The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-15 00:00:00

ANGLO-CALIFORNIAN GOLD MINING
COMPANY.
The first general meeting of this company was
held at the Freemasons Tavern, Great Queen-street,
3 esterday, for the purpose of receiving a report from
the directors, relative to the affairs of the. company ;
to consider whether any and what legal steps should
be taken against the late secretary of the company,
Mr. Luke Williams, against whom great irregulari-
ties in the transaction of the business of the company
was alleged ; to indemnify the directors for any acts
performed prior to the registry of the company, in
promotion of its interests ; to determine up m the
past and future management of the company, and to
consider what number of shares ehoull be allotted
free to Sir Henry Huntley, the company's manager
in California.
The CUAIRaIAN having briefly described the objects
of the meeting, and the manner in which it was pro-
posed to take the votes of the proprietors, should any
division of opinion arise, stated that it could not be
denied that they had had
great difficulties to contend
with, but happily
and he doubted not that, if the shareholders stood by
the directors, as he they had now surmounted them,
was glad to say they had hitherto
done, that they would take and hold a very high po-
sition in the commercial world. He would now lay
before them the report of the directors. (The speaker
here proceeded to read the report, which was of great
length, and we therefore lay before our readers only
such portions as appear to possess any intrinsic inter-
est.) It says :
"Besides the ordinary difficulties of getting the ma-
chinery of a joint-stock compaserke_vensisting of a large
body of ,ehareholders, itttosgeadthing Orden we have
additional obstacles arising from
rho
ed
conductthow
r nin e
of
mu r way
r.L uk e
Williams. No inconsiderable
portion of these difficulties arises from the fact of his
having abducted the most important of the books and
papers in use during provisional registration. The loss
of those documents will account for any deficiency of
detail in the report. We have exorcised the strictest
economy in the management of your affairs, and are
confident that no company
was ever established and
brought to the position in which ours now is with such
a small outlay. The zeal, intelligence, and judgment
displayed by tiir Henry Huntley in the trying positions
in which he has found himself cannot be too highly
praised, and the most perfect reliance may be placed on
him. As the prosperity of the company is in so great
a degree to be attributed to the exertions of Sir
Henry Huntley, we have come to the unanimous de-
termination of recommending the shareholders to
make such an essential demonstration of their ap-
proval of his conduct as they Consider the circumstances
of his case will justify. In connexion with this re-
commendation,
we may observe that the fixed Beery of
Sir H. Huntley amounts only to 5001. a year, a sum
manifestly inadequate for his services. It is most de-
sirable to adopt some plan which will permanently iden-
tify the interest of your resident director. in California
with that of the company. Your assistant-superin-
tendents have been selected with due regard to their
positions in society, characters, and intelligence. Events
have satisfied us that the system adopted by Sir Henry
Huntley of crushing quartz supplied him by other per-
sons, is at the present the most desirable course, and he
anticipates no difficulty in obtaining a plentiful supply.
Until experience shall have developed the resources of
Wining operations in California, and an act of Congress
shall slave confirmed the titles of individuals, we consider
it inexpedient to incur the heavy expense of
purchasing
the lease of a mine, er to pay a large royalty for the pri-
vilege of working a particular vein. With reference to
operations in California, wo have to report that in the
middle of November we had a stoam.engine and crush-
ing-mills there, which wore then on th route to the
mines, and Sir Henry Huntley says in his last dispatch,
At last lam enabled to begin work in earnest, and I
hope to have the engine in full work by the end of this
month.' We may, therefore, fairly assume that at the
present moment we have the product of five or six weeks'
workings either on the road home, or in the hands of our
agents iu California. In addition to the engine and
machinery thus actually at work, we have another en-
gine, with crushing-mills and gear complete, which, if
the voyage was successful, has long ere this reached San
Francisco. Our steam power will thus be capable of
working the crushing-mills, so as to reduce between
thirty and forty tons of rock per diem, and arrangements
are making for additional machinery to be sent out, so
that 150 tons of quartz may be pulverised a day. The
question of obtaining a sufficient supply of reasonably
good quartz is one which has received our anxious
consideration. Our present plan, as you aro already
aware, is not to carry on any mining operations of
our own, but to crush the 'quartz supplied us by
others, sharing the profits. Sir H. Huntley, in his
dispatch of the Bth of November last, gives us his
reasons for following that course, he says—' My reason
for adopting the system of crushing for others, was the
insecurity of property at that time, and even now it
will he prudent to wait and see what may de done by
the American Government with reference to the quartz
mines in California before paying for a mine.' So long
