THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 533, 19 June 1909, Page 3

THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

A SUCCESSFUL YEAR-

THE CHAIRMAN ON THE OUTLOOK.

SICNS OF RECOVERY. ECONOMY STILL REQUIRED. The proceedings of the annual meeting of the Bank of New Zealand were marked by a more cheerful tone than was in evidence When the directors met the shareholders on the last previous occasion. He change was manifest in the chairman's address, which, while' insisting on the continued need for economy, dwelt on the incipient improvement in financial and commercial conditions. The shareholders, on their part, appeared to.be distinctly. pleased , with the decision of the board to pay a' bonus of 2J per cent, on the ordinary shares, making 12};. per oent. for the year. •

The directors present were: Messrs. Harold Beauchamp (chairman),. W. H. Quick, Martin W. Watson,, and W. Milne. Messrs.' W. Callender (general manager), B. M. Litchfield (chief auditor), and 2! shareholders were also in attendance. CHAIRMAN'S SPEECH. The chairman expressed pleasure in moving the adoption of such a- satisfactory report and- balance-sheet, as had been submitted./ He proceeded: "There is. no al- | teration in the capital of the bank, .which still stands at £2,000,000. In my speech last December I indicated the . probability of the. question of increasing the bank's capital being considered. . Lately, the matter has engaged the attention of tho board, but so- far no definite scheme has been 1 formulated with : a .view of carrying this into effect. : The reserve fund was increased last year by £200,000, bringing it up to £450,000. To ■ further augment' it, - the directors propose to transfer from the profits at March 31 last the jum of £200,000, which will increase the fund to £650,000. With the balr ance /proposed to be 1 carried forward, after paymept' of dividend, the reserve fund and undivided profits will nmonnt to £710,998. Notes'- in circulation" stand at £930,852, an increase of £18,225 on' last year's figures, whioh'may be regarded as satisfactory. Dey posits'have; on the whole, been.'welj main- ': The" atrefegate. i figures show a"decrease of £224,180,-as compared.'with Mnrch, l?oß^ai v modern'te. movement.in'view ■ of f the conditions/which' have :prevailed '"during. thp.j past year,. when]-it is considered- t/iat the! ■figures, under'this heading ' amount to over £12,500,000., Bills ; payable, and other' Ik-1 bilities, .show: a decrease 0f.£347 256,' mainly' due to fluctuations in Govornment r op«ra-I tIOPS. ■" I

.. . The Assets Slda.. • • Turning/to' the assets , side, the chairman 'said: J- As 'compared .>yith March, 1908, ' our £.'2, /55,037. Bullion . chows an increaise of ;:and .. thV 'item . * : 'nbTv stands at £2.7'6,037. >'Bullion shows an increase of 'andi money,, at . short call,' Government and other, securities iri I .London are together Jdss by £42,198 thiiiiat 1908, and now stand at' £11863,034. 'These Jignres show th»*' a strong- position is being maintained. Bills receivable, in London and m transit, 7 stand at £2j171,702, an morease of £327,222.' This increase ,haa no special significance,' being mauily -.caused, by the incidence of produce .drafts. . Investments . m the < colonies ' are l greator;,by £16,492, and'now-' stand at £1,139,787 'Advances. . "Bills disoountod are.loss by £238,992, and other advances by £659,712, than an March, 1908. - The' condition oti the money market -has .-necessitated.- a orations ■ policy being, jgaintained •in regard 'to. advances. In strengthening the bank's the: most careful and anxious .'consideration-has been given ito : ; the actual requirements, of; customers, ..which •I, think we can'claim to have met in a fair-spirit-

