The Daily News MONDAY, MAY 28. THE PETROLEUM COMPANY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8121, 28 May 1906, Page 2

The Daily News MONDAY, MAY 28. THE PETROLEUM COMPANY.

To-day's meeting of shareholders in the Mofcvoa. Petroleum Company will | be the most important ever held in tilt history of the venture. Definite proI posals for the disposal of the present concern to a much larger company, the objects of which are to further exploil ■the field, and erect refineries, have already been circulated, and will now be submitted for the approval, or otherwise, of the shareholders. There arc still those who would have preferred that even more exhaustive tests, than those already reported, had been madt xt the" present bore, before launching the industry on to the public market. We entirely agree, as we hayc re peatedly said before, that no move should be made until the value o' the field has been established, at tar a3 is humanly possible. It it gratifying to us, therefore, to learn that a number of very exhaustive tests havi recently Jjeen carried out at the instanci )f the Engineer, and the result oi chese will, we understand, be communicated to the meeting to-day. The bore. ,ve are assured, answered every demand •uade upon it. The proposed conditions For the winding-up and reconstruction jf the company seem to bo satisfactory .ilike to the promoters and tho public, ind we trust that the shareholders will .nsiston provision being made f r the people of Taranaki to have the first refusal of subscribing. Also, as we recently pointed out, the shareholders .vould be studying their own individual interests, as well as those of tho industry, if they stipulate that promoters paid-up shares shall be nontransferable ■ind inalienable for a certain tnr:e, preferably until the works are established, or until a dividend has been paid from tho profits on oil actually .von, There is reason to believe, from the interest at present being evinced iij the undertaking by Auckland and Wellington brokers, that other proposals, than those which the directors have [jromulgatcd may be forthcoming, from outside sources, and wo counsel share" aolders to consider well before committing themselves to any scheme thai 5 .vould bo the means of diverting from this province the profits of its subterranean wealth.