CHAIRMAN OF BRITISH OIL TRUST

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 145, 15 December 1911, Page 7

CHAIRMAN OF BRITISH OIL TRUST

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. j MR. BROWN'S UNBOUNDED FAITH I IN TARAXAKI OIL. AN INTERESTING ADDRESS. Mr. Carter, in introducing Mr. Brown, said: "There are many duties that come in the way of a chairman of a public company, some the reverse of pleasant, others of a pleasing nature. I am placed to-day in the very happy position of introducing to you a gentleman well known in London oil circles, and whom I liesi- J tate not to say will be as well and as < favorably known to us in New Plymouth and this Dominion before returning to London. I refer to Mr. 11. J. Brown, chairman of the British Empire Oilfields, Ltd. It is indeed fortunate for us that Mr. Brown is with us to-day, and that already he has had an opportunity of seeing for himself what most of the wellknown experts have previously seen and declared in regard to the payable oilfields in and around New Plymouth. Mr. Brown has already expressed himself in confident terms as to our oilfields, and you can take it from me that that opinion has not been lightly given. Mr. Brown has been acquainted with developments here for a considerable time, and i I think I am right in saying that it was Mr. George Adams (one of the foremost geologists of the day) who first | tried to induce Mr. Brown to interest i himself in New Zealand (Taranaki in particular), though at that time Mr. Brown was unable to take any active interest. The determining factor of Mr. Brown's visit to this Dominion, however, vas one of health, or, shall I say, ill sealth ? His medical adviser has prescribed a most difficult medicine for a busy man to take, namely, that of change and rest. The strenuous and exacting demands made upon Mr. Brown's strength by the many companies with which he is associated in the management, made change and rest absolutely necessary, and I am sure that you, like myself, will commend his wisdom in seeking to recuperate in this beautiful land of our adoption, a land which he designates, 'a white man's heritage.' " Mr. 11. J. Brown spoke as follows: Before the representatives of the press have time to resharpen their pencils I wish to-day to ask your forbearance. This is the first time I have ever addressed a public meeting outside of England, and being of a naturally modest and retiring nature I feel the responsibility that devolves on me, for to a certain extent I am forecasting the future, and am anxious that no word shall escape me but that may be proved as time goes on to have been an honest anticipation of events that have become history.

It gives me a great deal of pleasure to meet the shareholders of the Taranaki Petroleum Company, with whom my London colleagues and I are to be associated in the future working of your oil fields. I should like to say that lam pleased to indeed to attend a meeting presided over by my friend Mr. Carter, who. I must tell you at the outset, has rendered you loyal and successful service in the metropolis of the Empire. Later 011 I shall hope to give you some particulars of the work he has accomplished as your representative in connection with negotiations, which, if they have been difficult, have never been unpleasant, and will be found, as time goes on, to have been of immense service to your company, the town of New Plymouth, and the oil industry of New Zealand generally. (Applause.)

A PROMISE FULFILLED. Both Mr. Carter and Mr. ITenry assured me before I lefj, London that I should be most kindly and favorably received 011 my arrival 111 your country. Although I have only been in New Zealand a short time, I realise al! that they meant when they made this forecast. They told me that 1 should find the Government, the Press and the people loyal to the petroleum industry, and I had their assurance that the people of Taranaki in a higher degree than those of any other centre of the Dominion, appreciated to the full the immense benefits which must follow the skilful and rapid developments of your oil properties, and the conversion of them into a profit-making asset in the industrial life of this part of the Dominion.

