LADY CHARLTON GOLD DREDGING COMPANY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2528, 27 August 1902, Page 23

LADY CHARLTON GOLD DREDGING COMPANY.

An extraordinary meeting of shareholders in the Lady Charlton Gold, Dredging Company was held in the office of Mr Keith Ramsay on iiie 10th. There were about a dozen shareholders present, and Mr T. K. Harty presided. Tho meeting was called to consider the position of the company, and the adviaableneßS of further tarrying on operations under existing circumstances. The Chairman said he regretted the circumsUinces that had brought them together, and referred to the fact that such meetings were of too common occurrence just now. There were pretty well 300 shareholders in the company, and they could only get about a dozen to attend. This number, with proxies, represented very little mere than a third or a fourth of the company. They would remember that at last meeting it was decided to make for a, shaft vvhere the piospccts had been rich. They determined to go to that point, and they had done so. The dredgemaster in his last report stated that the prospects had not improved, that he had gone down to a depth of 2h't, but he did not say whether he had bottomed at that depth. The financial position was that they had very little cash— only £8 11s 2d in the bank, — and there were outstanding calls £168. Their liabilities totalled to £550. Their contributing capital was £10,450, and of this £550, in shares, had been forfeited. Two' shillings and sixpence remained uncalled, which represented £1305 ss. The results of the dredging had been very very poor. A Shareholder fiakcJ if the directors had any recommendation to make.

The Chairman replied that at present they had no recommendation to make.

Mr Burns said their only hope was in reaching the bore, and that was their last chance. The dredge had got there, and instead of the returns being better they had become worse, and therefore there was nothing for the company but to wind up. He would move that ihe company go into liquidation, which ho thought was a step that should have been taken months ago.

Mr Harraway ssked that the secretary might read the report of the gentlemen who prospected the claim, and mentioned that Mr Baetings had stated that the ground would turn cut COoz a week. He (Mr Harraway) wanted to know how far the dredge was from the particular hole where the good prospecta were got, and why the dredgemaster had not sent in a Teport pa to whether h© had bottomed or not.

The Chairman said ho had been down to see how far they were from the bore, when Mr Bastings lose to a point of order. The motion had not been seconded.

Captain Sundatrom tecoded the motion pro forma.

The Chairman, said the dredge had got to Die bore hole where the prospects had been rich, and the results hs>d been poor. Mr Harraway sad ho waa informed that the dredge had never reached that shaft, and had n"ver bottomed.

The Chairman replied that they had got up to the shaft, md found it poorer than the ground they had left. Mr Cutten .'aid that Mr Howrd Jncn^on had told him that that wus not the boie, or sheft, where he got the rich prospect"

The Chairman On tbc other hand I -wa-5 i told that that was the hole v.here they got j particularly nch prospects. Mr ilarraway I think it is about time that someone raised their \oice against these reports sent out. Mr Bastings told us that the claim wou'd turn out 60oz a week, and we j have got to it fthe bore). ' The Chairman explained that the posit'on , of tl.e directors wad that the tumbler having broken they d,rl not feel inclined to go on ' without consulting shareholders

Mr Harraway said he propo=ed that tliev send down two men to invest. gate niatteis. Let them aho send cIo-.mi two nbrirc' older-i to look aftei tliPin while thrv v ere thcie lie

would go wi'liout charging th<-> cnmparv any- ' thing. Mr Basil*. gs sa*d he hvd i\!»s--i hal great faith in tho chiun, and, though it was shaken, he had not lost it yet. The\ had Wn unfortunate in their managers, V>ut fiat the gold ' was in the clajm he wa* iio'tcrtaiii --a lip was | standing thore. Then* \v..« i-tme cl.sri/e si to whether this ho!p tli»y hal r >p]u-f>-'o'>.-'l v,r.^ the one where rich prospects \. ore rVainrd or not. He believed they had btancd i*i the , wro/ig plate. The Chairman • We built the dredge cya^i'" where he (Mr Jackson) mentioned.

Mr Bastn.gs, continuing, said that Mr Jdc-c-son had promised he would seed tho man who had supervised the sinking of these shafts and who had pans of the ground down to aay what was taken out of them. He thought it would be a pity to go into liquidation when ■ thez had went so muck none?. He then '

moved as an amendment that the meeting bs adjourned for n fortnight, and that a committee of three be elected by the meeting to supervise, if they thought it was necessary, the sinking of two new shafts on the claim — one adjoining the rich shaft sunk by Mr Howard Jackson, the other due north of same ; such committee to repsrt fully to the adjourned meeting; expenses to be borne by the company.

