The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1889. Refrigerating Company

Feilding Star, Volume X, Issue 130, 9 May 1889, Page 2

The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1889. Refrigerating Company

The proposal to form a refrigerating company and establish freezing and slaughtering works in this district is likely to be looked upon with some degree of favor by the local stock growers. As most of our readers are aware a meeting was held at Palmerston last week, when the subject was freely ventilated A resolution was passed to the effect " That it is advisable in the interests of all farmers on the West Coast to establish substantial freezing works at Longburn for the purpose of slaughtering, freezing, and shipping stock/ A provisional directorate was also nominated. Another resolution was passed, on the motion of Mr Buick, "That it be an instruction to the Provisional Directors not to register the company until 3000 shares had been taken up, including Mr Beaxe's 400 shares." In speaking to his motion, Mr Buick said half the companies in the Colony had been ruined through starting on too small a capital. We are in favor of the establishment of this company, because we feel certain that, if well managed, it would be a source of profit to the shareholders and an enormous advantage to stock-growers. But we think Mr Buick might have gone somewhat further in his resolution, and stipulated that not one penny be spent until the whole of the allures were fully paid up. Experience has taught us that "insufficient capital," which means practically " uupaid calls," has been the ruin of companies, because at the offset the Directors have been compelled to get bank overdrafts (sometimes reluctantly and sometimes to avoid paying their own calls) at a rate of interest equal to a remunerative dividend, to carry on. Now, had these Directors been provided with the whole of the c jmpa i >s' capital — that is, had it been actual instead of nominal, few of them but would have been worked profitably for the shareholders. We are quite aware that if this rule had been followed a great number of companies would never have been registered at all ; but that would be no harm. On the contrary, rather a benefit to those unfortunates who were induced to purchase shares, generally on the tacit understanding that only a limited amount of the subscribed capital would be called up, but who in the end were taught how unreliable are the promises of professional promoters. We have a word of advice to offer small farmers in this part of the district who have just commenced stock raising with moderate capital. That class should not take shares m the proposed company, for the very simple reason that they will require every farthing of their money to do their part of the good work in supplying the stock. Their profits should come from the latter, and the latter only. To those others who are likely to take up shares we would strongly suggest they make ii a s'ne qua tion I that the company is to stand on its own bottom and only trade with its I own money. If that course is not followed we say plainly the end will be failure. There is strong established opposition, within a very few miles of Longburn, which has everything in its favor, and if the new company hopes to achieve success the Directors must exercise not only prudence, judgment, and enterprise, but they must be supplied with the requisite money to carry the company over the yet unknown difficulties certain to be met with.