MOST HOPEFUL. Ladies und gentlemen, I am most hopeful that us the result of this most happy and successful combination of financial and petroleum interests in the Old Country and New Zealand, one place will benefit above all others, and that is the place which ought to benefit the most— \ the town of New Plymouth, where the first strike of oil in New Zealand was made, and where we are to work together in the near future. (Applause.) I should like, before I pass on to more important subjects to make a personal confession. Up to the time of leaving' England I had not made quite as clcse a study of

THE NEW ZEALAND OIL QUESTION as I should like to have done. When the company with which I am connected was first induced to take a keen interest in New Zealand Oil, I was engaged in handling important matters in one of the foreign oilfields (Galicia), and, as Mr. Carter is aware, I left for New Zealand less than three weeks after I had returned from Grosny, another foreign oilfield, and one of the most important in Russia. Consequently I did not start my trip as fully equipped as I should have liked, though of course, as managing director of the Oil Trust, Limited, and chairman of the British Empire Oilfields, Limited, it had been my business to keep myself "au courant" with the happenings in your field, but for all that I was, so to speak, not so personally in toueh. Fortunately for me, however, your chairman (Mr. Carter), the soul of patience and courtesy, never tired of my ceaseless questionings and hunger for information, and, further, thanks to the book written by my colleague, Mr. J. D. llenr}', "The Oilfields of New Zealand," I am pleased to say, and you may be interested to know, that the more I learnt of the New Zealand oil subject, the more firmly I have become convinced that we are about to be engaged in the important work of fostering the growth of an industry which will benefit us all financially, and do the Empire a real service. (Applause.) THE INITIAL WORK.

I venture to think that a certain amount of good has already been accomplished. We in London are no longer ignorant of the history and possibilities of your industry and of the aspirations of your directors. Mr. Carter, who has represented you in London, has been able to obtain a knowledge af British company and financial methods, and the people of the Mother Country, as well as the people of this Dominion, thanks to the Press and Mr. Henry's book, can no longer lionestly doubt the wisdom of providing ample finance in order that a thoroughly up-to-date equipment for a full exploitation and operation of the oil properties near this town and district may be guaranteed, but these benefits are small compared with the great results which some of us confidently believe will be accomplished under the new regime; and in this connection I have only to assure you that your London directors and colleagues are now putting, and will continue to put, a great deal

of hard work into this undertaking, not only because they anticipate a large measure of success for the English shareholders, but because they believe it would not be possible to make a better combination of London and colonial oil interests in any part of the world. (Applause.) I have nothing but praise for those who conducted the preliminary negotiations, and I should like to take this opportunity of thanking your chairman and directors for the fair and courteous manner in which they have handled the business from start to finish.

WHAT WOMEN HAVE DONE. I think I should be negligent if I were 'not to say how pleased I am to see 6ome ladies present at this meeting today. It may be of interest and of some satisfaction to know that in the history of oil, woman has played a distinguished part. For instance, in the strike of oil in the famous oilfield of Spindletop, it was Mrs. Lucas who urged Colonel Lucas to go six feet deeper, aud this extra footage led to the discovery of the greatest gusher in Texas. It was Madam Selitrennikoff, who was responsible for the selling of the gusher territory to English capitalists at Mikop. Another lady, after having parted with all her jewellery, at last obtained a loan on the security of her wedding ring in order to provide the means to enable her husband to drill a few feet further into mother earth, and these few feet were the means of bringing in the first gusher in a field which is to-day one/of the large oilfields of the world. It is a happy augury for us, and I hope that we may still have more lady sharehold--1 ers in the future. I am sure we shall, for I can assure you that the woman of England is taking a great interest in the oil business as well as "mere man." (Great applause.)

OIL GETTING. .Now, with regard to the subject of oil getting. It is a very striking fact that the early history of nearly every oilfield in the world reveals in the first operations undertaken an extraordinary amount of unscientific method, and a considerable lack of knowledge, and the stigma that has been laid on the oil possibilities of nearly every field has not yet been entirely removed. It is quite natural, therefore, that people with a desire for an investment in oil enterprises, while having these early failures in their minds, should be sceptical as to what the results may be in any, so to speak, new field. You in New Zealand, and more particularly New Plymouth, have, as is said of perhaps our most successful and certainly most honored sailor of the past, ".put your telescope to your blind eye" every time the word failure has been whispered to you, and have gone steadily on, thereby showing more

