MR. G. F. DAVIDSON'S CORRECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 318, 18 June 1915, Page 3

MR. G. F. DAVIDSON'S CORRECTION.

To tins Editor. Sir, —I am sorry to think that tho above gentleman should have thought fit to question the correctness of the report ascrilbing to him the remark why the directors of the Farmers' Co-opera-tive Society dill not get in the uncalled capital of the company to meet the shortage ef funds. Mr. Davidson was Bitting slightly in front uf mq. and to my left. I tints had a distinct\':ew of him when he got up, anil heard every word he uttered on the subject. The chairman replied to his remarks, mentioning Mr. Davidson by name, and ex» plaining that they were hound by the prospectus of the company with respect to the calling in of unpaid capital. 1 then made a suggestion on the subject which the chairman accepted as something that might be adopted. That was the end of that matter. Some hours afterwards, when several of the directors were waving Hags of their individual : loyalty to the funds of the Society, Mr. 1 .Davidson got up (in a different ipart of the hall) and hlnshingly waved his Jje,g of five new shares in order "to J strengthen the financial position of the .Society and set some of the previous speakers tile right example to follow." Yes, Sir, five, new shares to strengthen the financial position of a society whose , directors were moving heaven and earth ' in order to alter their articles of association so' as to be in a position to sweep into their fishing net the sum of one hundred thousand pounds at seven per cent.! Ts is any wonder that the reporter dropped out of his report the ■ wholo of the flag-waving futility as being too childish in the face of one hundred thousand -pounds at seven per cent.'Y There was only one. reporter present, and he was a good, honest man, who did his level best under the circumstances. However, there is a mistake which I ought to correct. In speaking of the extraordinary sum of .€12,000 having been paid for the goodwill of the Plawe:a business, I pointed out that the whole of the paid-up capital of the Society was under .€BOOO, and the net profits for the whole year were about £3OOO (equal t 0 £11,000). That, therefore, if we took the whole 'paid-up capital of the company and the whole years profits and handed them over to Messrs ' Gillies and Nahler in payment for the i goodwill of their business, we would still be indebted to that .firm; in the sum of over .one thousand pounds for tliat 6ag of air. Now, in my first utterance T said "suibswiibeel capital," and the reporter so reported me. But although I immediately corrected myself by saying "I mean paid-up capital," the reporter failed to catch on to the right words and left the error uncorrected. The subscribed capital is about £33.000. whe-e----iW the paid-up capital was under £SCOO. —I am, etc., „ ' ,T. O. T.WTjOB. 'Waiongona, .Tune 15, 1015.