792 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [May 1, 1899. 
tion8 as to how they were to he used. Tlie iin- 
pressioa seemed to be among the outside public 
that the draft was approved and had only to be 
brought forward by the Directors to be passed. 
That was not .so at all. That nieetiuf^ was gini- 
ply to take tiie sense of the sliareiiohiers on the 
matter. If they came to voting then the Direc- 
tors would be in a lather awkward position in 
hoMiiig proxies without knowing how they weie 
to be used. As a Director he would say that 
he did not approve of that agreement as it 
stood, and besides the points that their attention 
had been called to there were various other 
matters, as the limiting of amount of land and the 
number of shafts to be put in. Tlien there was 
nothing there as to the damage done to the 
surface by mining. They said tlie shaft should 
not be within a certain distance of their buildings, 
but there was nothing to prevent the purchas- 
ing Company from tunneling under their build- 
ings if they wished to, and that would have 
to be dealt with. A shaieholder spoke to him 
about some other small matters with regard to 
that, and if the question was then to be whether 
the agreement was to be or not to be 
signed, he thought that it would be well to 
postpone the meeting, and get direot instructions 
from the shareholders as to what they wished 
to do. There were only a few shareholders pie- 
sent, but a large number of jiroxies, which if 
used could swamp the meeting in eiiher direc- 
tion. As for himself lie was quite prepared to 
agree with the shareholders that the agreement 
should not be accepted. 
Mr. Bois thought if there w.as any feeling 
that the matter sliould not be decided at once, 
it might be better to adjourn the meeting and 
reconsider the question. 
The Chairman explained that he wouhl not 
know what to do with a number of the i)roxies 
if it came to a vote. As far as he was con- 
cerned he would vote against accepting the ofler, 
but preferred not to have the onus of the proxies 
on his shareholders. 
Mr. W E MlTCHKLL enquired if the affreement 
was subject to revision or nould it have to 
stand if they accepted it as it was. He thought 
there were a lot of clauses that required to be 
looked into, one being how the value of the 
plumbago should be determined. 
The CHAIRMAN said the question was whether 
the shareholders were in favour of leasing their 
rights upon certain terms or whether they were 
not. He would not think of accepting the offer 
as it was. Those, ho.vever, were the best 
terms they could get, and they as Directors 
were bound to bring them before the meeting. 
Various things were discussed that the Directors 
did not approve of, but the Company 
making the offer insisted upon them. They 
might refuse the whole thing, but if they 
wished to lease it, they could authorise the 
Directors if they liked to enter into communica- 
tion with the lessees and lease their mining 
rights on that basis with any modifications they 
might think necessary, or else they could reject 
the whole thing. 
Mr. Aldeeson :— I think we otight to defer 
the whole thing, and put this ofi'er aside and 
■wait. There are sure to be some better offers 
iu future. 
The Chviuman remarked that he had in quite 
a private way been asked by a friend in 
London upon what terms the Vogan Company 
would lease their mining rights, but he did nob 
vvisU to raise people's hopes by stating that. 
Mr. Alui;i(SON said they ought Lo be atjie to 
raise tlieir own hopes and gel mucii |jeil«r terina 
for their rights. 
Mr. Buifi mentioned, althougli he did not 
wish to compare gold unties in any way with 
plumbago minus, that in .South Africa gold mine; 
and land were sold for a mere song, and after- 
wards turned out most valuable mineo, and he 
believed that might be tiie case with p'niuba^ii. 
Mrs. OheyeseUere was working a mine which her 
husband woiked fiom 2'j to 25 year" ago. 
Mr. Aldek-SON pointed out that the Kalutara 
district was full of plumbago, aud iiiiiieti were 
being opened up all over the place, and getting 
good returns from them. 
Mr. BoiS:— We siiould be very foolish if we 
give up our rights for the sake of lecovering a 
few thousand rupees. 
Mr. Al»kr.so.s' fully endorsed tliCBe remarks. 
Mr. IJOLS then proposed the following resolu- 
tion : — "That this meeting be adjourned for a 
period of six months, and that the Diiectors 
then lay before the shareholders any olfer tliey 
may have received iu the meantime for the leasing 
or working of plumbago." Mr. Bois added 
that that resolution was a practical rejection 
of the agreement, and was simply to bring the 
matter again before a general meeting for llieui 
to decide. 
Mr. Al.DKRSON : remarked that it was a very 
slow matter lo get tenders for a lease of that 
description. 
Mr. Boi.S ; It only moans that if we get anything 
at the end of six months we can bring it up again. 
Mr. Aldkrson : Why not have an indehnite 
pei iod ? 
Mr. Boi.S : Said the shareholders would like a 
ceitain time. He would rather postpone it 
for an indehnite time unless they received a good 
olfer. 
Mr. Alderson : There is no doubt there i« 
valuable |)roperty there. 
Mi: W. E. Mitchell : thought they were re- 
jecting that offer too hurriedly. It was not such 
a bad offer after ali. K25 per ton of the plum- 
bago taken out he did not think was so bad. 
The Chairman : Upon w hat basis are you tak- 
ing pluu)bago ? 
Mr. W. E. Mitchell : K2.50 per ton. 
Mr. Woodman : thought they ought to reckon 
on getting K300 per ton average as they were 
new well below the surface. He thought 
that a very good offer and a very fair 
return. Mo native would take over the mine 
because it was flooded, and if they refused the 
ofi'er they might be passing over what would not 
be repeated. He admitted there were one or 
two weak points in the agreement, but at the 
same time it w.as not at all bad, and they secured 
themselves for the money that had been expended. 
Mr. Alderson : This the first ofier made ? 
Mr. Woodman :— Yes. 
Mr. Alderson : -Then there is no hurry. 
Mr. Woodman :— They are trying to hurry us. 
Mr. W. E. Mitchell :— It is very good if we 
can get a modification of some of the terms ; if 
not, we ought to refuse the offer. 
Mr. Alderson :— I entirely disagree to the 
whole thing. 
Mr. Bois expressed the opinion that too much 
importancp was attached to the offer. The people 
to whom they gave the concession would probably 
do nothing at all. He thought they would get 
the concession and then put it up for sale in the 
London Market, and get a good price tor- what 
they obtained for a mere song. Then a company 