BULLDOG PLUCK IN STICKING TO MOTUROA than has to my knowledge been done by the pioneers in any known oilfield. You have backed your belief time and again, though bore hole after bore hole has resulted 11011-payable. Speaking broadly, \ 011 must not consider that of those 11011-payable bores is wasted time, that the money spent thereon wasted. They are the natural sequence in oilfield development, and they have collectively given experience and knowledge far more than is apparent, and which, after all, are the most needed conditions in an undertaking of which you men and women of New Zealand have every right to be justly proud, and for which you are honored n!) over the oil world, for you have proved tlwt you have an oilfield, and a very important oilfield; now it is only time and the drill that will determine how great a one. Personally speaking, 1 am convinced as to the ultimate objects to be achieved given scientific and practical management, and I have no doubt it will eventually provide the iM'ij of a large, successful and profitable industry. (Applause.) Prior to coming to New Zealand I had read reports of your field, and discussed its possibilities with many oil experts and geologists, and in every ease they foreshadowed that you had here the POSSIBILITIES OF A GREAT FUTURE,

| though acknowledging that in the 'past ' many great mistakes had been made, and the plant used primitive, and possibly not the most suitable to the local conditions to be encounered in drilling. , This brings into prominence the very important point which, to my mind, is not sufficiently known to those interested in oilfield development. The prevailing idea, amongst, at all events, investors, and too often, I am sorry to say, amongst those who operate oil properties, is that the strata to be drilled through to, or in connection with oil, is the same in every field. This is not by any means the case, and it is .well known amongst those who understand the technique of oilfield development, that there is not only a very great difference in the various oilfields of the world, but even in the same field, there is often a considerable difference in districts. Thus the first bore holes put down in a new field must be to a great extent experimental, and not till the strata is thoroughly understood and noted, can work be successful and profitably carried out. Those who are interested in THE OPENING UP OF NEW OILFIELDS. especially the ordinary shareholders, must be endowed with a large amount of patience, and it is better for them to have some knowledge of what the development means, while those responsible for the management should first take into consideration the geological indications, for, rightly or wrongly,'it is my opinion that without so doing, it is impossible to fairly estimate the possibilities; and the drilling of bore holes in the most favorable positions may only then be determined, until the conditions and description of the strata are to a large extent understood, it is impossible to carry out drilling work expeditiously and effectively. Even with the greatest care and forethought wells are drilled and fail to "come in," but when a well does "eonie in," and a good producer is struck, which is bound to do if the be-fore-mentioned conditions are followed with an ordinary amount of intelligence, the result is that all the previous failures are forgotten, the expenditure wiped out, and a surplus placed to the credit account. I feel it is essential to reiterate these points, although to many of you they are well known, so that shareholders may understand the facts in regard to the opening up of a new oilfield.

THE NECESSARY ESSENTIALS. Large and small fortunes have been made out of oil, are still being made, and will be made again, the only requisite necessary being efficient and well equipped experts and engineers, a sufficiency of working capital, and a little knowledge and patience on the part of those interested in the industry. DEVELOPING COLONIAL OIL. A very serious movement in the development of colonial oil has spread over Great Britain during the last year or two. This is largely due to some few determined and public-spirited men, such as our mutual friend, Mr. J. D. genry. He neither spared himself, his

time, nor his pen, in order to demonstrate to his fellow countrymen the allimportant faot that the British Empire was, in the not ,very distant future, without the wherewithal to live, for, in order that an Empire may live, such Empire must be prepared for war, and to be prepared for war entails that every unit of the lighting force must be fitted with the "best obtainable" in its own particular part or section. The one thai perhaps interests us most here to-day is that of fuel, a by no means unimportant part of the equipment of modern ships. It is not for me here to discuss the relative merits of coal or oil. It has already been done by our naval experts, and the one found wanting in merit, the other wanting in supply. Now, we in this building, I think, believe that that we can, as time goes on, do our little quota to remedy this latter, and I maintain that outside of any personal gain, it is our duty to help if we can to safeguard the interests of our country. (Great applause.)

