INGLEWOOD OIL COMPANY.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 June 1917, Page 7

INGLEWOOD OIL COMPANY.

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual general meeting of the Oil Boring and Prospecting Company wag held in the Soldiers' Club last night, Mr. T. Prolong, chairman of directors, presiding. Thß annual report of the directors suggested that it was inexpedient to carry on the company any longer, and proposed that it be voluntarily woundup and a liquidator appointed. THE CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS. . In moving the adoption of the report, the chairman said the meeting should have been held in January, but the I directors—in order to await the result of the boring operations at Hniroa, where the company had fairly extensive rights [-decided to defer it till May. The discontinuance of operations at Huiroa led the directors to the conclusion that it was now_ inexpedient for the company to continue any longer, and they therefore recommended liquidation. The Inglewood Company was formtd in 1900, and started foorin? operations on Mr. Burgess' | farm on Norfolk Road with a plant imported from Pittsburg, U.S.A. Boring continued for about 18 months, in which time a depth of 2900 ft. was attained. iThe manager tlien advised the directors to cease work and dismantle the plant, and this was done. The directors, at the request of some of the' shareholders and others, then turned their attention to the Mokau district, and an effort was made to raise additional capital for the purpose of testing that district. There was a very fair response on the part of the public and the people of the district in question, but the directors did not think the capital sufficient to warrant their transferring the plant and starting work. They then thought aibput liquidation, and about that time Mr. A. T. Bate, of Wellington, a prominwit broker and a large shareholder in the company, wroto to them stating that he had received inquiries from England about oil rights in Taranaki, and sug- j gested that they should endeavor to con-1 solidate some of the rights, a great many of which had lapsed, and he would then submit a nyeposal to -London. They set to <work aga,m and secured a fair area of land around Inglewofid, through the agency of Mr. W. E. Percival, a director, and the chairman secured from Mr. G. H. Subbs an area of 20,000 acres>tcoal '< country at the Mokau. This proposition was under consideration in London anil Paris for the best part of two years) and at times it looked as if success would he met with. However, Mr. Bate had to admit at last that there "was no ] prospect of successful negotiations. Locally, things were .pretty active about ihat time, and the directors deemed it advisable to still keep in existence and retain their various boring rights. This the directors managed to accomplish for a considerable'time, until they were approached by a number of gentlemen in South Taranaki, to whom they gave a six months' option over the plant and rights for a substantial consideration, they in the meantime,to float a company, giving the present shareholders a substantial interest in the same. At the end of the period they did not feel disposed to renew their lease. The consideration the directors received enabled them to pay off their liabilities at the time and prolong the existence of the company. Some time later, the Consolidated Oilfields of Taranaki, Ltd., concentrated their efforts in the Huiroa district, and as the results of that bore would affect the prospects, the directors judged it to be in the best interests that they should hold on until the results there were known, as the indications were considered very favorable. That company had now suspended work, and that was the reason why the directors deemed it advisable to recommend the shareholders to liquidate. In conclu-' sion the chairman emphasised that the company had been run most economically in the matter of management, Mr. C. F. Foots havJng generously acted as honorary secretary for a number of/ years, and, outside of the annual license fee and stationery, very little expense was incurred in that department. He felt sure the shareholders would agree that the companyhad justified its existence, for in addition to Boring operations it had done some useful -work in bringing prominently before oil men in England and elsewhere the resources of the district; and had assisted in the production of five or six geological reports, which, no doubt, would he of great value in days to come. The motion was seconded by Mr. J. S. Mannix and carried. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. Mr. J. E. Wilson explained that it was necessary merely as' a formality to elect three directors, and he proposed that Messrs H. Brown, E. Percival and A. E. E. Watkins be re-elected.—The motion was seconded by Mr. J. Blyth, and carried. Another formal resolution, re-appoint-ing Mr. Hugh Baily auditor, was carried. Mr. J. Skinner moved that the secretary, Mr. C. F. Foote, be paid £ SO for his services for the past five years, during which period he received no remuneration. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wilson, and carried. A vote of thanks was accorded to the directors for the able manner in which they had carried on the affairs of the company. EXTRAORDINARY MEETING. An extraordinary meeting was then held to consider the question of winding up the company. Mr. Wilson moved: "That the company be wound up voluntarily." The motion was seconded by Mr. T. Avery, and carried. Mr. C. V. Foote was appointed liquidator for the purpose of winding up the affairs of the company and distributing its assets, his remuneration to beT> per cent, on the assets realised, the minimum to be £2s.—Carried.