Assets Realisation Board Assets. , -"The. position of. these asseteas at' March, 31, 1908, and 1909, is shown in the accom.panyrng table;—' At 31/l/'OB. At 31/3/'O9 .Balances owing by pur- ' . chasers ■ • £378,040 • £336;931 Other . assets unrea- V ' ■ lisod ... / ; .93,195 66,778 £471,235 £403^09 Since March. 31, 1909,/ salw aggregatihg £10,467 have been made. Yon will thua see ttiat assats are being steadily reduoed; and' the deorease may be regarded as' highly Batisfaotoiy. in view of. the i lesser demand for properties; for. some time past.. We will lose no reasonable opportunity of disposing of . the balance, of the properties, ( .Landed Property and Premises. ■"The. directors have this year, allocated the sum-of £15,000; in reduction of bank .premises and furniture, and rfter this appro'a.nded property and premises stand at £346,604—an increase of £24,751 oh 1908 figures.. To keep pace with the.' growing requirements of the bank's business in tlio Dominion, new premises -hare had to lie erected at several-points, whilebstensive alterations and ■ enlargements ' had become at.- a number of otir

' Dlvjdends. . j "The net profit for the year, after making all necessary appropriations, including provision for the bank s annual'grant to the provident fund and for-a bonus to the staff, aad after .allocating tho sum of-; £15,000 in reduction of bank premises and furniture £31 \ 150 - as compared £th £309,922 last year..-.To this has to be , brou g ht forward from last year,; £04,0J8, making , a total bf - £367,245. Ihe-interim dividend,'paid, in December last, of ,0 per cent.'on preference • and ordinarv shares,- absorbed leaving .£317,248 to be dealt witll. : ' " . leaul, S :. .'_The directors now propose.to pay afurther dividend, of 5 per cent., ■ and' a bonus of 2t pot- cent.- on. ordinary shares (making li'V year),; and; a farther' 3? 'per cent. .on.preference shares'.(making 'Bj' Sex' cent, for ,tho vear) ,Tho .total-amount dls-i tnbuted to : shareholders for' tlio 1 year' will therefore amount to £106,250; Of the balance remaining,-it;- is- proposed "to" transfer, - as' alrndy. mentioned, £200,000 to . the reserve fund, andto . carry forward £60,808. Shareholders will, sure, agree with me that the result of the year s operations must be regarded as highly satisfactory." .'V.;.';'

' Financial Stringency and Its Causes. • [Turning, to the general. oominercial and financial conditions, Mr. Beaucliaiiip said it would bo: idle to deny that . a ■- monetary stringency was being felt in New Zealand. Tho sudden fall in the values of our primary products, however, was not wholly .responsible for this. Other causes would be found in, the inordinate prices paid for land, and general extravagance amongst all sections ,of the'community. In his address to fclio share--holders' of the bank on Jano 16,' 1905, be had warned tlio farmers, that- their great prosperity, was prompting the'm'to pay excessive prides for land. "\\ hat we want in New Zealand to-day." 'continued Mr. 'Be'auch'amp, ■ more than cheap money is oheap land. Had land values been' maintained at their normal and reasonable level, we should hot now bo troubled with a monetafy. tightness, or with the distress arising: from unemployment; Until; land iss .bought and sold ; on the •basis of its productive value in normal times, we carmoiltpotoseo that equilibrium necessary .to 'maintain commercial stability,. The' fanning industry in the Norfch.lsland would be, greatly; stimulated if large areas of N&-; tive hvrids, now in a.state of Nature, oould be • offered for settlement, upon attractive •terms." ; Tho bankruptcy rot urns indicated that the depression, though sharp, would not prove to have'been so acute or lengthv as on former , occasions. The financial stringency 'was'not quite so . pronounood at tho moment as'it was-a few.months ago,'and this was. in* a measure, diio'toJ<hd fact that. locaKbodies had to a large extent''refrained horn borrow-

