Thank you for correcting the text in this article. Your corrections improve Papers Past searches for everyone. See the latest corrections.

This article contains searchable text which was automatically generated and may contain errors. Join the community and correct any errors you spot to help us improve Papers Past.

Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image

PAKAWAU COAL COMPANY.

Thb Committee formed in Wellington to correspond with the above. Company in Nelson met on Tuesday evening last in the Hall of the Athenaeum, when the following correspondence was read by the Secretary : — No. 1. Wellington, November 23, 1852. Sir,— ln acknowledging the honor of your communication, received by the unfortunate Henrietta, I have also the pleasure to add, that efforts on this side are assuming a much more tangible shape, while this very circumstance requires that you should be explicitly informed of our proceedings and views, lest we should appear to be in rivalry when we only propose co-operation. 1. As we have always intimated to you, we are very anxious to have a more extended sur. vey of the district than you appear to contemplate, not only to ascertain something like the probable extent of the coal field, but also to find, if possible, a better shipping place than Fakawau — and having been led to believe that the same seam might be struck at Moto-plpi/ near to which vessels of considerable size can lie — we wished the coast examined from that place to Wanganui, from whence also coal had been brought to this settlement ,in the first year of its existence. 2. We were also informed by Mr. Wrey, that he had tendered to survey the eighty acres selected by you at Pakawau, for the sum of one hundred pounds, and a copy of his tender was obligingly furnished to us by that gentleman. 3. To avoid delay we therefore proposed to enter into an arrangement with Mr. Wrey, based upon his tender to you, but carrying the survey to the extent we desire. He offered to survey the coal field at Moto-pipi, more cursovily to' continue his examination along the coast from thence to Pakawau, continuing with somewhat more minuteness from the last named place to Wanganui ; and when he should have satisfied himself and us as to the best locality in which to commence operations, then to make this special survey already tendered for. For all this service he was to receive one hundred and fifty pounds, — it being distinctly understood that if some other spot than Pakawau were selected, he was not to hold you to the bargain already supposed to be made, but to consider that as emerged in the present contract. (Copies of the specification and tender are enclosed for your information.) 4. Subsequently to determining on the above, bat before we had made any contract with Mr. Wrey, our respected fellow townsman, Mr. Stoddart, (whom we have repeatedly consulted, and intended to employ) showed us your letter of the 15th instant, which at once caused us to suspend all further proceedings until we had laid the whole before you, and ascertained your view thereon, only adding that the Government has offered fifty pounds, and that we are prepared to contribute a similar sum to carry out the objects ; we, in the meantime, supposing that Mr. Stoddart's expenses are paid by you — that these will not exceed another fifty pounds-— and as that part of the work will be done, Mr. Wrey's tender will be proportionally reduced. We#presume, however, that you will not definitely jirrange with Mr. Wrey without communicating with us on the subject. 5. Another point has arisen out of this, which I think right to bring distinctly before you. Several contributors to the fund required, paid deposits upon shares, and they are therefore anxious that whatever is paid on your part towards that object, should be out of a fund raised in a similar manner to ours, and not out of the funds of the company. Confessedly we have nothing directly to do with this, but mention it for the sake of those of our members who are interested. 6. At the risk of appearing premature, but 4n order to prevent misunderstanding at a more advanced stage; I may beg to lay before you one or two things connected with the constitution of the company, in which it is absolutely essential that our views should be known, and as we hope, met by you in the same spirit of earnest friendship and recognition of identity of interest between the two settlements, in which they are put forward by us. 7. The first thing we require is an equality of interest in the proprietary of the company, by having one half of the shares allotted to this settlement, leaving us to find parties to take them up. We are not aware what number of shares are already disposed of, but supposing that the whole six hundred, were, and none of them to parties here, we should request you to extend the proprietary so as to comply with our wishes ; and we venture to suggest that a considerable increase of your proposed capital will be advantageous to the company, even if our opinion should not be correct that the proposed amount (£3150) will be scarcely one-fourth the sum required. 8. As the natural consequence of the last -proposition, we ask for an equal share in the management ; not merely exercising^ur rights as shareholders to vote in the election of a Board of Directors, but the right to appoint a Local Board, of equal number and concurrent powers with the Board elected in Nelson. The two Boards jointly to appoint a manager, and

to meet at least twice in each year, when ge- j neral meetings should be holden at Nelson and Wellington — proxies being reciprocated on these occasions, on all qiie>tions excepting the election of Directors. 9. The third and most important proposition we submit is, that the company shall exclusively confine itself to raising the coal, and delivering it to purchasers at the place of shipment connected with the works. This will prevent the jealousy that the establishment of a depot in either settlement would necessarily give rise to; will enable Nelson or Wellington, or individuals from either, and all other parties, to purchase according to their several requirements ; will save the company the expense and difficulty of transport, and will secure to it the best return for its products, by allowing and encouraging competition among purchasers, I have the honor to remain, Sir, Your most obedient servant, * J. Woodward, Hon. Sec. W. T. Locke Travbrs, Esq., Secretary Nelson Mining Company.

