THE RUBBER BOOM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 163, 9 January 1914, Page 6

THE RUBBER BOOM.

AMAZIXC DISCLOSI'UKS. The collapse (if the rubber boom Ims naturally brought into liquidation ninny of the mushroom companies which were lluated when the boom was at ii-i lK.if.ht. writes tin.' London correspondent ol t lit 1 Ago. Thi' publicity which has been thrown by the I'nnkruptcy Court on the affairs of these comp.ur.cs has brought to light some amazing disclosures re!,'.irding the ways in which companies wore promoted, si ml tho public was misled. At nil inquiry in the London 'Bankruptcy Court into the promotion of the Ankohra I'ubber Kstates, Ltd., which '.was formed in April, 1 !)](!■, lo acquire rubber properties in the Cold Coast Colony, the promoters made some startling

admissions. .Mr. Henry Walter liurton. oiu! of the three promoters, stated in the course of his examination hv (he Ollicial Heccivor in liaiikruptcv that the origin'.l proposal was that the company ,-hould acquire two leasehold ])ii ijH'ities called liopocraeo and KalTc, 1 lidic in the (laid Const Colony, over which lie had an op- | tiou ,hut, as some doubt was ni-cl as to the title of these properties, he pur- • eliased tliq lease of another proper! >,• ca! | led (iamalia, in the neighborhood, which he was informed by the vendor, was infinitely better than the other I wo. lie «ave £lO9 in cash and Csll!l> in bills for the leasehold of (iamalia, and on the •same day that he acquired it he sold it, for £l-i,0!IO lo the company lie was promoting. Jlc received £,j!!tll( in cash, and the balance in shares, lie knew nothing of the property, and look 110 steps ■to verify the statements of the man from whom he purchased it. The prospectus of the company was based on the report of a mining and civil engineer whi<Ji re•lated to the I'opoeraeo and Kall'e Didie properties. This engineer had not been in Africa for seven years, and although he had never been on Ihe (lamalia property, he wrote a report oil it, based on j his knowledge of the other properties, I It was subsequently ascertained that I I iamalia was little more than a rockv j hill. When the manager sent out I»v the company to the Cold Coast reported that I (here was no rubber on (lamaha, the directors withheld the information from the shareholders. They acquired another property in the district at a cost of .CUR), and transferred it to the company in the, "lope that it would turn out to lie a valuable rubber property. The public put over .t:2t),()i)t) into this haphazard venture.