BAY OF ISLANDS COAL COMPANY.

Auckland Star, Volume XX, Issue 4080, 10 August 1883, Page 3

BAY OF ISLANDS COAL COMPANY.

Half-yearly Meeting of Share'

holders.

The half-yearly meeting of shareholders in tho Bay of Islands Coal Company was held at 2.30 p.m. to-day, Mr J. C. Firth presiding. Tbe half-yearly report of the directors, which wn« read by the secretary, Mr H. Gilfillan, shewed as follow* :—Tim directors have to report) for the information of shareholders, that the sales of coal for the past half-year have been 12,530 to us. The ciuuoH referred to in the last report as militating against a satisfactory output' of coal have been again experienced iv even a greater degree, Since last report, No. 3 borehole has been completed, and No. 4 has also been put down, Owing to the faulty nature of the ground, nothing ot any coniequence was met with in either of these holes, the coal seams having thinned out to fifteen and twelve inches thick respectively. No, 2 level (which is the chief prospecting drive now being carried on) has been pushed ahead with all possible despatch, but its progrewj has been greatly impeded by tbe disturbed character of the ground through which it has passed. This work will be Carried on for a peiiod of two months, by which date the presence of any seam worth working in this part of the field will have been ascertained. The exploring operations have involved an expenditure of about £1,280 duricg the past half-year. Your directors cannot recommend the further prospecting of the ground contiguous to the present workings beyond that above indicated. Many thousand pounds have been expended on this portion of the ground. The other portion of the land leased from Government (further afield), consisting of 2,500 acres, shows indications of coal, more or less favourable, and your directors think that ~the Company have a fair claim upon Government for assistance in aiourtaining whether coal exists in a payable form therein. They have therefore taken the necessary stops to bring tbis matter under the notice of the Government. In view of the approaching com* pletion of tne railway to Decpwatcr Point (or Newport), the Government have asked the Company whether it is prepared to execute an agreement embodying tbe lease of the railway to this Company. Your directors are not prepared to accede to'thi* request, and are of opinion that it'will be more advantageous if the line is worked by the Government, and a charge per ton made by them on all coal conveyed tbereon. Arrangements are now in progress towards this end. Your directors greatly regret the unsatisfactory nature of tbe past half-year's work, as exhibited in the statement of accounts herewith, but in the face of the nnmerous and untoward difficulties met with in working the mine,this could rot be avoided. They tru«t that winning operations may, In time, be once more in undisturbed ground, the result of which will be an increased and steady output. From the Profit and Loss Account it appeared that Us cost of mining coal and other expenses was £9,838, while on the other hand tbe sales of coal amounted to £8,160) profit and stores and fees, £267 '8s sd; balance from old account, £2,235; making a total of £10,653 6s 6d, and leaving a balance of £815 3* lOd. The balancesheet thowed : -Liabilities : Capital account, £30,000; Reserve Fund, £2,000 ; debts and liabilities, £9,713 12s 8d ; profit and loss balance, £815 3s lOd. Total, £42,528 16» 6d, Assets : Property held, £29,398 3a lid; permanent works, £10,261 2d; which, with sundries, made a total of £42,528 16s 6d.

In moving the adoption of the report, the chairman said it was the most discouraging he had yet to invite their attention to. For 15 years they had endeavoured to make the company a paying enterprise, but without success. They started on a seam of 12 or 14 feet in thickness, but it lmd thinued down to three feet. The shareholders had invented £30,000 in the enterprise, besides writing off £34,422 for depreciation. Only £10,975 had been received in dividends, or less than 3 per cent, per annum, while the Government had recelred £3,113 as royally. A large amount had bedn spent in exploring operation-. under the circumstances it was proposed to win the coal which had been left in standing pillars, [and. to undertake further borings in the 2500 acres not yet touched, which would require an expenditure of at least £2000 this year, and this the company had asked the Government to mpply before abandoning the field If the assistance were not granted, the company could not bs expected to invest any more money in the field, and the responsibility of shutting np the mine and throwing a large number of men out of employment wonld rest with the Government.

The report was adopted, and the meeting terminated.