mg within Australasia. Sinco June, 1908, New Zealand local bodice liad raised ill London a total of £1,410,600, and the Bank of New Zealand had taken an active part in placing most of t&cse loans, its proportion being rather more than 86 per oont. The Bank Rate. "The London money market has been exceptionally easy dunng the past twelve months. Hie bank rate waa reduced from 3 per coat, to 2} per oent. on May 29, 1908 j but on January 14 this' year the 3 per cent, rate was reimposed, owing to the serious efflux of gold from the central institution. The metal was being taken by the. Bank of France, in. preparation for the then pending Russian loan. Tlie 3 per oent. rat© ( was maintained until April 1, by which time the metal reserve of the Bank of England was restored to its proper level, and the bank rate is now 2} per oent. Money ,is to-day very cheap in London, and, as the outcome of this, there is a great rush of borrowers. For short loans the rate is abnormally low; but for long periods capitalists seem disinclined to lend, except at comparatively high rates, say from 4 to 5 por cont., acoording to the attractiveness ;or otherwise of tlie security offered." World's Ttade Shrinkage. The trade of the world for tho past year Had been very unsatisfactory, practically every country exhibiting a slhriniage. A part of the decrease was, no doubt, due to lower prices of commodities; but the rest looted consumption was 1 answerable for a great deal more. . In the post two yoars tte of Zealand had aggregated £34,881,155, while the imports had totalled £35,030,781. These figures showed that the exports hod been insufficient to pay for the unports. .-It was, therefore, easy to tinderstand the financial stringency, the tinemployxnont, and-the necessity for the Goveram enV s comprehensive scheme of retreochmeait. ''

The Rise in Wool. The wool markot exhibited a verysatistoryunproyement, and itwaachooring to note that the improvement was. due almost entirely to increased consumption, speculation playing a-very small part. StHl, wool-grow-ere had to thank American and Continental operators for the higher range of values that prevailed.. In the last' year, the deliveries to-.the Continent had increased by 101,000 bales, and to America, 51,000 bales; while ,the increased, takings by the Home : trade amount to ; only 20,000 bales. The Yorkshire woolbnyers were, no doubt, operating, with caption, and it was'a fair assumption that when they: commenced to bny more freely values would go higher. The . outlook for wool appeared to.be exceptionally good. • Dairy Produce. ; Dairymen .had just concluded a. satisfactory season, the, exports of both, butter, and oheese showing. increases. The total'valuo of but- '+ ex f x>rted year amounted ' as ? 01n pared with £2;130,711, which was exceedingly gratifying. It . 1 was, however, to ho feared that many had ovef- ; rated the projects, and been . indnccd to' pay extreme prices.for- dairy .land.; It .was ; anticipated, by oxperts that dairy produce, • with increasing production, must sooner or .later experience a.dropWn values serious enough to be severely felt; and the higliprioed holdings would ,bp a souroe of trouble. Utncr countries are taking up'the business, aim increased competition must naturally be oxpcctod in the near-future.

Frozen Meat. 1 The frozen meat ; trade' has: unfortunately, been! very'much depressed "during -the paat ?«>:.;<»• ;' ; and the condition of on? 'i nst J i n ow;; is most disoouraging, _depre^Km:in! Great Bntainiifi partly i responsible i for., the'shrinkage in 1 val?i M ; ; xr t J^ le • tune,": there is- no doubt ; tnat Wew Zealand; has to face' increased oomiPetitwn, chiefly from tho Argentine. I havo S 000 "' to,:: some trouble,to obtain, the ship■l» «• f rom r Argentina to London, ,and-the following, figures are 'interesting' arid significant:— ; . . - b

Year ending Mutton. Lamb,' Beef April3o. 'ds. • c/s. qr s.' ■ ■ 3,250,000 469,500 2,395,000 -!' 1908 2,785,000 117,000 I^ooo .Increase .465,000 352,600 455,000 "One expecte .to eee ,the beef trade of Argentina increase, but for tho past year , ,tnere has been an enormous and rather unexpected in the lamb trade, the export: of ,lambs. being' four times as great ason _the previous years.- The competition, both from Argentina and Australia,; was nkely. to, increase in severity, and "it seemed desirable that special.efforts should be made to induce foreign Governments to relax tho oonriitions which prevent Wow Zealand- from finding fresh markets for frozen, meat. ( Flax and Cum. "There is no improvement in tho values of bemp and kaun gum, and thia ie 'greatly to be deplored, for, while'profitable prioee rule, these, industries find employment for a large amount of, unskilled labour. With respect to' hemp, much-relief would :be obtained if there; were a readjustment of labour conditions, and royalties payable to of flnx-growTng . land. Under the,,rates fixed by the . 'Arbitration Court, hemp cannot, bo marketed at a profitable figure.

