EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

Hokitika Guardian, 30 January 1922, Page 4

EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

An extraordinary, general! meeting of j the Shareholders of the Honhonu Diamand Terrace Gold Mining and Water Race Company, Limited, was held at Anderton’s Hotel, Fleet Ttreet, L.C.4., London on 30th September, 1921, at 2.30 p in., the Chairman, Mr H. C. Cameron, presiding. The Secretary, Mr E. M. Kennaway, having read the notice convening the Meeting, the Chairman addressed the Shareholders as follows: —

Gentlemen,—l am sorry that your I Directors have found it necessary to h again call an extraordinary general.! meeting of. shareholders. A.t the exr traordinary meeting held last year the position of the Company was fully explained, and your approval was then asked for, to carry out an agreement, with the Waihi Grand Junction Gold Co., Ltd., under which an option was to be given for the sale of the Hohonu Company’s property and undertaking. To this the Shareholders agreed: I regret to inform you that the option then approved of and given to the Waihi ■ Grand Junction Gold Co., was not, at 1 the conclusion of the term for which it i was granted, exorcised by that ( omI pan v. The Wailii Grand Junction Gold | Co., however, while declining to exerj. cise tlieir option for the purchase of the property, have placed your Directors in touch with a Syndicate with whom arrangements have been made to take over the Hphonu Company’s- property, and for which your approval is now sought. The terms on which an agreement has been come to for the sale of the property are: —

That the Syndicate shall take over the whole of the Hqhqiiu Company’sproperty and l form a new Company with a capital of £40,000 in 80,000 shares of ,10s each, out of which a: payment of £1.3,500 in 27,000 shares of 10s each fully paid will be made to the Hohonu Company, 8,000 of- which shares will Lave to be transferred to the Waihi Grand Junction Gold Co. as their commission from us on the transaction. This leaves 19,000 shares to the Hohonu Company, equivalent to £9,500. From that amount there will, of course, have to he deducted the amount required for payment of outstanding liabilities. These, unfortunately, have been mounting up owing to delay in effecting a settlement, and now amount to roughly £6,500, or equal to 13,000 shares. This would leave for division pro rata amongst present Shareholders uf the Hohonu Company about 6,000 shares, equivalent to £3,000. So far as can be estimated the result will leave about 4s in the £ to Shareholders, which, no doubt, will be considered unsatisfactory by us all. Unfortunately, however, it is the best that can be obiained, and I know that most,, if not all of you, recognise the terrible difficulties your Directors have experienced during the past few years in connection with our Company. If we do not accept the terms now offered there will be no choice hut to go into liquidation, when under present conditions, T think you will agree, it is doubtful if we would realise a sum sufficient to pay our liabilities, leaving nothing whatever for Shareholders.

If the agreement is ratified the new Company will provide a working capital of £16,500 and work on tho extension

of the water-race will- be commenced immediately, and completed with expedition. It is needless for me to repeat what has been frequently stated concerning the causes of our unfortunate position. They are well known to you all. One thing I do wish to emphasise, however, is the fact that while all Shareholders must suffer loss, each of your Directors has a large holding. The loss, therefore, falls with severity on them, and i can assure you, and I think it is a iacl. recognised by all v. !•<:■ linyo been, in t-losc touch with the Company’s flairs, that your Directors have done their utmost and acted whole-heartedly in the interests of the Shareholders, even going the length of themselves refusing to accept tile fees you voted tlvem, and accepting purely nominal fees. Tlieir work has been anything but easy Theirs lias been an arduous, strenuous and thankless task, and the responsibility placed on them has been felt acutely. No one can regret more than the Directors the unfortunate position in which tho Company is placed. Every effort has been made by your Directors to provide funds for carrying on the Company, but until now without success. There is no gold mining Company of which I am aware, and I do not think that anyone else knows of one, whose property lias been more thoroughly prospected and concerning which better and more satisfactory reports have been received. The reports, made by your Directors’ instructions for tlieir information, were excellent and encouraging. The reports made by engineers acting on behalf of prospective purchasing syndicates, although naturally conservative, have also been satisfactory. It is not on account of dissatisfaction with the property that your Directors have been unable to carry through negotiations for the rearrangement of its affairs hitherto. Financial conditions have for a long time been abnormal, as you are aware. To get money for any mining venture during the past year or two, when the Bank rate has been, as you know, exceedingly high, and when good Government securities have been fetching 6 and 6i per cent and over, has prevented investment in any undertaking such as wc have had to deal with.

Your Directors, therefore, have no hesitation in recommending you to accept, in your own interest, tho agreement that has now been provisionally entered into with the Namaqua Syndicate, Limited, for the purchase of the property. While Shareholders will not get casii, they will reaceive fully paid up shares, . and consequently, while having no further liability, they will bo entitled to share any profit that may be made by the new Company. Your Directors have expressed their belief in the property, and they have no hesitation in recommending you to unanimously agree to-day to the resolution which I now submit for your approval, viz:— “That the draft of the proposed agreement for the sale of the Company’s property situate in the Grey

district of New, Zealand, and. the watep rights and water race, dams, sawmilling and other machinery to the Namaqua Syndicate, Limited* f pr. the sum of thirteen thousand five hundred pounds to be paid and satisfied as set' I out in such Draft Agreement is hereby - I approved and the Directors are hereby ; | authorised to carry the same into effect . \ with such) modifications,.'if: any, as they * S may determine.” After general discussion, Mr J. H. ■ Wills seconded the resolution, which 'was carried unanimously. ; A vote of thanks to the Chairman t and Directors terminated- the proceedings.