Pumping Association.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3539, 29 April 1880, Page 2

Pumping Association.

A meeting of the above Association was liold at Mr F. A. White's office on Monday afternoon. Bepresentatives rrom most of the mines interested were present. Mr J. M. Lennox in the chair. Mr C. J. Stone made a, statement as to the reason why they had been called together. He said there was a considerable and growing dr ficit in the receipts owing to some of the companies refusing to pay the sums put down in the tariff—a tariff which after careful consideration, had been decided on. It was with no desire to threaten stoppage of the work in which they wore all so much interested, but merely to receive any suggestion as to how the money should be raised, that they had been called together. The Moanatairi Company had shown its interest in the matter by purchasing the pump and keeping it going at a considerable outlay. They had also been running the pump at an expenditure of over £3^5 a month for two j months, leaving a considerable .deficit, £192 a month having only been received from the contributing mines. The

expenditure it was estimated would in future be about £250 a month,, to keep the water clear at the 360-feet level. The Borough had previously promised a contribution of £50 a month, but had not adhered to the arrangement, and this had helped, no doubt, to land them in*their present difficulty. A conversation then took place which lasted for some time. The following resolution was agreed to: "That Messrs J. Brown and .Ronald McDonald bo requested to act as a deputation to the Thames Borough and County Councils, to urge upon them the necessity of their contributing towards the ,maintenance of the working of the Big Pump at Grahamstown." The meeting also recommended that the Moanatairi Company should write to thfe Council previous to the deputation waiting upon them, and in the event of those bodies not agreeing to contribute towards such expense, application should be made to the Government for the abolition of the gold duty, which, it was thought, would give them the additional amount required to carry on the work.—Herald.