STATEMENT OF THE AFFAIRS OF A MINING COMPANY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2467, 26 June 1901, Page 5

STATEMENT OF THE AFFAIRS OF A MINING COMPANY.

It is the secretarins of a dredging companee, And he greeteth a chrectorius with a dig m the ribs, so free ; — "Oil, the river keeps up, and the rnaikel clown, and the season is slipping by, AiTd tha public is pretty well sick of mines, — 'What luck!' — says you and I." Says you and I ; for we happen both to be always ' in the know ' ; So, bxiy or sell, we go always right, however the market go : And now approacheth the fated hour we steadily kept, in view — Drawing oui directorial fees and our sccietarial screw. For we planted the chedge where no gold was, and there we pottered about, Amusing our simple public, till we tired its patience out, — Most innocently done, of course '—but we 'get there all the same ' ; And the Rold remains where it always was — in the other part of the claim. What now?— why, call a meeting, consider our hopeless debt, Lament the gold we have thrown away and the gold we didn't get ; Then one of us rises with lengthy face to say, he regrets to stale That the only course now open is — a motion to liquidate. But we have our syndicate ready, you know — why not? — and it isn't long Ere the dredge and the claim aie auctioned, and we buy tlie lot for a song. So this, you see, is our companee, 'in active operation ' ; And it operates best — for some — when it stops. Here's luck to Liquidation l " "We deeply regret that you as a lender of the Democratic party should have ac-

cepted a title " — thus by telegram the three Dunedin members, Messrs Millar. Arnold. Barclay, to Sir J. Or. Ward. Dogberry's regiet that there was no one handy to vrite him down an oss isn't in 2"> oj nt here. The three Dunedin members have done the necessary writing for themselves. What I want to know is, why we are to speak of "Mr" Millar, and "Mr ' Arnold, and "Mr" Barclay'/ "Mr" stands for "Master'" ; can it be that three such pharisaical Democrats mean to go on masquerading under thi« most offensive title? Then thd-e is " his Worship " the Mayor, and " his Hdior "' the Judge, not to sjjeak of " his F.:xceilency " the Governor; — are we to understand that the courtesy designations of these functionaries incur the " deep regret " of Millar, Arnold, and Barclay? That were a calamity indeed ; one hardly sees how our institutions, civic, judicial, political, could expect to survive it. Seriously — if a serious word on such a subject is in place — I think that- Mr Millar, Mr Arnold, and Mr Barclay have made themselves supremely ridiculous ; and, unless I am much mistaken, the very people they imagine they are flattering think precisely as I do. If there is anything in the recent knighthoods that one may " deeply regret " it is the narrow-souled vindictiveness that has excluded from the list of honour men whose services to the country best entitle them to be there. Mr Rolleston cannot be knighted because he is not of the " right colour." It would be a parallel case if political opinion were made a test in awarding or withholding the Victoria Cross. Cms.

The question of a new dry clock at Port Chalmers was mentioned by Mr K. G. Allen at his meeting last week. Mr Allen says it is proposed that all the local bodies interested in the welfare of the district and of Otago Harbour shall form a deputation and proceed to Wellington to interview the Government, making a request for additional endowments so that the very necessary work might be carried out. The help of commercial and other bodies, and also of the shipping companies, will be sought. The people generally are expected to lend a helping hand, and if assistance is obtained from all the^e sources it will greatly aid the deputation when they interview the Government on the matter

The first of the new American carriages was put into service on the Otago line on the 18th inst. on the \. 20 south train. So far only four or five of the new cars are available for the southern lines, but within a week the whole of those destined for service here — numbering about 21 — will have arrived. The second class are a decided improvement on the old carriages, but though the general arrangements of the first cla^s carriages are better than those prci iou«ly in use, especially in providing special compartments for ladies, the upholstering is net considered superior. The carriages are heavier than those whiUi they supersede. As for the statements that they were too large to pass through the tunnels on the Otago lines, that is a matter that was rectified shortly after their arrival, the arch of the roof lining the tunnels ha-, ing been squared to suit the new carriages.

The two young boys who walked from Invercargill to Dunedin to see the Duke and Duchess have become famous. Their feat was talked about al] over the city on the 18th. Such notoriety i= calculated to do most boys no good hereafter, but the frank bearing, the intelligence, and the manly courage of these little heroe-3 di^-ipate any fears on this score. It was found expedient on Tuesday to have them remmed from the police station to the Hospital, despite their ready assurance that their feet were all right and gave them no pain No difficulty has been experienced in making temporary provision for the pair during their stay here. In fact, quite a number of applications to take charge of them ha\e been received, but it has been decided to hand them over to Mr G. C. Isiael, chairman of the Children's Demonstration Committee, on behalf of the Ladies' Committee for housing and entertaining the country children. On the loth the lads were honoured with a visit from his Worship the Mayor and the Mayoress, who ha\e taken a lhely inteie^t in them His Worship is determined that they shall be the guests of the city dining the royal visit, and will be provided with seats to Mew the Duke and Duchess during the piocession.

