THE TITANIC STEEL COMPANY.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1658, 13 June 1879, Page 3

THE TITANIC STEEL COMPANY.

DUNEDIN, June 12. A large deputation of the Dunedin shareholders in the Titanic Steel Company waited upon Mr Macandrow to-day. Mr Asher said the deputation waited upon Mr Macandrew on account of the manner in which the shareholders in the Titanic Steel and Iron Company had been served by parties at New Plymouth, They addressed Mr Macandrew particularly as a member for the city of Dunedin, because Dunedin and Otago shareholders held no less than 1346 shares. The capital was made up in £lO shares, and of this £8 per share had been paid up, all of which had been expended. Now the Act incorporating the company required that before the grant of 5000 acres of land was made to the company it should spend £IO,OOO in Taranaki, and far more than this had been done, and he understood that the Crown grant of the land had been ordered by the Government to bo issued. Yet Mr Carrington, the then Superintendent of Taranaki), and Mr Kelly had thrown a deal of opposition in the way of the company, and had withdrawn a certificate on account of the company’s being alleged to have not spent a sufficient amount of capital. Since, however, the company had expended sufficient according to even the reading of Messrs Carrington and Kelly, and there could now be no objection to the granting of the land. But the Crown grant had not issued. This placed the company at a very great disadvantage, for it Erovented their obtaining charcoal on their md, and they were thus not able to prepare iron in the beat way. In fact, they were crippled in every way that could be done. The company simply wanted their rights—the land which they had paid for. Mr Macandrow said he had always thought that the conditions were that the company were to manufacture a certain quantity of iron before getting the land, but he had recently found out that such was not the case,

so that the deputation wore right in what they stated. lie might say that h® had visited the works, and was much struck with the beautiful machinery, and the results obtained* He had seen Mr Smith (which the deputation might perhaps know) and had given him an order for railway wheels to test the iron, and if the company could turn out a quantity of the quality he saw, the Government would give them an order for 50,000 wheels t> start with. He also noticed that there was a large quantity of iron ready for smelting, and altogether he thought it would be a pity if the company did not continue its operations. Mr Asher said the company wished to get into a proper position before it risked any more of the shareholders’ money. Mr Macandrew said he had sent five tons of the iron to the Agent-General to get in experimented on at Home. He would assist the company to the utmost of h: : s power in getting the grant issued, and if, as ho thought, this did not depend on their turning out so much iron, the Government could have no option in the matter.