346 PR0CT5EDINGS OF SECTION C. 



at the time, was being worked regardless of expense; the 

 consequence was, very Jittle profit could be made. 



At the ore-dressing sheds things were no better than they 

 were at the mine; and although the ore-dresser, considered 

 a good man, had a scheme by which he worked, it was a very 

 poor and expensive one. The hand -jigger and all the old 

 primitive appliances his great grandfather used to work with 

 were here collected, which necessitated a renewal of the 

 whole plant at the earliest possible date. 



At this time ray principal attention was directed upon the 

 mine in laying down a system for working it, and, although 

 I had all the monetary help I required, it took me till 

 February, 1878, to declare the first dividend (£12,000) of £1 

 per share; by this time the bank overdraft stood over 

 £40,000. 



This dividend might have been declared earlier had it not 

 been for the bad state of the road between BischofF and Emu 

 Bay, as by the end of the year 1877 we had over 1585 tons 

 of ore at the works, which had to be first carted, during 

 January, February, and March, and smelted before the 

 money was available. But, besides this, another unforeseen 

 circumstance happened at this particular time by which the 

 company's profits were considerably reduced. At the time 

 our carting season opened metallic tin stood at £72, but 

 before many tons reached London the price fell gradually 

 until it got down to £56 and £55, at which price the com- 

 pany had to sell a large quantity. This was a great loss, but, 

 under the circumstances, it could not be helped, as the share- 

 holders had waited long enough for their first dividend. It 

 may be that the bank was the only one regretting losing such 

 a good customer. 



Up to this time criticism was in full swing, both by share- 

 holders and the outside public, trying to prove me incom- 

 petent and make me responsible for other people's sins. The 

 shareholders began to show signs of becoming impatient 

 about the long-deferred dividend. It is easier to find fault 

 than to improve matters, and anyone at the scene of action 

 could see that no time was lost and the work to be accom- 

 pUshed was no easy task. 



With the exception of the places selected by my prede- 

 cessor for working, the whole ground was nothing but thick 

 forest and horizontal scrub, and the timber was not easily 

 cleared during the wet season, which lasted nearly nine 

 months at a stretch. For the clearing I selected the first 



