Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1889. BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

Manawatu Herald, 29 October 1889, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2 9, 1889. BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

• ._* The importance of tlio half yonrly meetings of tho I^ank of New Zealand has always beon atlniitted, as t.ho Haulc offers n fair reflex of tlio business of the colony. Th" mooting held at Auckland on Thursday last Ims been looked forward to with great interest, there having- bo n for Kom ». months most disqueting rumours afloat. It is therefore so far satisfactory to find that the report presented by the Directors had an assurance of the siad lity of the Institution, as it is to the following effect. The lesult of the half years's operations is as 'follows : — Net profit for the half-year emlerl 80th September, 1889, after appropriation for bad and doubtful debts, with an exception ■ xplainecl in the President's speech, £40,901 4s 9d, to which has been adder! the balance for the half year ended 80th March, IRS9, frw.BS(s,].2s Id, making a total available of +;!)3,<]47 17 4d, which it is proposed, to appropriate as follows: — Dividend r.i 7 per cent per annum, £89,875; balance carried forward, £56,---972, 17s 4d. The dividend is payable tomorrow. The balance shows coin and cash balances. £2,05(5,000 ; advances have increased £500,000, and are of a sound liquid character. The chairman said the reduction of the ordinary deposits was by £43,000, which, on a total of eight millions is trivial. Thej profits realised below expoetation, this being largely owing to the exceptional charges, and this being a less active and profitable half. The hank* current business was sound. lie j:lolio account, a large amount of bad business had been cleared from the books, resulting in an income deficiency in that part of tho account, but the bulk of die assets remaining ai") landed properties, which are reasonably expected to realise well in an iniproving market. The »haro registers were open to shareholders free and to the kpiic. rftl public on jm^monti I'Uc ro-ii^tiAtiun fc... —

of Mi Buckley, edcl the circumstances attending it, occurring at an important juncture, placed the Board in a position of peculiar difficulty, and has lead them to reccmnendthe shiueholders to transfer the principal office to London. A meeting will be called dining the current half-year to consider the removal of the principal office." That th Directors hftvti not been a happy family is shown by the President's reasons for advocating the removiil of the control of the business of the Bank to London, as h said "Your Directors cannot conduct your business satisfactorily Unletfa they possess yonv entire confidence, and from that point of view we feel that Auckland as a place for the head office of the lank was discredited by the Committee* report, and that our position ha* been weakened, and oin- power to serve you impaired by circumstances to which I have already' alluded, and for these reasons, and not.' I repeat, from any want of confidence in the future of the batik 6i ; iil 01li 1 titt'i capftrity to manage its affairs, we. think it due to 'you iliat we should reccommend the shareholders to authorise the transfer of the control of the bank to a board in London, against whom no damaging insinuations of want of capacity, want of lioiieflty,- or, want of proper candour, cau be maintained, aiid who are more advantageously situated for securing the routidence of the bank's constituents in Great Mritain th n a colonial board ctlh be. Though ( the late President Mr Buckley did good service to the Batik when the 2fiJehiiatett committee of investigation was appointed ho appears to have had his fears of the stability of the institution increased rather than decreased by the more inti nate acquaintance he obtained of the particulars of the accounts, has havihng; feigned his position as President, but Major George accused him of having only remained as IMi'ertof long enough to have secured a complete dispel rtl of all the shares he held. 'J his is the "want of proper candour" referred to by the President. Mr Buckley however does not now i'etire from taking any part, bttt attended the half yearly meeting and made some remarkable strong statements and charges, amongst which were, " He might add that had the real state of the bank's affairs been more fully disclosed to the Shareholders' Committee than it was Home 1"» montlin ago, they would have had no alternative but to report that, in consequence of the half of the bank's i capital being then lost, it Mould have to be wound up under the 118 th clause of the deed ot settlement." " The accounts turned out to be so unreliable aiid mislead' ing, as well as the certificates being worthless to authenticate and support, the several estimates, Jhat the Committee would need to have taken at least £250,000, or just one-third more than the bank's accounts themselve.'s show." Mr Hnckley then mentioned the accounts of Owen & Graham, Henderson & Macf a lane, A. Buckland, Morrin & Co, ,7. C. Firth, J. Buchanan, and Thomas Russell, in which the excess of the losses would be nearly clou' >lg what was previously stated. He instanced the Two acconnts against Mv Thomas Rus* sell as being "a glaring instance of mismanagement. A deed connected with these did not come nnder the notice of the Committee until some time after they made their report, or else he thought they would have been compelled to have taken notice of it. However there was one item there of £20,000 in regard to which it was said there was little or no prospect of recovery, and. knowing as he did that Mr Russell was living at Home at the rate of tIiOOO or £7000 a year, lie (Mr Huckley) certainly thought he should be made to pay his debt to the bank, and in December last he gave instructions to the Home office that they should ask for the payment of this debt, but no sooner wove the instructions given than this debt was discovered, and it debarred the bank from making any demand for the £20,000. An advance has been made in London, and secret from the Board, and for no other purpose than to enable Mr Russell to speculate on the Stock Exchange and get a living there. That was just, about what it was. The terniß upon which the advance was made were most extraordinary. It seemed that when the bank came to make the demand — to give Mr Russell a month's notice — Mr Russell had only to say that he had lost all the money, or had only £5000 left, and the bank would be bound to take that in full of all demands. However, he took it that they would lose upon that first and last £20,000. He also reckoned there would be an excess of £10,000 in the loss in Larkworthy's properties. No one pi'esent seemed to explain the reason Mr Buckley's strong showing up of the wretched past, unless it was to put the shareholders on their guard, and the other parties interested ■seemed to think that he had made too much out of the deficiencies, and that if reasonable time was given to work out the globo accounts they would woi'k themselves. From the whole of the speeches it would seem that the Bank and thn colnny had a cry narro v escape some eighteen months ngo, and that without some elasticity in the valuations a crisis could not 'be averted. It certainly appears that ' uckland is not the best pace for the head qnnrters of the Bank