THE AGE OF OIL. In the days of Nelson, when our Empire's reputation was made by the aid of old wooden walls propelled by wind and sail, we found the men that proved themselves the best sailors in the world. Later we built our ships of iron and steel, and our sailors were able to hold their own and their country's reputation by the aid of steam, for had we not the best steam coal in the world? To-day, thougji 1 still believe we have the best sailors, we have not the moans within our widely spread Empire to propel our ships according to modern requirements, and without it of what avail are our sailors ijnd our Dreadnoughts? It behoves us to do what we can to remedy this evil. For because our rulers consider we have no need of conscription, they do not say we have no need to care for our country's welfare—that country which has given us so much and of which we are so justly proud. The question I used so often to ask myself was, "Can I do nothing to remedy this great defect in our armor?" The answer always forced itself on me, "Help develop our oilfields." What matter where they are or how far distant. We are all members of the same body—that which is good for the part is good for the whole—and in so doing, we shall onee more be helping to cement the union on which the British Empire has been built, as well as acting as honest trustees of the honor and reputation left us by our ancestors.

OIL OF THE EMPIRE. When I gave up the business 1 was brought up in to devote myself to the subject of British Empire oilfields, there was practically only one part of the Empire producing oil, and if that source of supply were cut off, as it most probably would be under the circumstances, we should, to say the least of it, be placed at a very serious disadvantage, whereas if in some of the dominions or colonies beyond the seas oilfields eould be found and opened up, that risk would be considerably minimised, if not entirely eradicated. About this time Mr. J. D. Henry had determined to visit Trinidad, to be followed . 'by Canada and Newfoundland, and it was largely due to his reports of oil in these distant parts of the Empire that the Wood of some of us was fired with a sort of dual desire, namely, to help ourselves and to benefit our country at the same time. (Applause.)

JAILURES OF THE PAST. This brings me to a period in oil history which I would sooner have left out, but I think I should not be doing my duty if I did not mention it, as it will, to some extent, account for the apparent lack of sympathy that has up to the last year or so been shown by London towards colonial oil development. Unfortunately, the subject of oil getting was but little known in England, and the experience of oilfield development almost entirely unlearned. Consequently many pioneer oil men who had not had the experience, or had not seized the opportunity of obtaining their iiiitial experience in foreign oilfields or associated themselves with those who had, though carried away with enthusiasm, were misled, or miscalculated the enormity of the business they had undertaken, in the discovery of oil, and the development of an oilfield, Many enterprises were consequently doomed to failure, and the investors in this "new business" (for sucli it was to the majority of Englishmen), though starting off full of hope and confidence, were, through one cause or another, brought face to face with disappointment, and this, I regret to say, deterred the British investors from looking kindly on any proposition suggested for the development of the colonial oilfields. London, during the past two years, has been POURING ITS MONEY INTO FOREIGN OILFIELDS

instead of helping in the development of those, figuratively speaking, nearer ] home. But, as I said previously, the j cycle is changing, and although London ! will be careful next time where its places its faith and its money, it only wants leading, and once that lead is given, there will be no niggardly paying out. Already over there they are looking towards New Zealand, and I am anxious that New Zealand shall be the land to which no one down yonder can can, "I lost 10s before I made a sovereign," but that he will be able to point to it as the field always honestly worked in its exploratory days and since by men of experience and knowledge who

kne'w what they wanted and intended tct get it. (Great applause.) GETTING TO WORK IN TARANAKI. In order that the aim desired by all of us shall be reached as quickly as possible, it is intended to send out here to Taranaki the best geologist that can be found, accompanied with some experienced drillers and mechanicians used to oil drilling plants—the first to determine the fields and locate the best drilling sites, the second to run a straight hole, and the last to see that the boring tools are the best tempered possible. In other words, the chief essentials in oilfield development are to be of the best that man can find.

