The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 241, 17 November 1909, Page 2

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17.

TARAXAKI PETROLEUM COMPANY. We are sorry to 'have to admit it, but iu the matter of how not to conduct a shareholders' meeting of a public industry Now Plymouth can easily defy comparison. We are compelled to make this admission in consequence of the lamentable exhibition of quibbling, of pettiness, and of inane jealousies given by some shareholders at the annual meeting of the Taranaki Petroleum Company. Uaippily the practical tons adopted by the directors and the representatives of outside shareholders saved the situation, and prevented, for a time at least, loss of lonlidencc in local ability to manage the company's affairs, There is no use going u'.o history; the shareholders have had .00 much oi it, and are heartily sick of grievances and innuendoes. What everybody wants is a fair and square run for their monej—and that they can never have so long as the industry is throttled for individual ends. The position of .Monday's meeting was clear from the outset. By reason of his large number of proxies, Mr. Berry seemed to hold :he fate of the company ill the ihollow of his 'hand. Mr. Kingswell completely exposed the little game when he recited the conditions upon which Mr. Berry undertook to lind him a place on the directorate. Unfortunately, it was a case of premature counting of chickens. Shareholders—at least, the majority of bliem —were not slow to recognise the positive unfairness of the position held by .Mr. Berry, particularly its unfairness to the great body of outside shareholders. It amounted to this, that Mr. I'.crry would have been able, had the .jiiestion gone to a vote, to place absolutely whom hf listed in the vacant eats on the directorate. Further, he .•mild posr-ibly have carried a vote of rant of confidence in tilie directorate, ind. again possilijy, subsequently ■.■vtull'ed" a directorate of his own cihoosbig. We put it to any fair-minded reader to answer whether such a happening would have tended to promote •onl'idciue in the company and the jnlustry. For ourselves, we unhcsitatiiig:.v say it would have been positively calamitous. On such a vital question .:s the virtual wholesale impugning of ■he honor of directors, it would he nothing less than a positive scandal ial any man. we care not who he .night be. s'honlil claim the right to 'xeruM' the voles of shareholders irrcof what their views might be. Mr. Kingswell ably put the position to the meeting when ihe stated that he knew that sonic at least of the shareholders who hail sent their proxies to Mr. Berry were not cognisant of the purpose for which their votes were to be used. We do not blame Mr. Berry for securing all the proxies' possible, but we regard it as a distinctly fortunate circumstance that he was denied the opportunity of using them. Iu order that the shareholders who were represented only by proxy might be made fully conversant with the exact position of all'airs, and thus lie enabled to otter (heir own opinion, it was proposed 'by Mr. Kingswell (representing the Auckland shareholders) that the meeting be adjourned till the 24th January. This was agreed upon by a majority vote of those present, Mr. Berry's proxy votes being ineligible on such a proposal. The object is obvious: the outside shareholders will in the meantime be acquainted with the true state of affairs. This move on the part of Mr. Kingswell completely outwitted the hostile element, who were speedily made aware that they had not anticipated every contingency. In the great mass of irrelevant matter introduced into the discussions some st-iteinents were made that require answering before shareholders will lie satisfied. Nothing mo.<' serious came to light, however, than the statement made by Mr. Bellrmger that since be had been acting-chairman of the company he ilind discovered that the company had paid ;!;l per cent, more for its casing and steel caMes than a neighboring company ipaid for its' supplies from tilie same lirm in England. This is a serious matter indeed, as it involves an amount of approximately L' 1000 unnecessarily lost to the shareholders whilst Mr. Berry was chairman ( >: directors' and as such had most to do with the company's buying operations. We believe the company is embarking on smoother waters, a condition of all'airs for which the shareholders ought to be heartily grateful to those representatives of the outside shareholders wl'io Nave stood aloof from tho petty bickering and quibbling that, if continued, would certainly and speedily bring the company to the cud of its career.