113

C.—3

Following is a list showing dividends paid during the year, and also since the formation of the respective companies which are still in active operation :—

[Note.—ln addition to £2,500 paid by the Paotolus Company, profits have been applied to the purchase of an extra dredge which c -st about £9,500.] Taking the working-cost for thirty-four dredges to be as given above, the cost is not widely different from that incurred by thirty-one dredges which worked during 1902. The comparative figures are interesting, and I append them.

It will be noted that with three extra dredges working in 1903 as compared with 1902, the total yield last year was £15,195 in excess of 1902, whilst the amount set down for working-cost, &c, shows an advance of £974. Dividends paid to shareholders were £10,019 in excess of the previous year. Out of the thirty-one dredges engaged in 1902, nine ceased operations during the year, and the companies owning them went into liquidation, whereas last year the failures were six out of thirtyfour dredges. The fleet in this district will, however, be added to during the coming year to compensate for these failures, as several new dredges are in course of construction, and probably some of those which have proven unpayable will be removed to other claims, and will recommence under new ownership. I anticipate that during 1904 the number of dredges employed in this district will be quite equal to the number engaged formerly, and guided by the working-results of the past two years, it is manifest that about £80,000 in gold must be won by the collective fleet before any profit can be expected for shareholders in globo. Necessarily, some of the dredges will work for long periods, and some will only be usefully engaged during short periods of the year, as shown by the working-hours set out in the appended list. But taking good and bad results together, £80,000 is roughly the working-cost for from thirty to thirty-five machines, and the average cost on this basis is about £2,500 per dredge per annum. There is a substantial difference in the actual working-cost of several of the dredges which have worked throughout the past year, due no doubt to local conditions, and the strength of the respective machines ; but it may be fairly assumed that a dredge which incurs only reasonable stoppage for repairs, &c, and can work effectively throughout the remainder of the year under normal conditions, will incur an outlay of from £3,500 to £4,000 per annum in covering working-cost and a full maintenance of the plant. The two dredges which have given the best results to their owners during the past year, —viz., Nelson Creek and No Town Creek, incurred £4,968 7s. 3d. and £4,084 11s. 6d. respectively in carrying on operations, and it may be assumed from this guidance, as both of these dredges are working under capable management and under reasonable average conditions, that the best results can only be attained by incurring extra cost in renewing parts of the machinery before they break and thus avoid protracted stoppages in tinkering with old parts. The weak financial condition of many of the companies has prevented them from following this policy of renewing rather than repairing portions of machinery which have become badly worn, and the consequence is that frequent and protracted delay is incurred in patching up worn-out parts which ought to be renewed. It is fairly manifest that where a company is in a position to provide against stoppages by having duplicate parts on hand to replace inefficient parts, profitable work can be followed with only short interruption, and I deduce from my inquiry on this matter that it pays to make scrap-iron of parts of a dredge which have worn badly much better

15—C. 3.

Name of Company. » T . Vaiue No. of , , *»""■ °Sh e a a r°e h Dividends, 1903. Total Dividends. Dividends per Share, 1903. Total Dividends per Share. A 1 Gold-dredging Company Blaokwater River Buller Junction Callaghan's Creek Jamieson's Reward Mokoia (ordinary) Mokoia (preferred) Mosquito Nelson Creek North Beach No Town Creek Pactolus (two dredges) .. Premier (Buller) (ordinary) Premier (Buller) (preferred) Reeves's Proprietary .. 8,500 9,475 12,500 12,500 9,990 6,500 2,500 10,000 8,500 8,325 12,000 12,500 8,085 2,500 12,200 £ s. 1 0 1 0 0 15 0 15 1 0 1 0) 1 ot 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 15 1 0 1 0 1 0 £ s. d. 850 0 0 1,421 5 0 1,875 0 0 937 10 0 499 10 0 £ d. 2,125 . 0 1,421 5 0 3,437 10 0 1,250 0 0 499 10 0 s. d. 2 0 3 0 3 0 1 6 1 0 |4 0 15 0 3 0 14 6 6 0 11 0 4 0 £ s. d. 0 5 0 0 3 0 0 5 6 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 5 0 0 3 0 1 17 6 0 7 0 0 15 0 0 4 0 1,925 0 0 1,925 0 0 1,500 0 0 6,152 10 0 2,497 10 0 6,600 0 0 2,500 0 0 1,500 0 0 15,937 10 0 2,913 15 0 9,000 0 0 2,500 0 0 Nii. Nil. 250 0 0 610 0 0 Nil. Nil. 0 2 0 0 1 0

Year. Number of Dredges. Gold. Approximate Value. Approximate VVoi kingcost. Average Cost per Dredge. Dividends paid. 1902 .. 1903 .. 31 34 Oz. 23,579 27,426 £ 93,137 108,332 £ 80,600 81,574 £ 2,600 2,399 £ s. d. 16,739 5 0 26,758 5 0 J