THE NEW COMPANY. ¥ow I must turn to the subject matter of our meeting here to-day. The result of the negotiations as agreed between your "directors and our directors is: A company is to be formed, called "The Taranaki (New Zealand) Oilfields, Limited," with a nominal capital of £400,000, of which £275,000 is to be issued for cash subscription, £50,000 is to be held in reserve, and £50,000 is to be allotted to your company in fully paid shares, being part of the purchase consideration, and 25,000 shares to go to the British Empire Oilfields, Ltd. / At the first inception, £400,000 may look a large figure, but when it is considered that £250,000 is for actual working capital, the apparent largeness melts into thin air. Later I will explain why it is considered advisable to have so large a working capital. The expenses connected with the issue of a company of this size are considerable, and in order to guarantee success, the amount re- 1 'quired will be underwritten—in other words, guaranteed. I understand from Air. Carter that underwriting is not very well understood in New Zealand, which occasioned me some surprise, for it is a regular business in England, and to judge bv the firms who undertake the underwriting or guaranteeing of issues* it is a very lucrative business. Perhaps 1 had better digress here a little in order to explain the operation.

UNDERWRITING. In the first instance, in order to form a. company, there must be a promoter. Next, in order to make sure of the capital required, the promoter goes to a firm or number of firms of underwriters, who agree to take so mid so much of tlie capital, for which they get a com-' mission of so und so much per cent. The risk an underwriter takes is as follows: Say a company requires £-200,000, which amount is underwritten. The issue is then made to the public. If the public take the £200,000 worth of shares over, the underwriter is relieved of all responsibility, and does not take any shares at all, unless lie stipulates for so and so many at the time he hands in his underwriting letter. Supposing one firm of underwriters take £50 ; 000 worth of risk, at an underwriting commission of 10 per cent., and that, as before stated, the public applies for all the shares. That underwriter receives a cheque from the promoter for £SOOO, being the 10 per cent, on his original underwriting or guarantee of £50,000. Now, suppose the public only took " 150,000 shares out of the 200,000 offered. The underwriters in this case would collectively have to take 50,000 shares or twenty-five per cent, of the amount underwritten. Supposing an underwriter, as before mentioned, underwrote 50,000, in this case he would have to take up 12,500 shares, but as he would receive £SOOO in commission for having underwritten 50,000, these 12,500 shares would' only cost him £7500, and a like proportion whether lie underwrites 5000 shares or 50 shares.

STARTING OPERATIONS. When the geologist has surveyed the territory and lormed his conclusions, he will select drilling sites, where derricks will be erected, and drilling put in hand. Probably six boro holes will be drilled at the same time. Some will be continued to a depth of 5000 ft, never mind what oil is met with en route, but as test wells; for without such no one can definitely say what quantities of oil are in store beneath our feet. The knowledge to be obtained from these "test wells" will be invaluable, not only to oursealves, but to all New Zealand, and when the knowledge has been gleaned, the casing will be pulled, and whoever payable oil has been passed through, the casing perforated, even though 'ther» be three or four horizons, and the well put to pump, so that the wells drilled for knowledge will degenerate into wells drilled for gain. (Laughter.)'

THE REFINERY. While this drilling is proceeding, the final tests will have been made as to the refinery process most suitable, and one unit will be erected, to which can be .added as many more as may be required for the oil wc have to refine whatever the quantity. ' In the selection of a refinery plant there are many things to consider, the chief, from the shareholders' point of view, being the one that will give the largeßt returns. We must also consider that we may be asked to refine oils not produced by ourselves, and we must pay careful attention to the most valuable of THE BY-PRODUCTS. One that comes into my mind at the moment is obtained from that whicfe is left after the lighter and more valuable oils have been extracted, and more espe-

cially to oils having an asphaltum base. In one field in which my company are operating, the so-called residuum, or considerably the larger part of it, is actually more valuable than the lighter oils, and tliorc is a growing demand for the material I allude to. You will know that the question of "road improvement" is one that is absorbing the attention of road boards all over the civilised world, and it is a subject of which we also must have some little knowledge if we are to obtain the best results. The roads boards want a road suitable for rather different traffic from that which our forefathers desired. To-day we have the traction engine and motor car, both of which disintegrate the ordinary macadam road, thereby creating dust. The action of these new vehicles destroys the foundations by allowing water to penetrate, thereby destroying the "mud-binder" and creating dust. What the road board wants is a "mackintosh sheet" in the form of a dustless, ductile, noiseless road. I have been connected with scores of tests and principles, but none of thera will do unless oil is used in the form of an asphalt or bitumen as a binder. The road boards of London have been making tests lately, and a material made by; a company, of which we have the management, has produced a material which I believe will fill the bill, and the binder used is a natural asphalt, or oil from which the lighter parts have evaporated by nature, and a residuum of oil from which man has extracted the lighter parts. I only mention this road' question, as in future it will make large demands on oil refinery companies who tire catering for the largest markets. With regard to the amount reserved for working capital—£-250,000. In thi# instance we are not aiming at being an oil drilling company only, but refiners, and the ultimate coat of the refinery can only be determined when we know how much oil we l are likely to have to rafine, and what products we may find the most profitable to make.

