THE TRAFALGAR GOLD DREDGING COMPANY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2511, 30 April 1902, Page 22

THE TRAFALGAR GOLD DREDGING COMPANY.

me secoua annual meeting or tne xraiaigar Gold Dredging Company wrs held on Fridey evening at the company's office, Colonial Bank Buildings. Mr W. JR. Frost occupied the chair, ynd 15 shareholders were present. The Chairman, ia moving the adoption of -the report and balance sheet (already published), eaid he was glad to aay that the dredge would coon start work. £hey had appointed a dredgetnaster, who was favourably impressed with the claim. Mr Dalziel (the dredgemaster) hud good 'credentials, and lie (the chairman) thought he •would do good work on the dredge. The comjpany had about £631 in hand, and their liabih,ties were about £60. They had deducted £234 from the Dispatch Foundry Company's account as a penalty for not keeping their contract up to time. Ths company was fortunate m petting /their debentures off at 15 per cent. They had arranged to get a good class of coal at 8s per /ton (not bagged). Cartage would be 4s 6d, .-which would make the price 12s 6d at the dredge's side. The unallotted debentures were )ield in reserve for Mr Roberts, to pay for the fcost of erection. Mr Roberts had the contract €or erecting the machinery, and Mr Payne fould act ss overlooking engineer. The dredge jhcvoM be working m less than a month. Mr J. A. Shgo thought that a fortnight should Bee everything complete. A Shareholder asked if the engine was of thf> same c^ass as that of the Enckson's Reward dredge The Chairman said the engine was a RustonProctor. That company's engines were reckoned very good. Their local director had managed to get an additional piece of ground, about three acres in extent, transferred to the company without cost beyond the registration fee. The report stj-I balance sheet were adopted. The Chairman read a letter from Mr Auld intimating his mtertion of standing as a director, and slating that he thought the directors had not donr- all they could have done \n the company's interests. He (the chairman) Ihought the directors had done their duty, and he would lP:e if Mr Auld vere present if he would let "them know in what they had been remiss. Mr Auld sr.i'l he had Ir. Ed ie- a i umber n F fears in a district whcieminiiw v as carried on. Hid he had had good opporturit'rs <,' s.*ii-J\.i._ feunino. Jt u-'O-a iujt Tciili ai*v anlapnnist.i £er. '-

ing that he offered himself as a director. Mr Auld then went on to refer to the delays which were mentioned in the annual report, and said if what was said in the report concerning- delays was true, the directors could not charge him with aaying what was untrue. The Chairman said the delays were altogether unavoidable, and in no sense were the directors to blame. They had done t all they could in the matter. Mr H. North Eaid he had a large experience of mining, and ho did not think that any company which had started its machinery contracts 12 months n^o had done any better than thenisehes. — (Heur, bsar.) It had been a matter of impossibility for the foundries to get their work out ox hand at the proper time, and he knew the engineers were also to blame. He thought their directors had pushed the company forward us far as possible. Messrs F. Arthur. Dunn, and Auld were nominated as directors, and afler a poll had been taken Messrs Auld and Dunn weic declared elected. While the poll was bciug taken Mr F. Arthur took strong exception to the wording of the circular which Lad been sent out by Mr Auld, and staled had he known earlier that Mr Auld intendei to stand, he could .have gone round and got proxies in his favour. He had no knowledge there was another candidate in the field. If ho we lo defeated he would go off the board conscious that he had dcr.a his b^st in the company's miores-is. — (Hear, hcsi.) Mr Pov.'c- 1 ! v.ts re-elected aucVor at the same fee ?.a last yrr.:-. Tljp rncet-:, o - c o:acT with a vote of thanks to the chair.