BAY OF ISLANDS COAL COMPANY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 4292, 23 February 1884, Page 4

BAY OF ISLANDS COAL COMPANY.

Loss of Fifteen Hundred on the Half-

Year's Operations.

The half-yearly meeting of shareholders in the Bay of Islands Coal Company was held yesterday, Mr J. C. Firth presiding. There were nearly a dozen gentlemen present. Directors' Report.—This report stated that the sales of coal for the past half-year have been 13,349 tons coal, an increase of 819 tons on the sales of the previous six months. No further boreholes have been put, down, and the prospecting operations hnve been confined to No. 2 and No. 6 levels. The increase in sales above alluded to in due to the work done in No. 2 level, which has opened up more coal, and thua increased the output. Nothing definite has been arranged yet in regard to the request made to Government far assistance towards prospecting further afield. The directors have declined to take over the railway,and tholinewillshortlybeopenedtodeep water, and worked by Government. When this is done, steps will betaken to dispose of the steamer and barges now at work on the river. The .statement of accounts shown a lohs of L 1,500 16a Id as the result of the half-year's work. The expenses in every department have been reduced as low an possible, find the directors will continue to use their best exertions in the interests of the Company. The directors retiring by rotation are Messrs Peacock and Williamson, who, being eligible, oiler themselves for re-election. Twoauditorswillalao have to bo appointed for the current year. For the directors—l. (.'. Firth, Chairman. Pm ikit an ii Loss Account. — This showed: Expenditure : Winning coal, pumping expenses, atores, and labour at colliery, L 6,346 Us 10(1; railway carriage of coal to barges, : L 307 9h ; barging coal to vessels at loading "•round, LO4B 6a 8d : total, L7,3t>2 7s 6d ; prospecting, LBO2 (is lid; forage, L 209 !js 4d; freight on goods to colliery, L25 17s; general charges and expenses, L 479 lls 5d ; interest and discount, L 451 14s 9d ; interest on railway expenditure by Government, L3lO lls 2d; Royalty fee, L 221 9s 8d ; salaries, Ls2fl ; sawmill loss, by fire, L 100: total, Llo,4Bo:te9d: balance,L6Bsl2s3d. Receipts —Balance of profit and loss, old account, 30th June, 1883, LBl5 3s l()d; sales of 15,349 tons coal, L 8,668; rent of cottages and land at colliery, L 95 Is 9d ; profit on stores and timber sold, and work done at colliery, L 132 19s 2d; hulk, Bella Marina, Ll7 9d; scrap iron sold, L 75 6a; balance, L«BS 12s 3d : total, L 10.489 3s 9d. Balance-sheet. —Thisstatementshowed: Liabilities: Capital—2,ooo shares paid up, L 20.000; GG6 new shares, Ist issue, paid up, L6',GOO ; 334 new shares, 2nd issue, paid up, L 3.340. Reserve Fund : Debts and liabilities—Overdraft at Bank of New Zealand, L 4.204 17s 4d ; money orders issued, but not presented for payment, L 845 5s Id; amount due to Government for Koyalty, L 5.177 7s 8d; bills payable, L4BO 17s 9d; debt* due by the Company, L 751 lla: total, L 43.459 18a lOd. Assets -. Property held by the Company— lease of coal mine, L 4.505 ; freehold land, L 2.059 6s 7d; leasehold land, L 10 0; buildings, L 3.207 13s 5d ; plant, 1,19,571 14.s 2d: total, L 29.443 14s 2d ; permanent works, L 10.356 10s; cash in hand, head otlice and colliery, L4O lls 8d ; debts due to the Company, L 1,887 4a 8d ; office furniture, L 145 4a 3d ; goods and timberat colliery, LHOti 0a lOd; coal in hulk Bella Marina, L2!)5 Is ; profit and loss, balance, LOSS I2s 3d : total, L 43.459 18s lOd.

In moving the adoption of the report and financial statement, the Chairman drew attention to the lons of LI ,500 which had been sustained on the half-year's operations. He said the directors had endeavoured for the futuvo to avoid the recurrence of such a deficit by reducing the wages of the men employed in getting the coal and at work on the mine?. They had also raised the price of coal Gd per ton. The first of these arrangements came into force at the beginning of the year, while the eecond,!relating to the increase in the price of coal, would take effect from the first of March. The directors hoped by these means to put themselves in the position of avoiding loss, but otherwise, if that was not sufficient, there were still two alternatives before them. He would recommend either further reduction of wages or the closing of the mine, because it was not to be supposed that shareholders would continue to invest money in an enterprise which did not give them a fair return or any return at all upon their capital. Hitherto, the Bay of Islands Coal Company had not been a success as far aa the shareholders were concerned, inasmuch as they had only received a little under 3 per cent, on their investment during the last 15 years, amounting to rather morethan LIO.OOO, while the workmen received over L 194,000, the total value of the coal sold being about L 305,000. It would thus be seen that the workmen had received two-third.-- of the total value of the coal sold, while the shareholders got little more than one-thirtieth of that sum. These figures would show that if the mine tew i!iijV>fs! Mp. to fch'.'e: ■■.::-- .!.. in-

Vms to -.iy that capita! nutat* ou more than its proportion of the profit produced by labour, but this was not so as far aa the Bay of Islands Coal Company was concerned. The speaker proceeded to point out that where capital was invested in developing resources of a country, labour should be content to participate in the losses aa well as the profits, or at least to make due allowance. The closing of the mine would bo a public calamity, but he did not think it right that the shareholders should be called upon to bear the whole brunt of the enterprise.—ln seconding the motion, Mr Thomas Peacock, M.H.R., took exception to the remarks of the Chairman about the reduction of wages. There was no intention on the part of the directors to ■make further reductions in the wages. The real difficulty they had to face was that the coal had given out or become so thin as to render its working unremunerative. An increase on the output was the only means of a return to prosperity. An application had been made to the Government for a grant towards boring for a fresh seam, and seeing that the land was ow ned by the Government and was practically useless for agricultural purposes, and that they had paid L 3.000 royalty fees, being more than four times the value of the land—he thought it should be granted.—Mr Isaacs suggested a further increase in the price of coal.—The adoption of the report, etc., was then agreed to. Directors.—On the motion of Mr W. S. Wilson, Messrs Williamson and Peacock were re-elected directors.

Auditors.—Messrs John Batger and T, L. White were re-elected.

This concluded the business,