-v Wheat, :/; , ''® l . e liT w hcat market provides a . cheerful note. .New Zealand has a surplus of "about two million bushels of wheat, and with the Alark Lane quotation at . 435. to 445. 'per quarterj. c.i.fv, the. wheat-growera of the Dominion .should make money. It is to be hoped that farmers will 'not gamble on market prospects, ; mid hold wheat in the hope of. getting better prices, which may, oryiiay not, ,bo_ realised.: In another, montii or : Bisweeks Europe and America will be harvest mg a new crop; when a readjustment of values ib bound to take place.

Thrift and Economy Required. ■-'"•Tho conditions existing at the moment: while, not as satisfactory as one could wish are not, so discouraging as they might be. B.v the, practice of thrift and economy, the financial-equilibrium in this Dominion, with 1 ,, large and varied resources and favourable climate,, w;ll soon be-restored. . Already there..are indications, of an improvement almost, world-wide in character.' Tlie . States ,of America were responsible tor.' the financial collapse, ,and we must: look to-that point, of the world-for the first signs ofy recovery. ■ • Hopeful Signs. ' ' d j£ ati ?T ns -of ttade .in America andr the - United■ Kingdom were riest noted by- Jlr. ; Beauchamp. "Tho shipbuilding industry, js. more active, the bookings bv the Ulyds shipbuilders - showing l ' a - welcome inf, r P.?? n , during the March quarter;- and .'the Navy contracts—on the largo scale of building, contemplated— must further stimulate this, industry, which.-in turn, will give ? fillip to all the allied industries. Finally, Wo,..have' th'o testimony of .that.-- very safe barometer—pig iron. Tho price of the motal has; recently shown a steady improvement, indicating that there, is a 'better demand,; and that the engineering trades are beooiriing active. Our own- position depends almost entirely on the measure of. improvement shown in Groat Britain, for that is our chief market. 'We can help to restore the financial equilibrium by pursuing a reasonably ,conservative policy. 'Economy' should be the watchword of the people.

Share Register. ' .."The board has recently, had under consideration the question of extending the limit of the. London Share Register, and it has .been decided to extend that 'limit to 65,000 ordinary shares. The board will not, however, meantime, • consider applications for transfers to the London register, except iii respect to shares acquired by the holders thereof, whoso names appear on 'the Now Zealand or Australian registers as at March 31, 1909. It was further decided that, in respect to air applications for transfers of shares from the New-Zealand or Australian registers to the London register, tho hoard would exercise its discretion as to whether or not such transfers'should be allowed." Directors and Staff. . Tho,, reappointment of 'Messrs. W. H. Quick and..), B. Iteid by tho Gorernnioiifc as directors of the Bank for a further tonn t of two years, was announced, and the Chairman further stated that, in, Decomhur next, Mr. ■Martin Kennedy, who had been a member of

the'board since 1894, would retire and offer himself for re-election. Thanks to the London Board and to the general manager (Mr. W. Callender), and the members' of tho. staff in New Zealand, .Australia,. Fiji,' and London were als<r expressed in oulogistic terms. The:.board had already shown its practical appreciation by paying the staff a bonus of five per cent. / Payment of Dividend and Bonus. Hie chairmap. concluded: ''I now "formally move the; adoption of" the : report" and bail-; anee-sheot; If tJiis resolution be parried, the dividend and bonus , proposed—namely, 3J per cent, om preference shares, making 8| per cent, for the year, and,7J per coat, on ordinary sWanco equal to 12J par cent. for the same period—will, be payable in /Wellington on Monday, June 21; and, at branches on receiprb.of advioe.'r : ' \ ■

