COMMERCIAL.

Evening Star, Issue 9154, 8 June 1893, Page 3

COMMERCIAL.

The amount ot revenue collected at the Customhouse on goods cleared to-day for consumption was £l,OlB 12s :M. The Gear Meat Company (Wellington) have declared an interim dividend of 10 percent. MINING NOTES. A gentleman at Gcraldtown, Western Australia, has written to a friend in this City an interesting account of the Murchison gold field. He states that the extent of the gold-bearing country is something wonderful. On the Murchison Held there are now about 1,20!) miners, but he considers there would be employment for the whole population of Australia if properly directed. Concerning the prospects of the field the writer adds: " I have seen pieces of gold from lOoz to lOaoz encased in jasper ironstone formation, but unfortunately there is little or no machinery on the field, and no capital available to procure it," According to the writer, the ticld is from 'M) miles to GOO miles from a shipping port, and the rates for carriage are .£'2o to £:Fj per ton. A great drawback to mining is the .scarcity of timber in the district, and fresh water for engine boilers is not available. Till' Ro.VRCROG AMALGAMATED COMPANY.

The annual meeting of shareholders in the above was held ut the Chamber uf Commerce yesterday afternoon. Mr W. L. Simpson (chairman i)f directors) presided. 'l'lio iniiniiil report was taken as read. The Chairman, in moving tilt; adoption of the report, culled attention to tin; fairt that then; was a slight typographical emu- in the report as printed. It was stated that LT.!):-1 had been paid in dividends, whereas the amount was really L'I.CM. The returns had not been so large as in the previous year owing partlvto that fact, and also to the fact that a great deal of dead work had been done, a large area of ground Inning been stripped, which would take two years to work. The rates and taxes were more than double what they were last year. Thai reflected a little upon t.h nfuirness of the present taxation so far as it applied to mining companies, and he thought that the complaints made lately at the West Coast to Mr Seddon were borne out by the company's balance-sheet. The amount paid for rates and taxes by the company last year was i.7\ This year it* ran up to t'l7ti 7s. A portion of that sum'was for the county ride, which stood the same as last year; while the lioycriiinent tax had very considerably increased. The thing he had to deplore most was that the gold won last yea»' was t'7,4»M, while this year it was only "t'4,r:i!». That was accounted for, as he had already stated, by the shortness of water ami the quanta • of dead work that had been done. The water r.-vt short immediately after the dead work was finished, from that time the falling-olf in the yield of gold was very great; but he thought it 'might be to some extent accounted for by the fact that, the ground had not turned out so productive as had been anticipated. He should, however, state the ground which had been stripped, and which the manager stated would last over eighteen months, was, according to report, better than any that had yet been worked, and he hoped that with a steady supply of water the company Wouhl he able to m';ke up tie' leeway they had lost this year. In answer to a question bv Dr Kitchett it was explained that the water had been used for shipping when it could not have been very well used for sluicing. The ground could he more advantageously and proiitably worked by stripping a large area before sluicing. The ivoort was adopted, and Messrs 11. \\ ilsoii and H. \S. Valentine were re-e'e ded directors, .Messrs W. Brown and Co. being re-elected auditors. An extraordinary meeting was afterwards held, and it was decided to repeal article Ilia of the articles of association.