THE The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, MARCH 19, 1877.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2558, 19 March 1877, Page 2

THE The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, MARCH 19, 1877.

Fbom what has-transpired of the terms 'offered to the associated companies comprising the United Pumping Association by the. Thames . County;, C, qunciL jUjoder which the former are to carry out prospecting from their low levels, we are mi cljhed (oCthink .the Council ;has shown excessive liberality. It appears that the

directors of the companies do not so - regard the termp, and they have drawn up others which are to be submitted to the County Council atjthe next meeting. We publish-to-day an article on this'subject from Saturday's New Zealand Herald, and it will be seen that at a meeting on Friday it was agreed by those present 11 that the only conditions on which they could make arrangements to commence

work vigorously" are that the Council shall absolutely release the properties .from the mortgages ou an undertaking by

" the companies to prospect fully at the ' low level; a re-valuation to be made of the several properties mortgaged, '"and, in case of new finds, a proviso bein<? made to pay back to the shareholders any amounts expended in prospecting in the future before the company's share of the mortgage

is paid. We assume .that these are the terms to bo submitted to the Council, as they are given with an air of authority.in a paper whose proprietors should be in a position to arrive at the true state, of matters. This being the case we have little hesitation in saying the terms will be rejected by the County Council, and that, if the directors; adhere to the dedecision arrived at, not to work vigorously except on these conditions, the Thames County Council "will have to adopt "vigorous" measures to" realise on the jsecuritiesr which have been handed over to them in trust for the ratepayers as a valuable asset. These amended conditions agreed, to by the directors at Friday's meeting , simply amount to this, thab the County Council shall relinquish the securities — release the'mortgagors, in fact, from jtlie responsibility of paying £50,000 —on condition of receiving in lieu thereof an "undertaking" to pay:some lesser sum, on a basis of re-valuation, when; the shareholders have been recouped the outlay.they are prepared .-to undertake. It is something like giving up a mortgage secured on good property for ai promissory note for a lesser, amount payable conditionally on spme v piece of. good fortune turning up. We are rathier surprised at the exacting natureof the conditions insisted upon by the directors.:'- The concessions offered - by the , bounty fGpuncil were exceedingly liberal, especially., so .when, viewed; in connection, .with the fact that the . Bprpugh and County Councils have undertaken to keep the Big Pump going ior two years. These associated' companies hive: been dealt within a spirit conceived in extreme munificence,,and it is if the Borough and County Councils, in their endeavors /to ;ke#prthe pumps going and :to induce the shareholders to jirpspect their ground at the low"l^vels,:;have not exceeded! their powers; arid rendered themselves' liable to be hauled over the coals, or, in othejc words,. into the law courts of the Colony. If-the directors of these four mines—Caledonian, Tookey, Golden. Grown and Imperial Grown —persist ,in- trying:to extort these, terms : from the County Council, the latter will be justified in withdrawing from their previous offers and seeking to realise thje valuable securities ;handed over tp them in the manner best calculated to benefit, the County. We should be sorry tp see matters pushed tojsuch an extremity, but these exacting directors must be brought ■to'see: that 'there ■isXatlimit :tp:whieh=the forbearance of the n community can be stretched^ even thb'righ. the alternative be that;; bugbear threat,,a. stoppage,, .of ;the Big Pump. The Borough and County Councils have provided for that 'contingency ;for the next two years.; -It iw.o.uljd not be a great stretch of their powers tp 'go "a little farther, and take over:'tHe management .ef. the asspciated mines for just such a time as wpuld": suffice, to realise their securities by handingiorer the same to a new company; and there is no doubt such could be easily formed, wlio would pay. the £50,000 down, and give substantial guarantees for the expenditure ,of. another. £50,000 or. even £100,000 in prospecting the low levels of ground which has proved so rich in the, uppfr workings, and which now offers unusual. ; attractions tand faoilities-for further'|^ro^ipecting. A word to the wise, is sufficient; I