Views of Mr. Martin Kennedy. Mr. Martin Kennedy (one of the shareholders' representatives on the board) said that it gave him much pleasure to second tho. resolution; Wit'll refcronoo to tho chairman's remarks, all .he- would- say was''. that they were so 'voluminous' and . illuminative that it would be,: superfluous for him to, at tempt, bo add to thenv 1 There wore ono oi two questions onH which" the representatives of the shareholders (Mr. Watson and himself) might be ;' expected to express their views, as . these . did v not, necessarily coincide with those hold by the" majority of the members. They had" previously pronounoed in favour; of' an increase in the dividend,-but as tihey were m the" minority they could not of course forco tlio band of the majority. A fooling , had existed among many of the proprietors that the f ' majority " would deJay paying out dividends on. a scale as liberal asbanks, not so constituted. Ho must confess 'J® having shared'-.that view himself. The increase of dividend in tho present instance hy way of bonus—would, lie was eonfident, dissipate that fooling. He was free to admit that tbe bo&rd!s. actions in tlio post did. not warrant tho suspicion, to which he ..hail referred. It required more couragc to'pay out the first 5 per; cent.,'.when there was admits tedly a largc doflcit,- tjiari to make the presont bonus. He.would, also refer them' to tbe action of the board in subsequently increasing the dividend, to 10 per rent, Tho present increase was less than many of the proprwbora, espeoally those who suffered heavily at the time of the bank's' failure, ■ had been expecting. He trusted, however that shareholders would as ovidenoe that they oould j confidently expect to bo treated in the future just as any other bank was. treated by : its hoard' of directors, Shareholders Should, in his opinion, look-rather-to the act than-'to the.amount, as evidence of sympathy on the part of tho chairman'. and his epilogues with., 'those shareholders. He trusted that, as soon as circumstances permitted, the two and a half per/cent., bonus would be.increased. to'five per cont. The profits would, ho hoped, bf increased during the. ensuing year, so. as vo warrant the- board in making the' increase and also ; adding the customary ; £200,000 to the Reserve' Fund. ; • . ■

Parliament and tho Bank. With regard to .the suggestion 'that the capital should be'.increased,' ! he thought that the matter should* bo -almost exclusively one for the ordinary shareholder. It would, in bis opinion, be in tho best interests', of tho proprietors to be content with >the present oapita] and' reserves, especially as the latter were (bomg :bnilt up 'so rapidly! iHe 'went on to say that the necessity for additional capital was. not likely to'arise-before" 1914, when the. guaranteed million fell .due. Before any increase pf capital could be made, the proposal 'would have7to.': in&t'J'with' the approval of the Legislature. It was, he continued, a notorious fact that there -were many l State bankers in. Parliament. .One could meres be syre; what would ; happen. if a Bill were introduced.., It.might, be that it would be completely, altered ' before • it i reached tho Statute Book, and, as adopted, i it might ■ not, be. in (tho interest of shareholders. This was more likely to. be the.cue m view of tho. prbspeious condition: of the bank,- especially as the bank owed.a liability to the Dominion- If .the ; bank appealed to Parliament, t the .fact that it had: received, a loan from the country might be made tho ground for exaoting some .'consideration from the bank, which:it ought to, resist. ..'Shareholders, generally, felt that the Government had exacted from the baiik quite sufficient for -we-assistance: that had been-rendered ,to it,, by the taking of half a million of shares m the banlf. Many: members of Parliament desired the* Government to,take a half share lS } -^6;Prime Minister:had upheld thefact that the bank really, belonged to the ordinary shareholders, subject to the preforenoe capital;, held by the State. The advice, was, that legislation 'ought not' to be sought: .until, the bank was prepared for the retiring of the million loan! If the profits had been £10,000 greater, it would have | enabled the,baijk to.ipay out a bonus of 5 it r *18 reasonable to suppose that the £10,000. ; WOTld .be-'made 'up during• the current y<ar. . .The, bank's, profits, were. little short of those of each of the three Australian banks, doing: business in, the Domin•SJ.V of-those institutions paid out from £240,000.to;£250,000 : in dividends,"and there was no reason.i-.why;-.the'-Bank of New Zealand .should-not; jay ;.out 'half that amount; ine board ; would not, ,be' treating.'the" shareholders too by paying odt a IS per cont. dividend if it.could in addition lay aside as. at present £25,000. for the. Peserve Fund." He had spoken not to his' colleagues, but for the benefit, .of- 1 those'members of Parliament to whom, h'e'had-referred; also for tho benefit, of , shareholders' throughout Europe and Australia. If shareholders did him-the honour- of re-election .they could rely' on' a continuance of highest efforts. '