as we merely require some thirty or forty tons of quartz
a day, the system of crushing for others is the most
certain end the least expensive. With our increased
power of machinery it will, nevertheless, be desirable, it
not absolutely essential, that we should secure an ade-
(pate supply of quartz by having a mine of our own.
the best location for our purpose. When
this Sir Henry Huntley has anticipated, and has al-
ready turned his attention to the selecting and securing
Huntley Sir Henry
was in California the first time, the Mariposa
district was the only ono then ascertained to abound in
veins of quartz. The Ague Fria river is situated in this
district, and the mine formerly mentioned by Sir Henry
Huntley as the Ague Fria Mine was upon this river, but
was not the mine selected by the Ague Fria Company as
the site of its operations. In the interval between Sir
H. Huntley's leaving California the first, and arriving
there the second time, other districts bad been disco-
vered to possess veins of quartz even richer than those
of the Mariposa district, and Sir Henry Huntley
hg
employed himself', pending the arrival of the ma-
chinery, in ascertaining the most eligible location upon
which to commence his operations. He
selected Grass
Valley and the adjacent neighbourhood as possessing
many advantages over the Mariposa. The veins are as
rich, if not richer, than on the Mariposa, and the mines
are more a accessible---
very great consideration in a
country where the expenses of transit are enormous.
Sir Henry Huntley has secured a vein at ' Dry Creek,'
on the Yuba River. It is situate about twelve miles
from Marysville and two miles from Parkstear. He
describes the quartz in it as being of a very good quality,
and the road to it excellent. The time for laying before
you a detailed statement of the accounts has not yet
arrived; but it may be stated that the solicitor's bills, all
expenses of printing and advertising, the rent of offices,
salaties—in short, every charge necessarily incurred in
establishing the company, have been discharged. In
fact,sac company has neither debt or liability, beyond
such liabilities as aro accruing from day to day; and by
a report of the finance committee lately presented to
the board, it appears that after deducting from
the assets of the company the estimated amount of
all ordinary outgoings in respect of the manage-
ment of our affairs both here and in California up to the
24th of June next, there will then remain a balance in
ll Purposes. We must add a word
amount of our capital. In a pro-
which we issued some weeks back, we named
20,0001. as the probable amount of our paid-up capital.
mtirauceh
We are desirous that it should now be understood that
our paid-up capital will much exceed that sum, We
came to the conclusion as to the 20,0001. upon the sup-
position that all those persons who 'were then en-
titledWeeni, company had
however, found that the
shwpaietnehdt ussufli referenceci
e n t ftoor
the
a
wad
se
limiteda l refaodry
thatexecuted
pur-
e
larger than we anti-
cipated. Besides which, upon further deliberation, we
were of opinion that it would be prudent to extend' our
number
lauemdbeeerdo of
capital by the sale of about 4,000 more shares, which
we accomplished upon termsh very
o o Ist: ing sharesex p iirne d. the
favourable to the
many of those s area havin_
g been disposed
a schoanreshtiotuldteiorns,
of company, considerable premium, the benefit of which the
company has obtained. Our company must therefore
be taken at 35,000/, There are two remainine
g AMA; to
which we can draw your attention with much satisfac-
tion. The first, though apparently hostile, is, in fact,
the strongest intimation of our growing prosperity. We
refer to the anxious wish expressed, and the combina-
tion entered upon to secure the admission amongst our
shareholders of parties who before stood aloof and de•
cliued to participate iu our responsibilities. The second
fact is equally cheering—the present price of your
shares in the market."
Mr. DOCKETT moved, and Mr. BARDWELL se-
conded the adoption of the report.
In answer to questions from Mr. BARKER,
The Ch AIRMAN stated that the amount of the capital
must now be taken at 35,000/. When it was stated
at 20,0001., it was supposed that all who had a right
to sign the deed had done 80. Of course, those
parties who had not complied with the terms of the
Act of Parliament could not be considered as share-
holders.
Mr. BARKER had heard that two of the directors
had taken 5000 shares each. He thought that gave
them an undue preponderance over the other share-
holders, and that the original shareholders ought not
to be placed in a worse position than the new share-
holders, in consequence of the increase of capital—the
more especially as those shareholders had not taken
their shares for the profit of _a or per cent, but had
taken them for investment. He wished to know how
many -of the original shareholders had been prevented
from signing the deed ?
Mr. DAWSON considered the question put by the
Hon. Proprietor very natural and proper. When the
directors put down their names for 5,000 shares, the
undertaking was in great difficulties, and they could
not have effected the registration of the company
without they had done so. The directors had no wish
to act harshly with the original shareholders and
wherever it could be shown that they had forfeited
their shares through ignorance or want of attention to
what was going on, they would do everything in their