No. 2. Nelson, January Ist, 1853. g IR( — 1. I am instructed by the Directors of | the Nelson Mining Company to acknowledge ] the receipt by them of your communication of the 23rd. November, with its enclosures num- , bered 1 and 2, addrssed to W. T. L. Travers, J Esq., as Secretary of the Provisional Committee of the above Company. To this communication a reply would have been transmitted at an earlier date, had not some of the alterations contained in it, involved (if adopted) alterations of such importance in the constitution of the Company, as appeared to the Directors to require that they should be submitted to the consideration of a special general meeting of the shareholders. With this object a meeting was called for the 22nd ultimo., but owing to the unavoidable absence of many of the principal shareholders, the meeting was adjourned to the sth instant, when a full attendance may be expected ; and the decision arrived at on that occasion will be forwarded to you by the first subsequent oppor- j tunity. ( 3. To those portions of your communications, however, which it is not necessarily requisite to submit to the shareholders, the Directors are desirous of replying without any further delay, and lam accordingly directed to notice them in the order in which they occur. 4. With respect to clause 1, the Directors beg to oberve that the coal-fields of Moto-pipi and Pakawau are certainly different, being separated by lofty ranges of mountains, that the coal hitherto discovered at Moto-pipi (which district has been explored, and, to a certain extent, inhabited for the last ten years,) is of a very inferior description ; while that at Pakawau is, even at the surface, most superior, and fit for all the purposes to which coal is ordinarily applied. 5. That as regards a shipping place the whole coast from Separation Point to Wanganui has been surveyed, that in that apace no shipping: place of importance or possessing any decided superiority exists: Wanganui being probably the best, but labouring under the disadvantage of having along its margin a mud flat of a boggy nature, rendering any passage over it, in its present state, impracticable for loaded vehicles, and only capable of being crossed during limitefl periods of each tide, by boats drawing a few inches of water while the position of the harbour, in reference' to any port within Cook's Strait, " entails the further disadvantage of a voyage round Cape Farewell, and the risk of comparatively boisterous seas and violent wind thus necessarily encountered. 6. The Directors therefore believe that in confining the preliminary survey, which Mr. Stoddard has been commissioned to execute, and a copy of the instructions to which gentleI man I have the honour to enclose, to the district embracing the area of three or four miles on either side of the Pakawau river, they have best consulted the interests of the Company by avoiding any unnecessary expense or delay. 7. With regard to clauses 2, 3, and 4, the Directors are of opinion that, bearing in mind the intricate character of the Massacre Bay country, in many places heavily timbered and presenting the apperance of an almost impenetrable jungle, and its broken and irregular surface, such a survey of the coal field as would afford an unerring basis of proceedings, would involve a great amount of professional talent and a gr.eat expenditure of money. That from Mr. Stoddart's practical experience on the subject, they expect to derive much assistance and many useful hints. And they would prefer being guided very much by his advice as to whether any further or more scientific survey was required. The Directors are further of opinion, that should Mr. Stoddart's report be to the effect that sufficient coal existed under such conditions us would warrant the Company in proceeding to work it with a fair probability of success, the wisest course they could adopt would be to proceed at once upon the knowledge thus acquired, instead of waiting for a complete geological and scientific survey of the district. 8. Upon clause 5 the Directors observe that it was originally intended that a separate fund should be raised by contributions for preliminary expenses ; but finding that such a course would only lead to a complication of accounts, it was abandoned ; and that the rule which the Directors have adopted is, that any contributions are to be considered as an instalment towards the payment of shares which the parties so contributing may take up or not as they may elect. It must, however, be understood that none but actual shareholders will be entitled to any of the profits arising out of the operations of the Company, that contributions not considered shares will be considered as donations, and that it will be necessary to fix some period within which any claim to consider contributions as an instalment towards the payment of shares must be preferred. It is obvious, however, that this general rule does not apply to any contributions towards the preliminary expenses which may be made by the Government, and that the sum of fifty pounds offered by the latter can strictly be deemed as given in aid of the objects generally, which have led to the formation of the Company. The Directors would, therefore, request to be informed iv what man-

