THE J. D. WILLIAMS COMPANY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 219, 4 February 1913, Page 5

THE J. D. WILLIAMS COMPANY.

.1. D. WILLIAMS REMANDED. By Cable —Press Association—Copyright. Received 3, 9.35 p.m. Sydney, February 3. J. D. Williams has been remanded on bail of £.")(!(), which was forthcoming and was also forthcoming when lie was arrested on Saturday.

AN ARREST IN AUCKLAND. Per Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. On a charge of having forged an order for 150,(100 shares in the Creator J. 1). Williams' Amusement Company, with intent to defraud, Francis Shortall Lloyd appeared in the Police Court to-dav. Chief Detective Walker, of the New .South Wales Police, having arrived, accused was handed over to him, to be escorted back to Sydney. STORY OF THE COMPANY. PROFIT OF £30,000. Said the Sydney Telegraph of Jamb ary 23: —'A gamble, of right royal dimensions is proceeding upon the Sydney Stock Exchange in the shares of the Create]' -I. D. Williams Amusement Company, Limited. It is probably the most considerable thing of its sort that Sydney has known since the West Australian boom-days." Certainly no single stock has been the .medium of quite the same. volume of speculation since Federation was accomplished, or the Boer War coneluded. Expert operators variously estimate that between 120.000 and 180.000 shares in the company in question were turned over in Sydney last week." The Greater .1. I). Williams Amusement Company was lirsf registered in New South Wales on December 2. 1910. so that it is now a little over two years old. The capital authorised is £200.000, and t'ne ksued share capital is £180,501!. The accounts for the year 1911 showed a net profit of £33,210, out of which dividends equal to 3s fid per share absorbed £23.503. The balance carried forward was £8713. The goodwill then stood in the assets at £53.700. There were, then about 500 .shareholders on (lie register. An interim report was issued in August, covering the half-vear ended .lime 30, 1012. After allowing for all had debts, depreciation of plant, etc.. the uet profit for the half-year was shown at £14,202. which, with the £8713 brought .forward from Pill, left an amount of £22.015 available for distribution. Throughout, (lie shares have been the medium of much active speculation. When first issued they were' positively "rushed." and a fair proportion of early holders bought in the neighborhood of 355. By the close of the year 1911 (hey were worth up to 255, having meantime seen some vicissitudes. When (he interim dividend was declared in .vug-.n-t last (hey were at about par value.'Pv niid-November they were down (o just under 15s, and parly in December fhev were hack at par. The market explanations are legion, Mr. Williams savs the company's affairs are prosperous: at least (adds the Telearaph). lie leaves it to he understood that such is the case. He explains the wild share gamble as "some game of the brokers." Tlie latter gentlemen retort that there is "a same." eertainly. but that they were not the wilful initiators. Their utmost effort was merely to trump somebody's else's card. vr.. 117:11: t> • _.i _ -.,.,, ...

Mr. William TSnrririgton Miller, nf New Zealand, who lias been appointed to succeed Mr. "Williams as niaiiairin-r director of the company, is one of Oisbome's best-known and wealthiest residents. For many year* lie kept a tobacconist's and liiiir-divssinsr establishment on "Miller's Comer." Gladstone Road, and incidentally was manager of (lie local theatre, and box office supervisor. Hi< eonne:'fion with the show business aro=c tln-on«rli h ; ~ negotiations with conipanie- !o visit (".'i-horne. and has of late Wears develoned over a wider field. ]7,> ha- during tins last year or two. extended his operations to Australia, and has considerable interests in picture circuits in Queensland and New South Wales. The Greater .). t). Williams Company controls picture theatres and (he Crystal Palace in Svilncv. and at Luna Park /at St. Kilda) in Melbourne. The local Empress Theatre is managed by an independent company, formed bv Mr. ,T. T). (William- whe-i in Wellington' li~i vcar.