The libel case brought by Dr Coughtrey against the Evening Siar occupied the attention of the Supreme Court during the whole of a long sitting on the 18th. The alleged libel was contained in an aitiele published iii April last reflecting upon the conduct, of the pldintift at a meeting of the City and Suburban Tramway Company. Mr W.

A Sim appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr jF. R Chairman for the defendant company, t and the case was strongly contested on both sides. It resolved into two questions, which the jm'y w ere directed separately to oonJ sitler. Tlie first of these was the criticism I of Dr Coughlrey in the article complained of, and the other was the question of fact, ! a« to whether certain statements contained j in the article — statements which were proved j to be not in accordance with fact and from ' which certain inferences were drawn — were, or were not defamatory and libellous. ! Counsel on both sides delivered powerful addresses to the jury, dealing with the law and facts from their respective points of view, and his Honor in summing up went fio-scly into every pha«e of the case. The Jury retired at half-past 5 o'clock, and in a few minutes returned with the verdict "That the statements in the article of thp 12th of April were fair criticism, written without malice." Mr Sim pointed out that this answeied only one branch of the oa^e, and did not cover that part of it lelating to statements which were not in the ' nature of criticism. His Honor then again I directed the jury as to the second part of the case, remarking that as to this the evidence would hardly justify the conclusion that it came w ithin the doctrine of criti- j cism, and that it was for the jury to consider j whether it was or was not libellous, and that it would be libellous if it really affected the plaintiff injuriously 'by bringing him into hatred, contempt, or ridicule. The , Foreman replied that the jury had come to ' the conclusion unanimously that it was not libellous and the verdict was accordingly i entered in favour of the defendants, the ' Evening Star Company, with costs against the plaintiff, Dr Coughtrey. At Monday evening's meeting of cooperators, held at the Coffee Palace, Moray ' place, after recehing the report of the committee appointed at a previous meeting, discussing its recommendations, which w ere ' amended and adopted, a, Co-operative Society was organised by resolution unanimously passed, to be known as the " Zealanclia Co-operative Association (Limited)."' ! A pro tern, executhe was then appointed, applications handed in for some 60 shares,"" 1 " and the executive instructed to submit the " prepared articles of association to legal re\ision; aTso to call a general meeting of i members for their final adoption and for the ■ election of an executive committee in ac- I cordance therewith, the meeting to be called jby advertisement. One of the aniiounccd j objects for which the association is estab- J i lished ii- : "To give a practical force to the true economic principle of ' protection ' of local industiies by encouraging a preference for the consumption of local production?." One of a series of health lectures in connection with the Y.W.C.A. was given by Dr De Lautour in the association's rooms, Moray place, on the 18th. The subject was the " Rontgen Rays," and the doctor gave some interesting illustrations of the important nsco to which they could be applied. Referring to their discovery, he mentioned ' that it v. a« accidental, and that Kerr Ront- ' gen migM, by patenting his discovery, ha\e ' | made an immense fortune, but he had pre- | ferred to disclose what he had learnt to I benefit mankind. Referring to tlie term "X rays," he explained that the title was cho»en because x was the Algebraic sign ; for an unknown quantity. On the motion of I Captain Smiclslrom a hearty vote of thauks , was accorded to Dr Dc Lautour at the con- ' elusion of the lecture for the interesting | information he had imparted Mr C. Watt j occupied the chair, and theie was a ' numerous attendance. *-\\Yith reference In the query as to the oldest lhing ex-maj or of auy town in Xew j Zealand, an "Old C'roinwellian " thinks that Mr William Jackson Bany, now 85 years oi age, holds: the record. He wa~ elected Mayor of Ciomwell in 1866. Mr H. A. Strat- ' ford, S.M , being the returning officer. Our Waikouaiti correspondent sent us the name of Mr M'Leod Orbell, who entered on his term of office as first mayor of Hawlobury in August, 1867, but, af wjll be seen, Mr AY. Jackson Barry is before Mr M'Leod Orbell. Our "Waikouaiti correspondent mentions, as an interesting item, that Mr Joseph Bates, anothei ex-mayor, on the 18th celebrated his eighty-first birthday. He prides himself on being the first per«on to take the pledge in, the borough. In this week'?, Gazette appears a despatcli from Mr Chamberlain, stating that, for the information of any persons who may be interested in the matter, air official translation (m French) of the statutes and regulationswith regard to the late Dr Alfred Bern- > hard Nobel's bequest, approve! by his Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway, t has now been published, and that the Charge

