The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-31 00:00:00

EVENING,

IRISH PEAT COMPANY.
The first annual meeting of the above corporation
was held on Thursday, at the King's Head Tavern, .
Poultry.
Mr. MACGRFGOR, M.P., presided, and stated that
_
the directors had Wren the present opportunity of
meeting the shareholders to report to them the pro-
ceedings of the company as far as they had gone,
and to render such explanations as might be required t The business of the meeting would therefore be o
receive the directors' report
of the progress of the
its
operations, from its formation, the present state of
operations, its prospects for the future, and
the ba.
lance-sheet. The board had given their utmost at-
tention now for some time to the carrying out of the,d
undertaking, which he believed after they should
have heard the report, they would be satisfied was
one promising very great benefits,
not only to the
country in which the operations hed been commenced
but, if conducted with economy and prudence (and
so far as they, had been carritd, the economical prin-
ciple bad been strictly adhered to), be had the most
sanguine expectations, abased on the experiments
be
already made, with extraordinary profit to the pro'
prietore. The directors had been anxious nut
to
plunge into any very expensive opeith advantage to
rations until ex-
perience proved they could do so w
the shareholders. llitherto the waifs bad been car-
ried on, not on a large comm9v:al scale, but on a
limited and prudent scale, sufficient to
,justify the
conclusion to which the directors had conic in their
report, which would now be real
ex made up to
The SECRETALY (Mr. Ivi'Quige) then Teed the re-
port, which stated that the
periments
March last year, though they confirmed the state-
ments of Mr. Reece as to the amount and character
of the products obtained from the peat, the value of
which products was known in the market, yet being
made on a very limited scale in the private laborato-
ries of chemists, and not in closed vessels, left it to
be proved whether the same results could be obtained
from retorts of large dimensions—whether the peat-
tar could be separated from the gases, and whether the
gases would become pure so as not only to save the
consumption of extra fuel, but also to produce char-
coal. Charcoal was an article in great demand, and
though in the calculation of profits in the prospectus
no account had been taien it, the directors bad
never lost bight of it as a valuable product. The ex-
periments since made at Newton tromlin, in Antrim,
and also at Bow, near London, on a large scale, had
been so successful that several gentlemen united to
form a company with the view, in the first instance, of
employing only a portion of the capital to
be raised in carrying out operations in this coun-
try and in Ireland—Mr. Reece having patents
for both kingdoms—and to enlarge the works
at a future period. The promoters, however,
thought it prudent, in the first instance, to confine
their operations to Ireland, the Government being
averse to granting a charter for England, and land
and labour being much cheaper in the sister country.
The capital had been fixed at 120,0001., with power
to increase it to 300,0001. At first the experiments
were directed to testing the applicability of the hot
blasts to the furnaces, and the operation of the gases,
and upon the calculation made for that purpose the
directors had announced in the prospectus that the
works might be brought into operation by calls of
41. a share. The site chosen for carrying out their
operations was situated on the north of the bog of
Allan, four miles from the town of Atby, end near
the Carlow branch of the Great Southern and Western
Railway (which bad met the company in a most
liberal spirit, and had constructed a siding to the
works at their own expense), and comprised 500 acres
of bog, which had been obtained on advantageous
terms on a lease for 100 years, power being re-
served to the company to terminate it on a year's
notice. There bad been some delay in bringing the
works into operation, and it was not until January
last that the fires in the retorts were fairly lit,
but within the last few months all the difficulties
which had presented themselves in the manufactur-
ing process (and they were numerous) bad yielded
to the scientific principles employed. The directors
had recently engaged Mr. Scanlan, the chemist, of
London, who had gone to Kilbury in June last to su-
perintend the works, and specimens of the paraffine
and the oils produced from the peat had been for-
warded by him. (These specimens were exhibited to
the meeting.) The paraffine, Mr. Scanlan reported,
might be produced in immense quantities, and, ac-
cording to the statement of experienced brokers, was
available for the manufacture of candles at ls. a lb—
at which rate an offer had been made by a party to
take all that was manufactured for three years. The
volatile oil, and the fixed oil, would produce, it was
calculated by the same brokers, from 2s. to 2s. Gd. a
gallon—the light oils being valuable for varnishes and
the heavy oils for lubricating machinery, and the
charcoal, which was the residium, and of which no
account had been tsken in the original calculation,
though the directors had never lost sight of its value,
would produce at least 40s. a ton, end two thou-
sand tons might be sold annually annually at 50s. a
ton. So far as the works had been carried out, the
most successful results were reported ; but such an
enlargement as would make them profitable to
the shareholders would require a further call
of 2/. a share—which the directors recommended.
The balance-sheet to the 30th of June, which was
next read, stated the total expenditure, including pre-
liminary expenses, works, machinery, wages, and
in-
cidentals, and a balance in band of 833/. 1.5,11 • at
'
12,008/. 13s. Bd. The receipts, 12,000/. from calls
and 8/. 13'. Bd. from sale of samples, Seen making' a
total of 12,008/. 133. Bd. The assets were stated at
1
7,7431. 17s. 11d., including
el7ool. arrears of calls;
and the total liabilities of the company at 1,500/. 6s.
id., besides whatever allowances might be made to
the directors.