Mr Harraway seconded the amendment. In reply to a question from a shareholder, the Chairman said the cost would not bs very much, and Captain Sundstrom mentioned £50 or £&9 as the sum.

Mr Lawson said the feeling of the Wellington shareholders was that the thing had not been gone methodically about. Ho was inclined to support Mr Bastiugs's amendment, though he did not agree with the sinking of the shafts. Their representatives could go down, and see what was advisable to be done first, and if they thought fit shafts could b« sunk.

Mr Burns pointed out that the dredge had worked for 15 months, and it seemed absurd to put down other shafts. The claim had, as far as he could see, been absolutely proved by dredging. He was satisfied that the ground waa not payable. Very soon their capital wculd be gone, and the dredge work-id out, and sold for a song. H the amendment wiu» carried he asked that his name be recorded 1 as voting against it. He protested against the amendment being carried. ' Mr Lawson said only » very small area of the claim had been worked.

Mr Bastings said they had neveT been lo the ground where he saw the gold tpken out. They had never been cm the ground prospected by Messrs Jackson and Hay.

A Shareholder asked what distance the dredge was from the good shafts.

The Chairman replied about a quarter of » mile.

Shareholder: The whole capital of the company would not perhaps take the dredge there. The amendment was then put and carried, those voting against it being Messrs Steele, Burns, and Sundstrom.

Tho committee appointed to carry cut th« tirm3 of the resolution were Messrs T. Steele, H. ilarraway, F. A. Cutten, and H. Bastings.

GIBBSTON GOLD DREDGING COMPANY.

A;i extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in the Gibbston Gold Dredging Company was held at the company's office on Thursday afternoon to consider the position of the company. Mr T. K. Harty (chairman ol directors) presided, and there were 11 other shareholders present.

"When the minutes were read, Mr "Watson called attention to the minute stating that the meeting should bs called for 8 o'clock in the evening. He did not think it :ight that the meeting should be called for 4 o'clock, and he would be inclined to move that it be adjourned and called again for 8 p.m. if anyone would second it. '

The Chairman pointed out lhat the minute referred to by Mr Watson applied in connection with the question of amalgamation, in vhich direction nothing iiad bean done. ,

The Chairman, in stating what had bacn dene since tlie hist meeting, said that no offer had bee-n obtained giving sufficient inducement to amalgamate with another company. Tho d-fficulties surrounding the financial position, precluded such a thing, and the directors reEolved that it would be better to compromise with the man who had the pontoons, and he v/a-s paid a certain sum to cancel the contract. They decided to try to sell the machinery piecemeal, and this had been done to the value of £600 or £700, and practically all the loose outstanding debts had been cleared off. The. Galvanic dredge and claim had been purchased for £800, of which £200 wss paid in cash and a mortgage given c\"r the company's assets for the balance of £600 All the loose outstanding accounts had either been paid or provided fr.r. The business of the meeting was to decide by what means, if the company was to gj on, an elc-vator could be got Advice had been received that it was use!e3^ lo try to work tha giound without an e.evator on account o' the. tailings. Under the circumstances the dnectors <lecid=d to close clown fid discharge ail hands until the dredge \vu.h suit.ibly equ.puod to properly exploit the claim. Ho t!i(.ii rrad the fo 'owing report from the dredgen:a=ter, dated 18th inst. — " We etaited dredging on Tuesday, 12th inst., ond had iairiy steady di edging all the week, but with -.cry unsatisfactory results, the whole trouble being the tailings From my experience in aredgmg thi* class of ground it :s utterly impossible to drtdgc w.tLout putting an eic. ator on jour dredge. We had r.ct been runnii g an hour vlien the. takings shewed abo\ c t'-i watt-, a.d in the filet, day'd dicdgrii, we '". •<! a b*!* of tiulings n>_at acrais Ihe i.v:, and the result, wa* tha . v.v had then to wll ah 'ad. Ta,it did loi ge . o\t/ the difiii ul!y, for we rau r.o time unli '*p\ v.f-re u.j<,.~ '.'■>' 'i.'fac' j,n:. . 'i!:o ilscis ■Uauds up kc i!i- ,-.i\ o' ,i .•'*:"•■. 3-d tj i ti-ilmg?, b»iug a\\ heavy, oo -.v. - > » v **• th<» current, but simTjiy ba'iK n t ) .i. '•/•> >-tern ol' ti;e dredge ursd keep lorg'nj 'iei .v' ( iivi' g one no posjib!' 1 iio;:" oi gelling '. i»t^o>.:. Vrii greatest depth we have 'ocut. i.oa-h to is b-.lv kh 35ft and 40ft, and it n mipos^ib'e to get any decser on account pi being jammed, ua irito