It may also be necessary to have a distribution department. One cannot tell, The real gamble for oil is no longer with us. The business of oil producers and refiners is an industry, and one that has more possibilities of greatness than any I have yet known. (Applause.) We, in arranging the amount of capital, have gone very thoroughly into figures, and with the conclusion that we shall be able to do what has been outlined with the capital at our disposal. "The amount of rights" due to each shareholder is that they may re-invest the amount payable under the agreement in new shares in the Taranaki Oil Wells Company, and that amount will fully pay for the number of shares to which they are entitled, together "with 2s per share which they will be asked to pay when applying for new shares. So practically they will not be out of pocket.

PROSPECTUS. Since my arrival here, a proof prospectus, on which underwriting has been promised, and is now being done in London, has been sent out to me, and a copy of this prospectus will be sent to you, subject to one or two alterations as soon as approved by cable.

LOCAL DIRECTORS. Four local directors are to be appointed, two to be nominated by the Taranaki I'etrolsum Company, and two by the British Empire Oilfields, Ltd. The two gentlemen nominated by London were Messrs Carter and Okey. (Applause.) No doubt they would be pleased to hear that the company had not gone outside the present directors, particularly when these gentlemen had already done so much for the company.

WATER TROUBLE. He referred to the water trouble at the bores. This, however, presented no difficulty. It had occurred in other places, nota-bly in Tustanowice and Grosiiy, and means had been devised to solvre the problem. In fact, he ventured to state that though oil and water was now flowing at Moturoa, it would not foe long before only oil was flowing. (Applause.)

OIL FUEL. Mr. Carter had mentioned that ships trading m the Atlantic did not use oil. Why, because until the Mexican oilfields opened they could not secure it at a price that it would pay to use. I might say without fear of contradiction that coal will not be wanted as fuel for steam purposes when oil is procurable. Already oil is to be used for fuel to bung the mails here from England A mer is now being built by Messrs. John Brown & to., of Clydebank, for the Lnion Steam Ship Company, of New Zealand, for the improved mail service between Vancouver and Auckland. She will be the largest vessel registered in Australasia. There is to be accommodation for some seven hundred passengers. In four of her boilers steam will bo generated by oil fuel, and from the use of this considerable economies are expected by the owners. The supplies of oil will be obtained at first from California but ultimately it is hoped and believed from New Zealand and Canada. (Applause.)

By this means the time taken from Vancouver to Auckland will be 19 days thereby saying four days in which mails will be delivered from England. The modern passenger and cargo boat will be as big a change from the present as the early steamships were to the sailnlVlT'n b ° iU ' s j llsfc about completed building at Home nearly 400 feet long and 10,000 tons displacement, with two sets of Diesel oil engines capable of developing 3000 indicated horse power. J® three masts ' and the 1 times, from the engine room will be led up inside the mizzen mast and exhausted some oO feet above the deck. No funnel even for exhaust purposes. The »'i en on the main mast will be operated by compressed air.

Hie vessel will have no steam for mechanical purposes, as even the donkey uigine will he an oil engine, and it wiil also generate the electricity which will operate 12 cargo winches-and also the •uiclior windlass. The machinery space will be only a third of ti.at required for steam, and a third more space will be available for cargo. The space for passengers wil consequently be larger, and nothing will interfere with one's view 01 walk on the upper deck. She will have the appearance of a yacht. One can realise the difference while aV "f' froDl Xeu ' Y «vk to San Fran™o- VV ! IPn the coal engine is changed t l lle 0,1 engine the windows are opened, and one is enabled to breath fresh air.

