Page 2 Advertisements Column 5

Dunstan Times, Issue 892, 23 May 1879, Page 2

£89,123 11 8 £ s. d. 80,240 2 8 S,SSB 9 0 £89,128 11 9 Cr. By balance of profit and loss at 31 at March, 1879 ... Balance from lust half-year. Audited ( B. Tonks. ) S. Browning. Dr Campbell, in moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, said : Gentlemen—ln submitting for your approval and adoption the report and balance-sheet which have just boon read, permit me to make a few remarks upon them, and on subjects in which you, as shareholders, are directly interested. it will be in your recollection that shortly before the date of our last half-yearly meeting the announcement had been male of the failure of the City of Glasgow Bank, and there followed a period of financial disturbance and distrust, such as had not-been experienced in England for many years, and from which there Ims been a very slow and gradual recovery. The disclosures in connection with this failure shook credit and confidence to their foundation, and it is only a natural result that all bank stocks became more or loss prejudicially affected. When your directors at last meeting asked and obtained your authority to issue 27,500 new shares, the consequence of the City of Glasgow Bank failure had not been realised ; aiid could it | have been anticipated that this disaster i would have been followed by such a calamitous period of depression, the issue would ( either have been very much restricted, or altogether postponed. But the issue has been a decided success, notwithstanding the untoward state of things to which I have alluded, and which at last came home to us hero in an intensified form. Contending against many adverse influences, it is a source of congratulation to he able to record that, of the 27,590 new shares, only 395-1 remain unallotted. Of these, 940 consist of “remainders ” not absorbed by the proportions in which the issue was made ; and these will he put in the market at a favourable opportunity. Then there are 1503 shares which are held on behalf of shareholders travelling, and otherwise beyond reasonable distance, and to whom the directors yet accord a further period of grace. The number, therefore, of shares not taken up, as far as is yet known, is only 1535. That the price of shares became prejudicially affected was only a necessary consequence arising from the peculiar juncture at which they wore issued. But it is worthy of remark that, as compared with nearly every other colonial bank, the depreciation of our shares in London was vo'y slight, and the local depreciation was sufficiently accounted tor by the extent of the issue, the large proportion of shares hold in the colonics, and the prevailing scarcity of money. And besides these influences there were others which more or less affected the value of our shares, for reports were industriously circulated that this institution was a heavy loser by the City of Glasgow Bank. So contrary was this to facts, that we have not lost one shilling by that bank’s failure ; and when it stopped we only held L3OOO of its paper, half of which was covered by cash balances we hold, and we had bills for collection in excess of the total amount involved. lleverting to the figures in the balance-sheet, it will ho noticed that notwithstanding the increase of our capital, it stands the same as in the last report, liecause the new capital, as you are no doubt aware, was only payable on the 31st March, the day on which our books closed for the half-year. Had it been correct to show the increase as capital in the present statement, there could only have been shown the amount paid in New Zealand, as the Australian and London branches had closed their books at a previous date. As payments from shareholders only became dividendbearing from Ist of April, these could not be regarded as capita) until that date, and have therefore in the statement before you boon incorporated mid r the heading of “ deposits and other liabilities.” The deposits appear to have fallen L-129,000, but this is wholly duo to the decrease of Government balances hold by the Bank, as there has been an actural increase of private deposits amounting to L 103,000, irrespective of payments on account of capital. It will ho observed that, ns compared with balance-sheet, there is a very material increase in coin and cash balances, the Directors having considered it prudent to hold larger reserves during the disturbed state of the money market, to which I have alluded In the early part of the half-year wo therefore fortified our London account, allowing Colonial balances to run low, hut at 31st March we had made up our Colonial holding of coin to 700,000, and the balance was held in London. The amount of the Bank’s advances decreased in proportion to the diminution of deposits. The amount of profit brought to account for the half-year is slightly less than last half-year, hut I may remark that, in view of the existing and prospective condition of business in this and adjoining Colonies, it has been considered advisable to make more than usual provision for bad and doubtful debts, and should such provision prove over-estimated, there will he an early return of the surplus to profit and loss. Shareholders .will, no doubt, approve the intention of the Board