close Popplewell's yard; different • sample gold; institute proceedings; ample-evidence — Gibbard." A letter, with full particulars, he presumed, of the so-called salting, was now on its way to Dunedin from ihe Coast. He (the chairman) considered that in view of all the facts it was pretty cleai there w«s no use in going on. In answer to a shareholder, the Chairman said the financial position of the company w-as this : If the dredge fetched an ordinary price the creditors would get 20s m the pound, and the whole of the uncalled capital woulc 1 not require to be called up. A Shareholder asked if the directors had considered the advisability of amalgamating with any other company ? The Chairman said they had not; they considered it would be rather a difficult thing in view of the company's position. During further discussion it was suggested that the Shareholders' Protection Society should take up the case, and that the Govern ment be approached to cause an inquiry to be made into the whole of the facts. Another shareholder advised that no steps should be taken until it was ascertained what the Fairdown and Wareatea Gompanies proposed to do — whether they intended to prosecute oi not. The Chairman said he had met a good many of the shareholders of the Island Creek and the other companies during the past few weeka. He had told them he considered it a swind l e, and they had expressed a unanimous wish to contribute to a fund to have the delinquent brought to book. He thought thsrp would be no difficulty in joining with the other companies in taking proceedings, either by themselves, or through the Shareholders' Protection Society. The liquidator, when appointed, could take steps, if necessary. The resolution proposed by the chairm?.n was seconded, and carried unanimously. Mr J. J. Ramsay was appointed liquidator at a remuneration of 30 guineas. It was made a recommendation to the liquidator that if he ' considered it advisable he should contribute something, in conjunction with the other companies, towards prosecuting those suspected o? salting t!ie claims.