NEW ZEALAND SHIPPING COMPANY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 48, 20 November 1907, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND SHIPPING COMPANY.

: ANNUAL MEETING. . (BT TELEGEAPH—PRESS ' ASSOCIATION.) * , Ghristchurch, November 19. ' The annual meeting'.of tho New Zealand Shipping. Company was,held to-day. The balance-sheet showed that the not profit ou the year's working, after deducting depreciation and all charges, had-been £42,143 4s. 7d, The balance brought, forward from the previous year was £15,751 • 12s. Bd., making tho total £55.894 17s. 3d. The directors proposed a dividend of 5 per cent.,- to absorb , £23,692. Of tho balance, £21,442, is to '•■ goto the interest account, leaving a balance to be carried forward of £10,760 155. , lOd'. The company's fleet is valued at £974>497 4s. 10d.; investments amounted to £83,941 6s. 2d.; company's land, building, and-plant to £44,369 14s. lid. Tho company's fleot consists of sixteen steamers of 104,383 tons;, the distanco 'covered during the 7ear was 710,183 miles, anu tho coal consumed 175,418 tons. The retiring djrectors and auditors were re-elected.

Mr. Geo. Stead said he had often thought it was questionable whether the public of the Dominion realised how much its prosperity was due to tho various steamship companies trading between the Dominion and Groat Britain. Ho saw figures the other day giving tho exports of the Dominion for the year up to September. 30 last, , and, roughly speaking, those exports amounted to £100 per head'of tlie adult male population of tho Dominion. Without an economical and fairly fast steam service it was obvious that so largo an export trade could not havo been doveloped from this country. Ho thought he was right in saying that there was no other State with an equal population, that.exceeded, or.ho might say equalled, tho exports per head of the population of New Zealand. ; He thought it was of interest to the shareholders to. realise th'at tho New Zealand Shipping Company initiated the first regular steam service to carry on trade between New Zealand and Great Britain, and they had boon proud of that fact, Ho had ahvays held that tho settlers of Now Zealand owed a debt of grntitiido to the New Zealand Snipping. Company for instituting .a service which' had , been of so groat advantage to tho country.