The draught horses advertised by Mr v. C. Nathan have been corn fed all the winter aud aye in good working condition. This of course adds to their market value. it is always a mistake for caterers for public service* to foe too grasping, as it may happen as with the! <log in" the fable of the shadow, that the whole is ldst. We are bound to make these remarks owing to the made by Mr Me Lennan to us, wild tinted town yesterday to give the steamers one last disnee. It appears that earlier in the season oft'erS fo carry hisjelip of wool were made to him, at fairly satisfactory prices, but that a short, time ago he was informed the steamer would be unable to cany out the arrangement at the prices named* The remit will be that the wetol from this station will go by train, as the raihftty peoj'le have shown greater interest to obtain it, than the steamers. This is not good business. Mr Mtfcnsell has purchased a very handsome trophy whit'h he has presented to the Foxton Racing Cluh for" their summer meeting. It is in the form of n yam, of silver plate, and gilt inside. We are plert?e<J to see Mr Stansell showing so much interest in one of our most popular institutions. The little lapse of business committed when all the storekeepers met to agree to that wise arrangement of a half holiday, was ifagftamp of Monday the 11th November as the day ott vhiph the Prince of Wales birthday should be" kept, without suggesting some manner of keejrfttg it. Some movement should be made early so as to allow of proper preparations being made. Flaxi dressed, is still triumphant, the lucky ifllllefir being freely offered from 20s to 30s a ton on the* prices ruling last month. It has had a most exhiiiarafrotf j effect on all, their faces being wreathed in smiles, whilst their actions denote a d tevmined briskness to turn out all they can. Our own impression is that prices, will still yet improve. However the prices now being pftld fti'e leaving handsome margins for profits, otic! the millers deserve it too. At the meeting Of the biwincsH men last Tuesday the employes undertook to secnve j good sized notices as to the dft\s and hours | of closing, these havp been secured, fl number having been distributed amongst the stores; whilst the i'tftflninder have been despatched to the mills. A bunch of keys can be obtained at this crfhVe by the owner describing the same nnct pftvirifj rosfa. On the fourth page will be found the programme of the Kangitikei -Rncing Club's meeting on the Ist and '2nd of .lan nary. £110 are given away in prizes on the first day a d £'290 o« the second day Nominations have to be in liy the «KHh November. Headlines are expressive, and are used in newspapers to announce anything strange or startling) but we have omitted their use for th« following, as we much regret to say the matter to be complained of has become irritatingly too frequently, a subject to mention. On Sunday night between 10 p.m atid 4 ttim of Monday morning, the desk in a room attached to the stables of Messrs Bradcock & Gay was broken into. Mr Bradcock had placed in it, on the Friday previous, a sum of £16, and a silver watch, and before leaving with the coach on Monday morning went to the desk to see if matters were all right. He received a nasty jar on entering the room to find the desk had been forced open and no money or watch visible. He made smart tracks to where his stableman White lived, and informed him of the loss sustained. The latter laughed, told him the " ready "' was all right as he had taken it away before he left. The thief therefore had his trbnble for nothing. Had he gone the either two previous nights he would have been right, but the " better the day," was not the better the deed for him, this trip anyhow. A rumour is current in town that a young man was " stuck up " on the road the other night, and £8 taken from him. Mrs 11. Brown has been badly treated by some p'lferers, as they picked up her sidesaddle and have taken it away. We notice that a solicitor has commenced practise in this town. We understand that he has for many years been in practise in England, but owing to domestic reasons had to remove to the milder climate of the colony. The gentleman's name is Mr Ray, and he has his office adjoining Mr Leary's chemist shop. Apple trees bear every appearance of producing very heavy crops this season. On Saturday the Maories and fishermen secured large hauls of whitebait. Further up the river the water was stated to be alive with them. The poor taxpayers will stand anything The Wanganui Herald sums up the new appointment very appropriately, thnsly :— The Minister for Agriculture is determined not to be idle. He is procuring tae analyses of many varieties of soil. This is the beauty of creating new departments. They must find work for themselves somehow. It is wonderful, when once created, how well they succeed in doing so ; and, more wonderful still, how we ever could have got on without them. The following may explain the non-ap- j pearance of tlie Hugo Minstrels here. The j New Zealand Times of Saturday says : — Mr C. Hugo and his company have returned to Wellington after a most successful trip up North. The company will take a wellearned rest of a few weeks prior to their opening a reason at the Dunedin Exhibition. Several of the Company who lately appeared here have been paid off and have left for Melbourne. Mr Hugo has sent to Melbourne and Sydney for fresh attractions, and will open in Punedin with a very strong and attractive company. They will visit Wellington early in the new year." We still think that Mr Hugo was exceedingly discourteous in not letting the public know of his altered intentions. We may explain we wired to his agent on Friday morning, having heard a rumour of their not coming, but received no reply, so could not take upon ourselves to alter the advertisement. We have noticed lately a good deal of correspondence going on in our Pahnerston contemporary with reference to the formation of the main through road in the Horowhenua County, and as usual the chairman of that County has been drawn into the fray. As far as we can read between the views set out by both sides, there seems to be no intention on the part of the County authorities not to carry out the work, that is, as far as the loan money will admit. We have been given to understand that -when the ratepayers sanotion to the loan was obtained, it was distinctly understood that £8,400 was to be 6pent in the southern portion of the Wirokino Biding and £2,800 in the northern portion, and as yet it has not been contended that the northern portion has not received its fair share. Surely then the ratepayers at Tokomaru are not wanting to take any of the Houthera portion's money? If not, and there is not sufficient money to complete the road in (he northern portion, it must surely be in the power of the ratepayers to obtain a still f irtner amount of borrowed money for Buch a necessary purpose? If so, the oore*pon* dance mems to w drifting away fronJ the paint to* W«* «oij»M«rodt ' \

