PAPAROA COAL CO.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1525, 22 August 1912, Page 8

PAPAROA COAL CO.

COMPANY'S FINANCE ASSURED. WOBK TO UK RESUMED. The stat« of tho affairs of the Paparon. Coal Company attracted t\ lui'ko and rcpreiti'iuative nleoting of Minrc uud dobenturoholdcra to tlie meeting held in the Chamber uf Commerce at noon yesterday. The chair was occupied by Air. J. P. Maxwell (chairman of directors), and those present, included interested people from all parts of the Dominion. The business of the meeting as announced by circular was:— (1.) To receive the report of the directors as to the financial position of the company, anrt to decide whether the .Shareholders are prepared !o find the ba!«nce of the total amount of £35,110 rcuuired under tlie agreement witli the debenture-holders, which agreement expires on August 2J next, viz.:— £13,400. (2.) If thought fit, to pai-s the following resolution, which will be proposed as an extraordinary resolution if no satisfactory arrangement is arrived at for the Kiitint' of iho balance of £13,400 above referred to:— "That it has been proved to the [•_ati-;ta<;tion of this meeting that the company cannot by reason of its liabilities contim:>o its business, and that it ie advisable to wind up the same, and accordingly that the company be wound up voluntarily." Chairman's Review of Position, Tlio chairman said that, he hnd to report the result of the canvass up to date for tlio £35,K0 required to place tlio company in a sound financial position. This canvass had been going ou until 12 o'clock (noon), and at that stage they had promisee and applications which brought them within £15C0 of the required amount. One of tlio promised subscriptions yet to come was, he believed, for an amount ol £1000, but. that was to come. What ho had to report was that the company had arrived to within £1500 of the required amount, and ho had reason to think that there were two or three gentlemen disposed to help to inaUo up that amount. The question then arose—would they go on to the second resolution, soeing that it was considered pretty certain that they were going to get the whole amount required by Augu£t 23. It wae practically assured, lie would like to add a few words ns to the matters of the company generally by way of explanation, lie wished to remind shareholders of the very great difficulties which the, company had gono through. The financial trouble which they had experienced was mainly attributable to the delay caused by the non-completion of. tlio borcrnnicirt railway to the works. This had compelled them to prosecute their great undertaking without access by railroad, and had forced them to convey all their plant and material over rough riverbeds and bad roads. AllJiouffh tliev had had other troubles (including three strike?) all would have been overcome if Uiey had not had to carry out all the preliminary work without a railway. The shareholders had been very patient in the face of these adverse;. Now a petition was before Parliament asking the Government to take over the railway, and so give them a. setoff for the delay in tin: building of the railway. That ma.tter was under consideration by the Government, and they were hoping to got favourable' treatment. One other point which ho wished to state was that, when the money required was subscribed, and the company placed on a I firm basis once more, tho directors had un- ■ dorlaJton to resign to enable the sharelioict- , crs to elect a new board if they thought, ; fit. He thought that the shareholders i owed a great deal to the officers of the ■ oompany for their indefatigable energies ! in the face of difficulties not posElb'e to i foresee. He moved that the meeting adj journ eino die. "New Board Would Start: Under Better Conditions." Mi. T. 6. WesUm said that the meeting could not bo adjourned sine die. Ho was supported by Six. Dalzicil, who suggested postponing the meeting until noon on Friday. Dr. Prendorgast Knisht susrg-Dsted that the amount required might be made rap in the room. He was prepared to subscribe another £100 to what he had already subscribed. If that were done it would not be necessary to hold any further niccting. Mr. Studholme (ci director) stated that he would not like to ui the meeting adjourned, at that stage, as several eibarcholders had coiuo considerable distancce to bo present. Ho Impressed upon shareholders t;:ot tlwy should give thought to the selection of tlio wow board. He knew that there would be Eomo vacancies, and he would not bo offering himself for a seat on the board. Tire new board would start to control tho company under better conditions than they had had tho cood fortune to experience. They had met a good deal of disturbed country on the property, but they had every reason to believe that they were through that. They had now opened oust (in No. 2 cutting) a. scam 16ft. high of tho brightest, cleanest, a.nd hardest cocl obtainable. They had been told that they would got 3,000,CX)(F tons from that Ecani alone. The new board would be in an in--finitely more favourable position in resaril to finance. It would have an assured finance. They had suffered through not beins able to guarantee supplies. With the new capital they would have money for all contingencies and a fighting fund for pushing their coal. The coal market had never boon in such a favoiirabls condition as far ae demand and price were conicorned. and furthermore—what was no small matter—they hnd reason to believe they would receive common iurfico from the Government in power, which they had ha.rdly had in tho past. Thay could, ho thought, look forward with very great hope, but the company would still require the fiamo careful management in the future as it had in tho psst. It was management first, and management last. (Applause.) Mir. J. E. Blnir said that he was sorry to say that tho chairman (Mr. Maxwell) wae not going to stand again for the position, lie eulogised the sen-ices which that gentleman had given the company and hoped that he would be nersunded to continue in the position he occupied. Mr. Studhohno agreed with Mr. Blair's estimate of the services:rendered by, Mr. Maxwell, but would not endorse everythingthat he had said. It would be hardly fair to ask him to work as he had done during the last two years. He hoped that Mr. Maxwell would be a member of the board. Mr. Humphries (Napier) thonght that it would bo a pity to adjourn the meeting, and strongly expressed the hope that there would be no lamentable interregnum at a time when the produot of the company was in' the greatest demand. ITo suggested that they should adjourn until the afternoon. Dr. Knight said that there wa9 no intention of having an interregnum, as tho board would carry on *U)itil the change. As soon as possible, • however, they were prepared to lay down their trust and leave it to the shareholders to say if they would return tho board as, at nresent constituted or have fresh blood. What _ the company chiefly wanted was someono in l close touch with tho retail busdness-ra. man with retail experience. What Surety of Enough Money to Co on With? The Hon. J. D. Ormon'd asked what surety they had that there would be enough money to-go on with if this amount were euoBcribed. , Tho chairman mid that question had boeu raised at a previous meeting, and as the result an independent report had been prepared by Mr. E. G. Pilchor, who had reported that tho company could be placed on a satisfactory basis for working on a minimum sum of £35,000. With which two (out of three) hulks could bo purchased, stocks could be built up, and provision made for standing accounts, with something to spare. Ho did not thinic that they would have to call that amount up insido of two years. ' Hon. Mr. Ormond: "I will give another £10001" (.»pplaus«.) : The Needed Sum Subscribed. ■ After Mr. Humphries had thanked Mr. Maxwell for his services on behalf of the shareholders, it was decided to adjourn tho meeting until 4.30 p.m. On reassembling, the chairman announced that tho required amount had been slightly ■ over-subscribed, and that steps would at onco'be taken to revsume work at the mino. ■