WAIWHERO SLUICING COMPANY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6140, 29 March 1898, Page 4

WAIWHERO SLUICING COMPANY.

The first half-yearly meeting of tho Waiwhero Sluicing Company was held in the Caledonian Society's Booms last evening. There was a large attendance of shareholders, and Mr J. Trent occupied tho chair. In presenting the first half-yearly balance-sheet, the directors reported that dnring the six months they had been in office quite a number of difficulties had arisen with respect to the company's property and affairs which could not have been anticipated or foreseen, and which had '■ since been arranged. In the first place : the company was involved in litigation ' in the defence of the rights held by the i company in Canoe Creek. But the suit had been settled so as to leave the com- < pany with an unassailable right to thirty heads of water out of the right hand or main branch of Canoe Creet. Again, the ( race, instead of being : three miles long as 1 anticipated, was\ found to be more than \ double, that length, which would entail a , far greater expense on the shareholders than was foreseen when thecqmpany.waa, \ first formed. Under these circumstances, ; it was thought that the vendors ought to j mate the company some concession in .\ the original contract to pay their purohase , money/out of the -first-gold won from the , claim. Upon representations being made to the vendors, they agreed to allow the gold won by means of the Devery and Lawson's Creek water-races, which were nearly completed, to be used in the construction of ; the race to Canoe Creek. They also refunded the sum of paid for Devery'e ; claim and water-rights, the vendors being ' satisfied to await the connection of the whole of the races before receiving one [ shilling on account of their purchase money. Messrs Trent and Eitchie had visited and made a thorough inspection of the claim' and rights: They had. found water plentiful, and in their opinion the company would always have more water available than they could take out with a thirty-head race. The ground had been prove.d by previous workings to be a most valuable property, and it only required capital and pluck to complete the work and obtain large returns for many years to come. The greater portion of the moneys on the balancesheet had been used in payment of the purchase of sub-options and M'Keown'a properties, and Mr W. Morris, the mine manager, deserved every credit and the thanks of the shareholders for accomplish- ' ing so much in a short space of time. The mine manager's report, detailing the work completed and in progress, was also laid on the table. The balance-sheet showed the receipts to be .£19,779 7s 6d, and the expenditure .£19,194 11b id, leaving a credit balance at the bank of .£SBS' 16s sd. In answer to a q,ueatiqn, Mr Tteki said that past results on a section of the claim had proved thatit should sluice at least .£SOOO worth of gold per acre v "Mr J; Trent moved the adoption of the report, which was seconded by Mr Hill Fisher, and carried. The election of directors resulted as follows : — Messrs James Trent, F. W. Thompson, H. P. Hill, F. H. Pyne and George Harriß. Special votes of thanks were passed to the retiring Directors, and reference was made to the trouble taken by the Chairman and Mr Eitchie (solicitor for the company) in visiting the property. A hearty vote of thanks was passed to the vendors for the manner in which they had met the Directors in the matter of arranging terms.