It will not be very long, 1 believe, befoie one will travel from England to v Zealand propelled by oil fuel; and one will not have the unpleasantness of having to use a pair of blinkers and a couple of side lights to walk across the upper deck in a head wind, as it almost necessary to do when travelling east

IN CONCLUSION. I hope you will not take this for a mutual admiration society meeting, but 1 do want to say something of Jlr Carter and the way he looked after your interests on the othw side. It takes a good deal of courage for a man to leave his business and his children behind and go from a happy, sunny little town like New Plymouth to the other side of tlie

world, and a smoky begrimed city liko London, with all its- noise and bustle, j but to do more, and go to an office such as ours, with rows of clerks glaring at j you when you ask to see the manager, and when again you are ushered into chamber of horrors—the manager's room —and there dictate terms "and stick to them," though this, that, or the '.other director may come in with some very good reason why you should not —that man is worthy of your thanks, and although Mr. Carter's modesty 110 doubt debars him from saying all that he had to put up with for those who sent him— I know—and with it all he left appreciated and liked, by all who met him. Should any shareholder not thoroughly understand the procedure in the formation of this new company and as to the I rights to which they are entitled, I will I be at the Taranaki office for the next j few days, when I shall be pleased to give any information.

ilr. Brown on resuming his seat was warmly applauded.

APPRECIATIVE REMARKS. j The chairman Temarked that no doubt the address had impressed the audience, as it had him, with the fact that what Mr. Brown did not know about oil was worth notice. He had studied the whole oil question on all the oilfields of the world, and his experience must prove of incalculable benefit to Niew Plyl- -

Mr. Fraser appealed to shareholders to put their heads together and make some suitable acknowledgment of Mr. Carter's successful efforts at Home. When they sent him they anticipated that he would lave a difficult task ami hardly expected him to succeed. Not only had he succeeded, but he had done much better than was ever anticipated, and had held up his end against the keenest business men. In one single item alone Mr. Carter had made £ 10,000 for the company, and he considered that a handsome sum of money should he voted him as some slight recompense. He would propose that a sum of not les3 than £SOO should be vo>tcd k 1 Mr. Carter considered that this was a little premature. There would be another meeting When the company went into liquidation, and that would be a more opportune time for such a suggestion. j Mt. W. T. Jennings agreed with 'both speakers. He felt some recognition of Mr. Carter's services' warranted the j deepest consideration from the sh&peI holders', and he felt sure that the direc- ! tors would give expression to Mr. | Fraser's and all the shareholders' sentiment* at the proper time. I Mr. Jennings then moved that this ! meeting of shareholders of the Taranaki • Petroleum Company accord Mr. H. J. | Brown their hearty thanks for the very interesting address that he had given j them that afternoon. This was seci onded by Captain Mace and carried by acclamation.

Mr. Brown, in returning thanks, said that it had been a great pleasure to him to speak 011 a matter so near to his heart, viz., oil for the Empire. He had never had the honor of speaking at a meeting outside England before, and words failed him to express adequately the opinion he had formed as to the loyalty of the people of New Zealand. Mr. C. E. Bellringer highly eulogised Mr. Carter's work. The, directors, he said, who knew how gTeat had been the strain, were unanimous in thedr appreciation of the conspicuous ability and tact that Mr. Carter had again and again displayed in surmounting difficulties that seemed almost to Iblock negotiations. Ha moved that the shareholders express their luigih appreciation of the ability and tact with which Mr. Carter had conduct-' ed rthe negotiations of the company in London, and that they place on record their expression of thanks for the services rendered.

Tliis was seconded by Mr. James and carried.

Mr. Carter, in acknowledging, said that if he had known what he had to face he would probably not have undertaken it. While the men he had met were straightforward and honorable, they were also •keen and shrewd. He considered that the agreement was in the interests of both parties, and emphasised the fact that after it was signed, instead of pulling in opposite directions, they had united and were working solidly for the interests of the oil industry. This concluded the meeting, which was particularly enthusiastic right through.