ner and under what conditions, (if any) that sum will be placed at their disposal. 9. As clauses 6, 7, 8, and 9, comprise those questions apon which the Directors have cousidered it necessary to obtain the opinion of the whole body of shareholders, they are prevented from adverting to them in this commu< nication, but will lose no time when the despatch of a mail offers, in informing the shareholders at Wellington of the result of the meeting of Nelson shareholders, to be held on the sth instant. 10. In conclusion the Directors earnestly desire t® express 'their sense of the prompt manner in which the proposal to become shareholders in the Company has been responded to by persons at Wellington, their gratification at the immediate recognition of identity of interests, and their hope that a continuance of the good feeling which has been reciprocated between the settlements may ensure to their joint efforts that amount of success which neither could so certainly expect if working apart. * 1 1 . This desire to work together now expressed, if preserved in the- spirit which has called it into existence,, leads the Directors to believe that in addition to the many economical advantages attendant upon a regular supply of coal, it may confidently be calculated that at no very distant period, the inhabitants of the southern portion of the colony will be gratified, and their mutual prosperity manifoldly increased, by the adoption of the passage through Cook's Straits, as the route of the ocean steamers from Panama to Sydney, and by the permanent maintenance of steam communication between the different settlements. Should such results proceed from the operations of the Nelson Mining Company, the principal ends which induced the idea of its formation will have been attained. I have the honour to remain, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, W. R. Nicholson, Treasurer, N.M.C. P. R. P. OUTRIDGE. P.S. The Directors request that all communications for the present may be addressed to to them under care of W. R. Nicholson, Esq., the Treasurer of the Company. To J. Woodward, Esq.

No. 3. Nelson, December 2, 1852. " Sir, — In pursuance of the proposal contained in a letter addressed to you by Mr. W. T. L. Travers, acting a3 Secretary to the Provisional Committee of the Nelson Mining Company, dated November 15, 1852, and which was in answer to your letters to him of October 6th and November 4th. The directors of that Company have now to request that you will immediately proceed to the district of w.hich they enclose a tracing. " The Directors also enclose herein a specification of the survey of the coal field which you are required to make for tbs Company. "The Directors have engaged two men, John Clarke and Samuel Goddard, to do such work as you may direct, they will be entirely at your disposal, and ia fcase of their not giving you satisfaction you can discharge them, or either of them, and engage others in their place. " You will be at liberty to engage farther assistance if necessary, to the extent of two additional men, or such an amount of labour as you can procure on the spot for four pounds a week. " In case circumstances should arise which will demand a greater amount of assistance, the Directors will require you to apply to them for authority to engage the same, your application should state the nature and extent of the required assistance. " The Directors beg to impress upon you the necessity for the greatest despatch consistent with the efficient discharge of the duties of your appointment, but as they cannot set a limit to the time you will be occupied, they have in the meantime engaged the two men above named for a period of not less than a month from the day they leave Nelson ; so that in the event of your completing your operations before the expiry of that time, you should return to Nelson alone, leaving the men to go on to the end of their engagement with any clearing or other work, which you think will forward the objects of the Company. " By every opportunity of sending to Nelson, the Directors would be glad to have a report of your progress." Specification. " Specification of a Survey required to be made by Mr. James Stoddart for the Nelson Mining Company, in the Nelson District of the Middle Island of New Zealand. " The object of the Survey is, first, to ascertain generally the nature and extent of the coal formations in the district Extending from Taumetea on the South, to Waikato, north of Pakawau, including' the valley of the Pakawau, to a distance of two miles from the mouth of the river as shewn in the plan accompanying these instructions, with the view of carrying on mining operations. " Mr. Stoddart's report to be accompanied by plans and sections of the seam or seams, with the measurement of their thickness and extent, together with a report on the quality of the coal, the dip of the seams, and the general character of the site, and particularly stating " Ist. The facilities for working the mine, and the probable expense of the coal per ton at the pit's mouth, together with a description, and estimate of the expense of the machinery' required. " 2nd. The distance of the place of operation from a proper place of shipment, the character of the country through which the best practicable road could be made, and the probable expense and description of such road. " 3rd. The most eligible place of shipment, with explanatory plans and sketches shewing the depths of water, rise and fall of tide, and describing the nature and expense of the necessary wharves and jetties. " 4tb. The probable amount of outlay required in the preliminary work at the mine, prior to arriving at the coal seam.

Mr, Stoddart is required to report fully on all the above points, bis report to be accompanied by specimens and descriptions of the associated rocks and coal, and such observations on the general character of the district as cun be made during the progress of the survey, with a notice of any other minerals, as copper, &c. of the existence of which he may observe indications." Mr. James Stoddart. After the above had been read, Mr. Hervey, of the house of Hervey, Johnston & Co., laid upon the table two letters addressed to their firm on the same subject, and of similar tenor, only adding that a call of £1 per share had been made, due on the 31st ult. The committee were much gratified at the tone of Captain Nicholson's letter, but determined not to take any steps until they should receive the report of the meeting in Nelson of the sth inst.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZSCSG18530115.2.7

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 778, 15 January 1853, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
3,070

PAKAWAU COAL COMPANY. New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 778, 15 January 1853, Page 3

PAKAWAU COAL COMPANY. New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 778, 15 January 1853, Page 3

Help

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert