You will remember I. mentioned at the last, annual meeting of the company" that, owing tovour not developing these conces: were foreed to. allow work on our ares ed you that the certain number of gonslderable size. As matter of diamond of 12 carats has been act "ince, our last "meeting found by native digge There have been further developments which may be considered of rear importance to the company.
uring the latter part of last year we noeeived a letter from the om: Bie" "Renident, of Dutch East Pans's agent Informing us.
Borneo had advised him that. this temporary. arrangement of -allowing natives to work under licence Was unsatisfactory, and that it was his intention to" recommend. the Governor-General of the Nethe! Tands East Indies to cancel our! concession rights if we did. not start development work within a reasonable period. "Your directors considered that someone in authority should immediately. proceed to Borneo to discuss. the matter with" the Resident. I personally Went. to Borneo and. interviewed HE, Baron van Suchtelen, the resident at Bandjermasin. He stated that owing to the apparent success of, the natives. working on our area there had been many fur-Sher applications for licences. conclusion. he intimated to me that was anxious for us. 40, either start work or definitely to. re-Tinguish our rights.
Te must have occurred to some of you gentlemen to ask. why. these Concessions were not," developed previous to this, T must, therefore, fake you back a few years and yo may "recollect that at the annns meeting of the Company in March, 1023, you were informed that. the directors had abandoned all further work at Martapoera as. according to their views the results did. not Justify further expenditure. Tt" aiffcult, gentlemen, to trace definitely' why the. directors. at. that time came to this. conclusion without. further examination, except! that their decision may, Rave" been aged ona report by Mr. Foran, Who did some work under the late Mr. Gilmour Brown, to which 1 will yeter later.
As we were not satisfied with the meagre information we had with Yegard to what prospecting work had been done, T applied to the overnment department for any records, documents or maps which might be in their possession, for it must be borne in mind that all the old members of the board and the staff, including our agent Borneo, and the engineers of the have either died or left joe, Nevertheless Twas in obtaining from the government mining department reports and other data covering, in my opinion, all tke work done by various engineers and other dividuals, not only our own, ployees, " but, also a geologist employed in the government service at that time,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.