d' Affaires for Sweden and Norway in England has asked that as much publicity as possible may bo given to the contents of the publication. It is understood that the amount ovailabl" under the bequest for distribution annually in prizes to meritorious inventory and others- is about £40,000; that it is dhisiblc into five Equal parts, to be assigned — '1) for the most important discovery in physical science, (2) for the most important diseoiery or improvement in chemistry, (3) for the most important discovery in- physiology or medicine, (4) for the most remakable literary work, and (5) for the greatest service in the cause of international peace ; that the first distribution of prizes will take place on the 10th December in this year : and that the competition i=i open to everyone without regard to nationality. Copies of the regulations may be obtained from the Government. Four little girls — Nellie Chambers, Dag mar Langwad, Beckie Chambers, and Kitty Bridger- — organised a juvenile bazaar at Caversham Rise on Saturday la=t in aid of the Allan M'Dougall fund, and as a result of their thoughtful industry the substantial sum of £3 was handed over to us on the 18th. In addition to this sum we have received £1 Is from D. M'Donald for the same object, while " Towser ' sends 5s tt augment the Trooper Beath fund. A meeting was held in the Harbom Board's 'office on Wednesday afternoon to consider the advisability of constructing a large graving dock at Port Chalmers. The meeting was convened by the Otago Dock Trust. There -were present : Mr E. G. Allen, M.H.R. (chairman of the Otago Dock TriM), the Hon. H. Gourley (chairman of the Otago Harbour Board), Messrs C. Holdsworth (Union Steam Ship Company), G. B. Bullock (New Zealand Shipping Company), J. Mill (Mayor of Port Chalmers), D. E. Theomin (president of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce), K. Ramsay, and J. Thomson. Mr E. G. Allen was voted to the chair. A discussion took place, in the course of which it was unanimously agreed that the necessity for a larger dock at Port Chalmers existed, provided the cost did not impose extra charges on the shipping. Another meeting- will be held at a future date. The Rev. Canon King, of St. Peter's, Caver sham, has just received an interesting communication from Home in reply to one which his perusal of a paragraph in a local paper relative to the efficient organisation of the British Post Office prompted him to write. When Canon King left England for India in 1E66 he was under the impression that he left a small sum to his credit in the Post Office Savings Bank either at Birkenhcad or at the Liverpool chief office. His passbook was lost years ago, and he thought no more of the matter until, reading the paragraph referred to, he resolved, out of rure curiosity, to make inquiries relative to his deposit. As a result he has received a letter from the Controller of the Savings Bank department, General Poit Office, London, in these terms : '" With icference to your letter of the 4t'. March Inst, in which you inquire respecting pn account with the Post Office Sa\in:>a Bank of thit, coun.ry. opened by you many years ago, and in which you belie\e that a triflingsum lemained to your credit, I am directed by the Po*tnm = tcr-£ei.cral to infnnn you tl.at, from tho information yon furnished, an account, ' Birkenhead Xo. 1678.' standing in j-our name, has been traced. In the rirruniftarrc- I run to enclose po-icV,p =iamps of tho \alue of 2s, the amount winch remained dee to you in the account in question, and T am to abk you to bo so good as to acknowledge their receipt." The (4ipp f land Mercury re^o.U ,m incident which occurred m the M'lecluh Pie»bytprfan Church iccently "Before the completion of the ceremony t!ie Im'Vlo \>r, - subjected to rough handling by the b'.-at man pud the bridegroom in an effort to seciue the fir»t kiss. She was aUo "-howeied with nee to vioh jnj extent that she rushed towards the door to ccape. The re^t of the party followed, but v.eic called b^.ck by the li'iiiifctrr, who reminded them cf the fact that the ceremony wa- not (jpi^e finished, and remarked upon the- manii»r m v. hich the birde had been treated. The be^t man took un.brage at the remaik=. and commenced arguing the point with tbe minister, v>'lio a-keel him to pit down, and then told him to lea\e the church. By this time the he of the birde's brother was aroused, and he called out to the person who had caused all tin trouble (who is^ his brother-in-law) : ' Come 'out of the church; there are plenty of other churches in the township.' The le-que-t was complied ■\yith, but when they reached the door theyt attempted to re-enter. -A general scuffle ensued, resulting in the offenders being ejected from the building, aniidbt the cries of the female portion of the •wedding party, including the bride, who had become hysterical. As soon as peace was restored the necessary signatures were obtained, and the uartv left ibe church."-