THE BLUE SPUR GOLDMINING COMPANY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2635, 1 June 1889, Page 3

THE BLUE SPUR GOLDMINING COMPANY.

I'oH s •mi' time 1 >;iulc much public attention In, liiMMi directed tu tin! alfairs of the ISiue Simr I ioldmining Com,patiy, near Tuapeka, (>tago, which was limited a little over a year n>:<' iu London. The management of tin l - properly lias given i ise to a gieit deal ■if .-caudal, and seiious reflections have been ca-t upon the manager, Mr .1. 0. Mrown, M. 11.1!., and Sir hobert Stout, upon uh".-e reprt-.-ciitiitjons chiefly tliu company was formed in 3'higland. A few mouths ago Mv Howard Jackson, or Hamilton, recoi'.erl a cable inoss««e to proceed to (Hugo to take o er the charge of the mine from -Mr Miuwn ; but since that gentleman's arrival on the scene, he has had anything but a pleasant time of it owing to the obstruction placed in his way. Tin; following is taken from the letter of the i/mdon cm respondent ( f a Pmiedin p iper, and is highly suggestive of the position : — " Thrf attempt ol the directors of the Mine ,'ipnr Com pa ny to raise a small sum to temmrarilv prevent- the mortgagees in New Zealand foreclosing on thu property has tailed totally, only £l,:i;;0 having teen .subscribed, wlieieas it was agreed that i.'-1,000 would be tin; least that would be of Use. 'flie directors are scarcely surprised at this, as they felt themselves th.it pay in.' the .t:'i(JUO demanded would bo merely putting olf the evil day for twelve months, and not really m.'iteiially improving the c uidition of iiirairs. They are now t.iying to induce the shareholders to pay oil' the entire mortgage, at. once and release the property by raising Jti'l.OOO of debentures at 25 per cent, dueoniil, and in order to show his conlidence in the excellence of the property, fairly managed, the chairman (Sir \V. Luller) (lifers to put in fSOOO. It is, lion over, ox - tiemely doubtful whether the money will be raised. The shareholders appiar to have utterly 1 ist conlidence in Sir li. Stout and his regard for their interests. The mildest thing said is that they trusted in your exI'remier's name, and position, and .statements ; and that they have found themselves deceived. Mr iloxvaid Jackson's letter, read out to the emergency meeting, stated that when he went to the mine and looked i nto things, he found to his astonish- i nient that though the Company had been in operation twelve months, no books had been kept, not even a letter-book ; in fact, save the bunk pass-book, there was literally nothing to show what the incomings and outgoings had been. The sensation caused by the reading of Mr Jackson's letter was naturally immense. The chairman stood up manfully for Sir li. Stout, but in vain. Ever since the meeting letters—couched in unequivocal trrm*, and many of them boldly iilloginjj serious charges—have poured into the ofhee. One indeed was so specific that the chairman folt lie oughtxu forward it to Sir K. Stout, and did so. The writer, on learning of this, •said his letter was dashed off in anger, and withdrew the most objectionable allegations. Should the worst happen, and the I'lnglisli shareholders find themselves losers of the mine and some £1)0,000 in cash, and all within twelve months, the outcry will bo something to remember. One irate shareholder openly declares "skinning alive" will bo too good for some of the parties concerned in this eventuality. The shareholders have not so far attacked the direotois, whom they seem to consider simply dupes. The following circular, addressed to the shareholders, speaks for itself:—B Victoria Chambers, 'Victoriastreet, S.W., 28th March, 18*!). Sir,— Since the general meeting on the loth inst., •it has become apparent that in the opinion of the shareholders generally a payment of KS.OOO to secure only a temporary arrange- ' merit with thu vendors is not satisfactory. ; (n this view the chairman (Sir Walter l-luller) concurs; and I am directed to , say that, if a, vigorous effort is now ( made. to raise thu full amount authorised at the general mooting—namely, iJNJiO, by the sale of debentures of the value of 1 Wo,ooo—the chairman will himself take 1 debentures to the value of £5000 on the ( same terms as the other shareholders. Since the date of the meeting a confidential repoit ; has been received from the inspector (Mr Howard .Jackson) to the effect that in his opinion the consolidated mines represent good value, for l'!)0,G00. It this be so, it seems only playing into the vendors' hands to let the property slip. And Sir Cohort Stout telegraphed on the 27th ilist. : "J lopo arrangements made, liemit or foreclosure." I shall be glad to know from you by return of post whether you wish to participate in this issue, because I our time expires on 3rd proximo.—l am, etc., W. U. Fahiax, Secretary. ]