NEW ZEALAND SHIPPING COMPANY

Kumara Times, Issue 902, 21 August 1879, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND SHIPPING COMPANY

At the annual meeting of the Shipping Company on Wednesday at Christchurch, the Chairman (J, L. Coster) said, in the coarse of his speech :—" There is a matter which I feel constrained to allude to at the meeting of shareholder?, because it affects the good management of the Company; I refer to a letter to which, I daresay, many shareholders have seen published, addressed to the Government by Sir Julius Vog';),. the Agent-General for New Zealand, dated London, March 27. The letter contains very grave charges against the Company,. plainly stating that it has not been abie to fulfil its engagements with the Government, by providing tonnage place for cargo, as wanted, and freely accusing the Company of dereliction of duty in respect of the performance of its contract. I will not trouole you by reading those letter s, hut T wish to state pubicly before the shareholders that the statement made by Sir J. Vogel in that letter is simply without foundation. (Applause). We have the very fullest correspondence on the matter from our London macaaer. We have copies of letters containing confirmatory evidence from brokers and others in London, and L say distinctly to the shareholders that the charees in the letter of the Agent-General are without foundation. I am sorry that the letters which have passed between the Government and the Company have not aleo been published. I have no doubt they would have been ere this, but for the Constitutional crisis which has arisen ia Wellington Possibly they may be published before long." Amongst other matters, the Chairman said that there were now 50 apprentices on board the Company's ships,' some of who), were acting as third mates, while one had already risen to the rank of chief officer. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. The retiring directum—Messrs Reeves, Driver, and Turner—were re-elected j and in the place of Mr R. Evans, resigned, the Bon J. Kichaudson was elected. The auditors were also re-elected, and votes of thanks were passed to the directors and working officers.