, THE OCEANIC STEAM DREDGING I COMPANY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2565, 13 May 1903, Page 24

, THE OCEANIC STEAM DREDGING I COMPANY.

Bectcd the company's claim, and the water ■was necessary for the working of their claim. The defendants, being men who originally held the claim and knew all about it, must have known how seriously It affected tiie company, ■which was shortly going to begin dredging operations on the gromd. Under such circumstances it should be expected that the applicants would freely say they were going to apply for water out of North-west Creek, that is assuming they did not want to keep the company in the dark about it. They said nothing about it, however, and gave the company no notice, but pegged the race out in such a way that nobody kuew anything of the scheme they had in hand. They were not seen pegging ie out, and had they been seen it would have been represented to the company. The company only heard about it in a round-ahout way after the application had bsen granted. The position was that had the company been given a chance to object. 'his Worship's decision ■would have been diffsrent. If the applicants ihad applied for more thin 10 heads of water they would have had to advertise, and therefore they took just sufficient to render it unnecessary to advertise. He submitted that he would show that all the requirements of the Mining Act had not bean complied" with ; they knew, or must be taken to have known, that their xace intersected tlis compary's claim, and that clearly there was misrepresentation with tho object* of keeping the company in ignorance of what they iitended doing. Evidence for the plaintiff company was given by Wm. Powell (secretary of the company), L. D. M'Georg-e (civil engineer and surveyor), and G. R. Hunter (the contractor for building the company's dredge). Mr Haggitt submitted that there was no casp to reply to. AH the other side had attempted to prove was that one peg was about four chains inside the company's claim, and his "Worship was asked to cancel their race on the gicunds of fraudulent misrepresentation. It was a veiy easy matter to make such a mistake in pegging out a race, and was a very common occurrence. The line of the race was seldom in the line of the applicant's Pegs. If they ■were on the company's claim they were perfectly willing to go outside of it. Mr Findlay : The company also objected to their applying for water without being given a chance to oppose tho application. Mr Haggitt said, as regards the question of tho water, he submitted that the first applicants for water were tntitled to it. If the company wanted the water they had four years to secure it, and must have known during that- time that they could not work their claim without it. But they never troubled until somebody else had applied for it. The aowlicants dia not know that the company could not work their claim without the vater. and in any case it was none of their business. His Worship s.iid the question was as to the lecus standi of the company and also -whether they should not have been in court when the application was mads. Mr Hairsitfc contended that they apDlied in a bona fide manner for the water and stated ■what was the truth. All that he had to show ■\7as that when Butler applied for the race 'he complied with the law, and, as far as he knew, nobody's interests wero affected by hi 3 application. If he cou'd do that he was entitled to judgment for tho defendants. F.vidpuce for the defendants was given by IK. J. Cotton. G. Linkiater, ard J. Butler. M r Haggitt having addressed th<» court an-d Mr Findlay having replied, his Worship said he would take time to consider his decision.— Tuapeka Times. OTAGO GOLD DREDGING COMPANY. The directors of the Otago Gold Dredging Company will present the following report to shareholders at the eighth' annual general meeting : — " The directors beg to submit the annual statement for the year ending 30th April, 1903. The No. 1 dredge has been working steadily during the year, with moderately good results. The dredge is now being moved up to its winter ground, and it is expected that the returns will improve. At the end of October of last year satisfactory arrangements were concluded for the purchase of the Golden Glen dredge and claim at Island Block. It had been the intention of the directors to move the dredge to the No. 1 claim, to work which "the dredge was purchased, but a trial of the ground warranted her remaining where she was, and ap to the present there is every prospect of the claim proving a valuable one. Reference to ihe balance sheetwill show that in charging the entire cost of the new purchase to profit and loss account that account is overdrawn v y the sun of £344 0s 3d. There is reasou for hoping, hewever, that a few weeks' returns will place the account in credit."

The value of the prold won by thp No. 1 dredge •was £2787 9s 6d. and by the No. 2 dred<?o £'.'(1!1 13s 9d. or a total of£(S29 3s 3d. whi'e the expenditure under the heading of profit and loss was £4148 7s Gd. exclusive of the coit of the Golden Glen dr»cl?e and claim. When the fcooks were closed the company had £71 8s 2d in the bank, gold to the value of £192 10s in transit, and £71 5s to thp credit of a suspense account, against which the liabilities amounted <o £679 3s Sd. The returns from the No. 1 dredge have been remarkably pood, and if they keep up to the present average, as there is every reason to believe they will, the machine will soon havo won enoush gold to pay fnr herself. ' The No. 1 dredge has now been shifted to her winter ground, where she has commencrtl work, and where satisfactory returns are expected to be obtained.