' " ' ■■■'-'■'"■■ 1 ■■■ The very 1 test inform tfa» ye flricrot" V fl * <fwrt<w it realising on the London; * m rket £W lfmto £81 per ton. Tenders for the erection of two dweflrag; houses close on, Friday. We learn that the gentlemen appointed to accept tenders for the plant and goodwill of the Bakery Company, have accepted ttot.9tMr.J,J£,JSM]g. .._. .1, f The police are supposed to have all the cases of thefts in hand, but it never results in their getting the a twks into their own hand* In this district the police have never yet secured an, .article jinaided, the one or fwo recoveries, out of the many robberies committed, has resulted from theenergy of the robbed one,' more th*n thanks to the force. Pedpl6 are now ae- ' nmtomfid to accept the fact that the goods are gone when once they have been removed. » I A meeting of the Foxton Racing Club was held at Mr A. Southey Baker's office on Saturday evening last, Mr Bussell i n the - chair. Two letters were read, pae from Mr ; Stansell, Whyte-'s Hotel- presenting the -Club with a Cup, to be run for at next meeting, horses to be locally owned and to be nominated by ladies ; the offer was ac- , cepted. The other letter was from Hill & Poole, offering to work the totatisator at the next meeting, the Club to get J 8 per cent lof all money put through the ; machine. It was decided that the programme of the > forth-coming races be advertised in the M". I Times, M. Herald, Wanganui Herald, an* j the H ef eree. It was reported that the Committee appointed had purchased a roller, and it rrftß suggested that the course be rolled as soon as it arrives. Mr A. Whyte w s proposed and accepted as a member of the Club. We remind members and those interrested in the Rowing Club that a meeting is advertised for: next Thursday, at Whyte'a Hotel. We believe the Committe have been very successful so far in collecting contributions, several of the business, people of the place heading the list with amounts of £2 25.. Shearing commenced yesterday at the Okaua station, Moutoa. Since our report on the hot in sheep,, many communications have been made to. our various contemporaries:', One simple remedy is suggested by a Napier gentleman. It is to smear in the autumn' the nostrils, of the sheep with whale oil and tar mixed, the tar being put in with- fche' : object of making the mixture adhesive: ■■-•••-■ The G.O. Man has found himself out at last. In the course of his speeclt.at Southport the other day he said it was. impossible to expound his policy. Others have said this " many a time and offV' ' A sudden demand for bvdnze-'coloure^ hair in Fiance perplexes the* worthy coiffeurs of Paris just now. But as the demand must produce^or create the supply,, an enterprising merchant 1 in capillary waves sent to China while the craze was. still young, and the result is that bale?. * of copper-coloured hair, long and short, straight and curled, . has arrived at Mjusettles, and the humblest grisette can nan shave and be happy — that is, invest in s bronze-coloured Wig of 'CHinese' origin. "KEATING'S POWDER " deitroy Bugs, Fleas, Moths, Beetles, and sll othersinsects, whilst quite harmlefls*tO| domestic animal?. In exterminatt»fe pettles, the snoot ss of this powder is extraordinary It is perfectly clean io application. Se« the article you purchase is " Keating'," as , imitations are noxioun antf^'ttiirffecluftl. •* Sold in tins, 6d , la fi.l., and '2* 6d each, bjr nil cbemitits. . ■> >r „\ <■.