THE CALEDONIAN QUARTZ MINING COMPANY.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1568, 14 August 1873, Page 2

THE CALEDONIAN QUARTZ MINING COMPANY.

. In the District Court, at Hokitika, on Monday, the 11th inst., before $Jjudge Harvey, Mr Button moved* .;. on behalf of shareholders representing 1800 shares out of 5000 shares in; the: above-mentioned Company, for a winding-up order. He read a petition in support ,of his application, signed by Michael Albert Cassius ; Michael • Pollock, auctioneer ; William Evans, merchant ; Joseph Churches, merchant ; and Alexander ,'MJCrae, gentleman. The grounds of the petition were set forth at considerable length. Mr South opposed the application on behalf of sharehpi&ers"in the company. Mr Button stated that the shareholders for whom- he appeared had been djiliged to adopt the course of. applying to wind up the company, because they could not otherwise put a stop to the proceedings they complained of in their petition. Here was a body of three directors who, because they reside in Reefton', took the management of the whole company into their hands, appointing one of themselves working managers, making calls, and distributing the money amongst themselves as they ■pleased, without paying any regard to the two Hokitika directors, Messrs Pollock and M'.Orae, not^even giving them notice of the meetings held. His Honor asked Mr South whether Messrs Pollock and M'Grae were directors of the Company. • : . : ;;• •■',< Mr South ■ admitted -that; ■ they were, but as ; those directors" were, not residing in the Province "(of Neison) they were not according to the rules entitled to notice. His Honor asked if it was admitted that two of the Reef ton directors were working shareholders? • : Mr South said that there was only one, M'lntyre. ; : ;■ His Honor said that under the discretionary power conferred by the lAct he would wind up any company whose paid servants were on the directory. With respect to the present case he would give the Reef ton directors an opportunity to withdraw from their present illegal position; It was quite incompatible with all rule that all men who were servants should be masters also.

Mr South presumed that the directors in Reef ton' ; must be guided by the rules of the Company as they existed. He would bring under the 'notice of the Court, that on the 25th of July, last an extraordinary meeting was convened by the manager* for the 18th of the preseibt month at Reef ton, under the rules of 'the -Company, for the purpose of considering whether the office of the Company should be removed to Hokitika; to increase the number of directors j and to consider the best means of working the mines for the future, while on the 30fch of July a. notice was given by his learned friend (Mr Button) v that an application would be made to the Court on the 11th of August for an order to wind up the Company. Now he (Mr South), instructed by double the number of shareholders represented by Mr Button, opposed such a step as winding up a perfectly sound company, whose balance-sheet he produced in verification, of its soundness. He :was perfectly well' aware that his Honor had large : powers conferred upon him by the Act, but he was yet > to 'learn that it could be on "just and equitable grounds " that a company should be wound up on any of , the grounds' 'alleged in the petition, and particularly upon that one of which his learned -friend- for the Hokitika shareholders so much pressed— that there were working shareholders in the directory. He would say, that while he fully agreed with the principle enunciated by the Court, it was quite another thing when recourse was had to such an extreme measure as winding up. The Reef ton directors had kept strictly within the rules by which they were governed ; ■ they had no objection to an extraordinary meeting being held for the purpose of revising those rules; and that they were desirous of taking the opinion of a majority upon the subject was evidenced by the fact that an extraordinary meeting had been convened before the notice had been served for the'windhig-up application. He would ask his Honor to adjourn the application until after that meeting. His Honor, after expressing a strong opinion on the ; cpnduct of the Reef ton directors, adjourned the further hearing until the 11th September, but if by that time M c ln tyre had not withdrawn from the directory, the order for winding up the company would be made absolute.