THE OIL TRUST.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 639, 31 January 1914, Page 2

THE OIL TRUST.

In the middle of December a cable mesage was published tbat a stormy meeting of the Oil Trust waa held in London. This concern was interested in the flotation of the Taranaki Oil Wells. Sir John Lane Harrington, the chairman of the company, presided at the meeting, and in the course of his remarks thus referred to the flotation oi the Taranaki Company:— "The British Empire Oilfields, Ltd., was used by the previous directors of the Oil Trust for the purpose of carrying out the flotation of the Taranaki (New Zealand) Oil Wells, Ltd. No shares of the British Empire Oilfields had up to this date been issued, and no shares have ever been issued to the public; £IO,OOO of share? were issued as fully paid to Mr H. J. Brown, who was then the managing director of the Oil Trust. These are the only shares issued, with the exception of a number held by the directors of the British Empire Oilfield, are paid for. The reason given for Mr Brown's receiving this block of shares—which hold in would have given him half interest in any profits made by the British Empire Oilfields —was as follows: Mr Brown proposed that Mr J. D. Henry should be sent to New Zealand to look at certain oil properties there, but Mr J. D. Henry had a sort of partnership arrangement with Mr H. J. Brown in regard to a newspaper they were running. In consideration —and I have no doubt that this will appear as extraordinary to you as it did to me—of Mr Brown's releasing Mr Henry from certain obligations under the arrangement I have referred to Mr Brown received £IO,OOO shares in the British Empire Oilfields. In the opinion of your direitors the flotation of the Taranaki Company should have been carried out by the Oil Trust. I do not see that there was any need for this business to be put through by a separate company, so that one member of a board might considerably benefit the reform. (Hear, hear.) When I became aware of the arrangement, I determined that as soon I had obtained sufficient control of the company, I would see that the Oil Trust received the full benefit of the flotation of the Taranaki (New Zealand) Oil Wells, Ltd As you will see from the annex to our report, Mr Brown handed his holcrng of shares in the British Empire Oilfields to the directors of thai; institution and the same directors arranged to hand the ehares over to the Oil Trust. The Oil Trußt therefore received the full benefit from the Taranaki flotation. All the money necessary to carry out the flotation of the Taranaki Company was lost to the British Empire Oilfields by the Oil Trust. The profit which the Oil Trust made out of the transaction included in the last balance-sheet and, with other profits made, had to be utilised for the purpose of writing off a portion of the preliminary expenses and a portion oft he losses made by our predecessors.