THE WAITOA GOLDFIELDS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 283, 21 July 1888, Page 4

THE WAITOA GOLDFIELDS.

CnMSTCHUKCH, .'uly 17. The case of the Waihou Gold-mining Com pany was before Judge Ward on Friday, It was in the form of an application to take the evidence of certain gentlemen connected with the Waihou Gold-mining Company. When the case was called on, Mr Joynt aaid : I wi3h to pub before your Honor the affidavits filed by two gentlemen who are here to-day. Their affidavits will show that a compromise is in course of arrangement between Messrs Acland, Barns, Harper, and Co. and the Waihou Company. His Honor : Since the matter collapsed the other day ? Mr Joynt : Vee, your Honor. The compromiso spoken of in the affidavits was commenced before the matter came into Court at all. It will be seen by the affidavits that arrangements were initiated in May last, whilst it was not till June last that Mr Spackman commenced his proceedings in this Court. I will read the affidavits of the gentlemen referred to, and ask the Court whether it will go on with tho matter until the result of the compromise proposed is made known. Mr Spackman : I object veiy strongly to the affidavits being read. I hold a letter from gentlemen who are interested, in which they say that the money will not bo paid, and that tlioy intend to resist to the utmost. Mr Joynt : Precisely so. We do intend I to resist, but in the meanwhile I desire to put the affidavits befoie the Court. I will now read the affida\ it of Mr T. W. Maude, filed on the 12th July. Mr Spackman : I have had no copy of that affidavit. His Honor : The affidavits, as 1 take it, aLe simply being read with a view to postponement. There i& no necessity for your being served with a copy. Mr Joynt : It will probably eventuate in a postponement mic die, your Honor, because 1 submit that the Court will not interfere with the arrangement for winding up the Company bj r shareholders under the compromise to which I have referred. Mr Joynt then proceeded to read the affidavits of Messrs T. W. Maude and T. H. Barns. These affidavits, which were exceed1 ingly lengthy, detailed the proceedings in tho matter, and letters were read showing that in answer to the request of the shareholders made prior to these proceedings, the firm of Harper and Co. should refund the amount (£1,000) received by them from Mr J. B. Smith for promoting the Company. The firm had replied that they were willing to submit the matter to a committee of shareholders as to the amount of remuneration they were entitled to receive. The firm also stated that they would not vote on the question, and that they would place themselves without reserve in the hands of the shareholders in the matter. His Honor : Well, 1 really cannot see that it Avas possible for Messrs Harper and Co. to make a fairer proposition than that. Mr Joynt : That is so, your Honor. The learned counsel then continued to read the affidavit of Mr Maude, which set out that a meeting of shareholders was held and a proposal accepted. The money was handed over by the firm in two cheques of £200 and £800 in pursuance of the offer made by them to place themselves unreservedly in the hands of the shareholders, the only objectors being those represented by Mr Spackman, only holding a few shares. In Mr Barns's affidavit there was a proposal for the reference of the matter of the remuneration to which Messrs Acland and Barns were entitled to a committee, which was accepted by resolution, and the money received by Messrs Acland and Barns had been paid in to await th.c result of the decision. Mr Joynt under the circumstances submitted that the Court would not interfere, but permit the shareholders to deal with the matter. After some more argument, His Honor pointed out that all the present application made by Mr Spackman amounted to was that he should order the money to be paid over to the liquidatox". Now the affidavits read by Mr Joynt stated that the money had been paid over on certain terms agreed to by a meeting of the shareholders, to abide the result of certain considerations as agreed upon. It would, therefore, be a farce to f o on with the present case till the result of this deciaion of the matter was made known. He had no hesitation in granting the adjournment asked for by Mr Joynt. The offer made by Harper and Co. was as fair as it could possibly be, placing themselves as they did, as to the matter of remuneration, entirely in the hands of shareholders. Mr Barns also, though not going so far as Harper and Co. , had made a proposal which had been accepted. Messrs Maude and Bams, he was bound to say, had acted in a perfectly honourable manner in the transaction. The whole matter would stand over for one month.

Commercial, to stranger : " What line •£ goods are you selling, sir?" Stranger (with dignity): "I'm a lawyer. I sell brains." Commercial :" Ah, yee. Refcail, la'pose."