A SHAREHOLDER. Air. John, Mill. (PortChalmorsV commented ! on;the sncccssful: year: which' tTio bank had just gone ; through. lie\observedi'that,'tlio not profits for thsi period, ;after .the .u'siial provision.had l ,ljeen.made, for doubtful debts and contributions to the Officers'.' -Providejitiaj Fund,'. were: shown- in the Balance-sheet to hare been £363,150. When this was-re-dueed by oh the cue of guaranteed : stock (absorbing £40,000), and by -the. reduction of £15,000 on the Premises 'artd- -Furniture' Aocount, tho profit for the/year stood at £313,150. Last year, : when £20,000'. was : written : off the Premises .'Account,- the" profit, was £309,922. The amount carried forward, on March 31, - 1908,, .was ;£54,097..- .When this was-taken ■! the) amount availably for 'distribution this year was - seen, to ' be £367,247; as ; compared - withy last' year— ;£341,097. Taking off the interim dividend, now_ available,'for ; disposal,, there remained £317,247. Last', year the sum was £291,597. ,The result as"disclosed by these figures was a great improvement' on last year. The shareholders; ,wore pleased to see that tlio directors proposed to increase the proportion of the profits to' bo d jvided'.among; the shareholders, besides declaring, as in the previous, two years,'-a'dindepd' at the. rat-e of 10 per cent, on the ordinary capital. In regard t-o ,-the increase of, the dividend payable to the State upon tho' preferred shares held by it, ~Mr. Mill ystafed that .the provi<ion was that, subject to tho 'maximum-dividend upon the preferred shares being'fixled. at" 10 per ceat., the State should have'a preference in the payment of diridends up to 5 per cent., and beyond that'rate tho dividend upon them should be half of thai' paid'on : tlie ordinary shares. That paid on thei'preference shares was increased to 6} per cent. Tie effect of ,the enhancement of the dividend was ' HJmt £106,250 would be paid out of tte profita of ithe year, .instead 0f'£87,500, which was t*i« amount distributed' to tie AareboWero lost year. Tho shareholders were delighted that' tlio directors had be«i ablo to iricreaso the r«m'o fund by £200,000, and tlhoy hoped 'that iti' two years hence it would reaoh a -million.' Thoy were also pleased to see.that the directors w<>r© able to'carry. £61,000 forward. It was.very satisfactory, to know tiat tlio directors wore able'to distribute £18,750 to the ordinary l shareholders and preferred slmrrftoldors botween; them—moro than was distributed - among • them last year. .If tho bank wcnt'.on prospering, the 'Prime Minister would have' very litUe difficulty m tlio capital for the ; Drcndnougii't tbat had ' lioen so graciously offered to tho Mother Country, pvery credit was duo to tho. diroctors and staff-thit>ugliout tJie Dominion, ahd ' tho shoreholdets' wero Very gratefal to tbaa. Ho was glad to boar, tiat Mr. Keowdf! *aa.