THE LOSS OF TILE AMAZON.
SOUTHAMPTON, IVEnstEspa.v.—Miss Smith, whose
miraculous escape is so graphically described in her
narrative inserted in to-day's Sun, still remains at the
e
residence of Mr. Collings, in the High-street, and is,
as may be supposed, somewhat indisposed after her
perilous adventures ; independently of this, the
Grandh
undergone.
tempestuous weather, which added considerably to
in her passage from Havre, experienced
n the survivors of the wreck had pre-
viously gone. Numerous calls have been made
utpeone
x lurk
hberanbsio
ydte ,
ra
great many of the leading gentry of
the town and neighbourhood, and it is pleasing to
say that, although some might have been made merely
to gratify a selfish curiosity, several ladies kindly
offered an asylum to the unfortunate young lady us
long as she thought proper to remain. Miss Smith
expressed herself extremely grateful to all, but
politely declined, preferring to remain with Mr. and
Mrs. Collings, who had in the first instance so
generously stepped forward and offered her a home.
It is understood that the directors of the Royal
Mail Company will institute another investigation at
their offices in Winkle-street, on Friday next. It will
be open to the members of the press, and indeed to
any person interested, as the directors are solely in-
fluenced by the desire to sift the unfortunate disaster
to the bottom, and at the same time, by so doing, to
afford the fullest information to those who have so
suddenly lost their relatives or friends.
The Mayor continues to receive letters in reference
to this distressing affair from all quarters, most of
them containing something substantial in the shape of
money towards the relief of the sufferers by the
calamity.

The committee appointed on Monday to receive
subscriptions and appropriate them to the necessities
of the recipients met to-day in the Audit House, and
it is pleasing to add that a goodly list of ►additional
sums was banded in, amongst which was the name of
the Duchess of Gloucester for 201., and several others
for a similar amount.

, Amongst the business transacted was the appoint-
mont of a sub-committee, who were vested with
power to relieve those whose immediate necessities
require it; collectors to canvass the whole town for
subscriptions; a resolution passed to address the vari-
ous mayors in the kingdom, inviting their co-opera-
tion in this work of charity; together with a request
to the clergy and ministers of all denominations to
preach sermons on behalf of the fund in their respec-
tive places of public worship.
The claims upon the fund will be very great.
There are upwards of twenty poor women bereft of
their husbands in Southampton alone, one of them
with a small helpless family of nine children, who
were wholly dependent upon their father for support.
Indeed, from personal inquiries I have made, it is
truly distressing to witness the vast amount of misery
and destitution caused by this dreadful calamity.
The labours of the committee will be necessarily
immense from the number of claims they will have to
investigate, independently of other matters; but, in
order to lighten them as much as possible, clergymen
of parishes where any of the sufferers may have re-
sided would much oblige by forwarding any particu-
lars respecting them.
PLYMOUTH, JAN. 14.—We have the gratification
of stating that the Port-Admiral here has at last
dispatched a steamer with orders to proceed in the
direction of the wreck of the Amazon, and to the
neighbouring ports, with a view of obtaining any
additional information possible respecting this terrible
rceastcaustirnogphaen,yanodf
thoseinthe
gallantnowall
men
nt
whhopoelsetsusehhotpoe
the
ship to the last, if any of them should have managed
may
it ever be, fatal
with-
to escape from the burning wreck by the mode hinted
l
saut inrri
ve. 1 1
.11r.Gle ienniiiee'esatosscommunication,iled this morning,*and haply before still
survive.
dawn. There is but ono feeling here as to the con-
duct of the Port-Admiral in not acting on his own
discretion, by sending out a steamer long before now,
delay.end
thereby
Surely preythe'e
Admiraltyn ti ng th iscoraune
cannot
oatnd panst

out notice.
The following paragraphs. from
.a contemporary,
although written in a style far too flippant to suit the
gravity of such a dreadful event, contain, neverthe-
less, some facts of inters 4

"Among the unrecorded escapes from the fiery Ama-
zon was that of a peer of the realm, the Earl 01 Shellield.
p
This nobleman, who is, or . to be, the ossosser of
large estates in Barbadoes, in right of his wife, daughter
of Earl Harewood, one of the ladies of the bedchamber
to the late Queen Adelaide, had made personal applica-
tion for passage in the usual svay; but hearing that the
voyage was to I)? commenced on Friday, the presage of
ill, associated with that ominous day by so many emi-
nent minds, alike of sceptic and devotee, seized upon
hitn, and with abiding tenacity, too; else would
the jovial aspect and hilarious voice of Captain
Chappell, the company's secretary, assuredly have
put to flight all tho • phttutssmagorio mother