WANGANUI COAL MINING COMPANY (LIMITED).

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 14, 8 April 1867, Page 82

WANGANUI COAL MINING COMPANY (LIMITED).

The Wanganui Times, of the 22nd, publishes tlie prospectus of the'!above Company, and makes tlie following comments' baihe ; With a ! subscribed! ! capital of .'£lo,ooo,* divided ihtb shares of £5, eiicli;\the' shareholders pay a’ preliminary, dep&it/of J 10s/ a share;-which would realize £SOO. Ths’Prpvihcinl; Government umy reasonably he expected W ’add '£soo. to that sum,;sim'ply hecahse the shareholders’ preliinihary deposit will’ be paid for the purpose of testing the auriferbiri resources of the distijict'.T—an object towards which tlie province. • should’‘ contribute an eqnal sum - .' .Again, the. Provincial'Council voted the sum', of £2OO for boring" rods for the district-, hut the; vote was allowed to - lapse. That sum should be again placed upon the Estiraates. But the principle upon which the . Company is proposed to be formed is one of entire self-reliance, unless in so far as the prospecting is concerned. Immediately on the discovery of a payable coalfield the provisional directors would - convene a general meeting of the shareholders, who would deoide upon the action which the Company should take. ' ■ '

The expenditure,' of tlie' provisional directors being limited to the preliminary deposit of. 10s. a shave, unless further 1 outlay is sanctioned by the shareholders, secures the Company against any loss on account of speculative expenditure. It’ is just as' well to pay 10s. a share upon a certain number of shares as to pay an equal sum by way of subscriptions to have the district prospected. Should either coal or gold be struck, the shareholders—men who pay their money and take an interest in the matter—should benefit by the. disooverv, Voluntary contributions are well enough in their way: but in an undertaking of. this kind it is necessary that the provisional-, directors should have shareholders to fall back np.on, aud that those shareholders-should be placed in a position to reap any benefit which may arise out of the undertaking. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the benefit which the discovery of-a payable coal-field would confer upon this town and surrounding districts. The Rev. Mr. Taylor tells us that tlie town rests upon a bed of coal. Other competent observers say that coal is to be found a few miles from the town, on the river'bank. 'Others say it is in abundance, but at a considerable distance up the river: Now, the objsct’of the Company.will be to discover the nearest spot to the town .where it does exist in paying quantity. This is.an oject to which every mao. amongst us should Jje prepared to contribute a small sum ; and as that small sum will constitute each subscriber a shareholder in the Company, aud entitle him to any benefit that may arise out -of the speculation,, we trust there will be no difficulty in filling up the-share-list. The names of the provisional directors will appear in a future and early issue of this paper.