again coming fonrardfoe efectio*, tod vta sure that he would .bo retained. REPLY BY THE CHAIRMAH. .'flbo (SBmnan; k repty, ««ii flboi Me. Uennedy had done right in saying that ho did not attempt to oomhut the boara as a whole to the policy which he had ootfinod. As regards too question of dividend, tfae board had been actuated by only one desire:.to piaoo the affairs of tho bank oa » perfectly footing. Ho did not think that it would be wis* to incroaso t&odividecdfromlO nr cent, until tho. reserve fund had been bmltup to a million. Shareholders should be satisfied with tho'present and trust to the future. As tho affairs of. tho bank oontinucd to expand tho board must not bo immkdfiil'ef those who suffered during the bod tine* tfasagfc which the bank passed.' Increased Capltal SarlousSy Considered. ,'Thc matter of increasing the capital had been rather seriously bonttdened some nontfas ago, when the outlook w not nearly so good as at preaont. At that time deposits were shrinking, titers was'a ruab of bilb, *»d tie woplmarkot wjsin.a deplorable state. ft was then felt that the bttbSty'ww disproportionate to tbo capital and the reserves. From the figures he had quoted it vould ba soon that too ship; had been rioted to a yvcj great Extent. Uno bank had got oettmfa eivanoos paid off without undue menace, aid as a result there had been'a reduction of.fli* advances and .discounts by about* raSßoo. From tie balanoo-Aoot it wooid bo seen M the bonk was, to-day. in. ea«j and an endeavour wwdd benedato that position '

Bank Legishtlon WO Not ba Etatßita& More than once he had diocas!edtl»qo»> tion of insufficient finance wiiji tiie Minster for Finance, hccausc, as had been pointed out, it was nraessary to promote legßlatioo if that wero to be done. Shareholder oonlil tako: it'from him that, should aoy Bfl b» promoted, in 1 respect or the' beard: would' first of all obtain 1 an' .''as* suranoe• from tho head of. the Govecnmeni that no objectionable amendments would ba introduced, once it left this hall—-in other worda, if the Bill had" onoo been 1 approved by tbe board, it' must both© whole KH and nothing but the Bill. That should aatirfy those who feared that,, when the B3L«m before the House, amendments which would militate against., the interests of' fiharclioSl'' era might-be introduced, v; '

Next Year'a Results: Hard to Fcnaaa. As to tho outlook of the bonk in the sear future, one wonld not, like to! assume tb® role of prophet.; - ; Judging, bowovor, from the low rates, of interest, m connection with ■ the s London business,- -ana the cautions poKcy' which was being adopted; in ' the : Dominion, shareholders j. must not! bo: disappointed !it tlie board oould'not'show such splendid results next year as had! been' shown during, the preceding two years. He trusted that he, might be • wrong in his prophecy!!' With reference to the' suggestion by; Mr. Mill that, as ' .the. reserve was approaching a mil-' lion,. the. time wouild: be opportune- to.'free the bank from Govornment control, as bo was nominated by the Government to tho board, he could not'be expectod to niako a oommitriient on that point. For eleven yeaia. he bad been' one of 1 their' represcntatrroe. And it. would . be Hardly: right : for him to suggest "harikari" in hisoto : case,-'and inthat, of those .of his colleagues who woro appointed by the Government. '' ;■

THE BANK AND THE GOVERNMENT. n ;Mr. T. AV. Weston' moved'a vote of thanki to the chairman, tho direetors, #nd gatKtal manager end the With refeffooficT to. the suggested increase .of . capital, tlie. share? holders recognised that this would to boom extent benefit the Dominion, and they /mm quitje prepared to meet , tho directors and. find what capital ther Government. wanted, long as they we're asked' to do bo on ' fair terms. ' The PrimotMinister had stated that ,the Government would keep its bargain ■as faithfully as a .private individual, end the people'of the' Dominion, as a whole, whatever some individual might' do, ware not coing: to 'depart' from that principle. (Hoar, hear.) /,'■ !., The vote of having been duly carried, tbe cbairman and Mr. OaQender briefly expressed their acknowledgments, and tin ■meeting dispersed.