Mr. GIBBS moved the adoption of the report, and
that it be printed and circulated.
Mr. W. BENNETT seconded the motion.
Mr. WADE thought the accounts should have been
.
sent to the shareholders before the meeting, as was
impossible to understand such a mess of figures from
merely hearing them read out. He also suggested
that, in future, the report should be circulated before
•
hand.

Another SHAREHOLDER wished to know svby the
arrears of calls were included in the assets ? 4 ITA also
should like to hear from the
chairman some
state-
ment as to the value of the shares in the market.
The CHAIRMAN said the report could not haYeti been
re.
e
prepared beforehand, as there had not been
for
there-
This was the first meeting, and it was one
rather f
explanation . than anything else ; the course, n
no
fore, was adopted which was, he believed, usual
when in
the
companies under similar circumstances. all
report was passed, it would be circulated among
the shareholders, and in future he should be vernY gladt
thrown olli•
to adopt the suggestions which had been °I.-is, from
He might add that the whole of the accounts,
the first, would have to ba audited. Will iin the
were appointed, the whole would be included shares
next report. With regard to the price of t"
directors and
in the market, the truth was that the as an
their friends held the greater part of the sharesto Ph a
investment. They bad never attempted their own
share in the market, but had kept them in of-
hands, and had always bought when oPP3rt concern
fered, their object being to prove that the
was bona fide and might be brought to
account.
you to pay for
A SHAREHOLDER—What rent are
the land ?
100 years
for
The CHAIRMAN—We have taken it
situation
the
certain at ss. an acre, and consideringn,
rrew, which
abutting on a railway, on the river Da
cost which
was navigable to Waterford, and on gi the
was navigable to Dublin, the directors considered°wned bog
terms advantageous. They might havealities, but it
at a less rental in less favourable localities,
would have been found dearer in the_rian to sanc-
Mr. HEWITT—Are we to be-called ser if we are CI
lion the call of 2/. a share now—hecau a profitable
shall move an amendment ?
will certainly be
The CHAIRMAN—The proprietorte
called upon to sanction the call, t profitably to
whether the works shall be conducted
directors might,
the shareholders or not. But
the directors
own responsi-
under the charter, make calls on
called for until it
bility. The mone would not b°
he divided into two
was wanted, and the call would
would be called at
parts—that was, only 11. per share question being
a time.
Md the statement
r. G as a er,
of the chaiREENE, rman, that thelawy director
satecould make a call
independent of the shareholders. No call could be
, of the
made without the consent of three-fourths
disP
shareholders. , had endeavoured to
obtain 100 shares for a
Mr. OWEN, a director, saiddne
find none in the market. further explanation
Mr. HEWITT thought sow .a
1 which the calls
, but his broker could
should be given as to the manner
expended,
and moved an
already made had been A adoption of the report,
the a-°,
amendment postponing
which
considering that no further
Mr. WADE seconded,
d until a detail: d report
outlay ought to be sanctioned
was received from Mr. sea) Jail
explained that the report
Alr. CeArtEE (a directorvr.
li. Scanlan's communica-
tions was firmed o.la
regard to the amounts re-
ceived tions to the board.
`With
hobserved that 1,000 of the
ceived and expended be
to the patentee, and on these
of course the ca
shares had been given
lls had .
not
been received, and the
whole number of shares taken up besides was only
3,425, on some of ww;slehsarrears of calls were due.
The call now roposed was n
the works ; butp should it be necessary to carry o
refused, and the com-
pally wash their hands of the concern, so satisfied
were the directors of its value that it never would be
allowed to die.
wen entered into details from
Me. Wood and Mr. - O
that by increasing
show
canhin to
the reports of Mr. S
the works and erecting six more retorts (there being
now only two), forty tons of peat would be mum.