BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 19 December 1913, Page 5

BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

not, 1 hope, regard my forecast as too "sanguine when 1 say I anticipate the dividend can be maintained at recent level, for the 15 per cent will equal ifbt more than 7$ per cent on the then combined reserve and paidup capital. The capital by that time will have grown, I anticipate, to £2,250,000 by the addition of the £500,000 uncalled capital, at present outstanding, but to be called lip within that time. In reply to shareholders' further inquiry as to the future issues of the remaining £2,250,000 of unissued authorised capita?, I may say that is a matter in the discretion of the [Board of the Bank, subject to the a/seent of the Honourable the Minister of Finance, and no doubt will deperu? upon the prospects of the Bank finding profitable employment for such. And here I may say/that, in the past, due weight has always been given to the views of your representatives by the Government members of the Board, ajid I have no doubt the same good feeling will always continue between us. I unhesTSaffngly say I Tiave sufficient confidence in the Board to believe that further issues of capital will be made only when the Board is reasonably convinced that any sum so to be -issued can be profitably employed in the Business cf the Bank and for the! benefit of the proprietors. It is well to remember, 'm this connection, that the, Bank's capital and reserves, in the course of the next seven yeans, will • probably amount to over five I and a half millions. I put it thus:— Rank's "Paid-up Capital ... £2,250,000 Bank's Reserve (estimate for years 1915 to 1920 at £70,000 yearly) ... £2,320,000 Guaranteed Stock £1,000,000 £5,570,000 WiCli this large. amount of proprietors' money available in the business, you will no doubt agree with me that there is little probability of any further capital issues becoming necessary for some years to come. Before resuming my seat I Mould like to mention tfctt, owing to the difficulties in the way and the long delay in bringing matters to a point, my colleague, Mr' Watson, and I apprehended that the. value -of the Bank's shares in the London market rilight be prejudicially .affpcted and that, whilst negotiations were in progress, some of the London shareholders might be led to sell their shares at a sacrifice. We therefore deemed it prudent to warn shareholders in London against selling out, and we cabled accordingly to Mr H. \V. Snow, the Chairman of the London Shareholders' Committee. Again after adoption by the Board of the circular which will be issued to you immediately after this meeting, we further telegraphed the shareholders committee that shareholders should await the arrival of the circular before soiling: their shares. I trust our action will have been effective in preventing any of the London shareholders sacrificing their shares. In conclusion, I desire to say that, owing to. the circumstances and na- ' ture of the negotiations from which .the above-mentioned arrangements have resulted, it was inevitable that a good deal of feeling should be dis- [ played on both sides, and some acri- ! monious discussions have taken place ; between the representatives of the ! conflicting interests. But now that it is all over, we mean to let bygones j be bygones, and the Directors, irrespective of the interests they represent, will unite in the future, as they have always done in the past, in pro- ! moting the prosperity of the Bank as a whole, by which means the respeci tive interests of the Government and the ordinary shareholders will, of course, bo best advanced, there being really now no diversity of interest at all. With the increased resources which the fresh capital will place at the Board's command, I believe the Bank wil enter upon an era of renewed and increased prosperity, even greater than that whicli it has experienced in the recent past. I take the oportunity of saying that it is my own individual opinion that the shares of the Bank are today oF~ more value than they have | been at any time during the last , twenty years.

upon my continuing to do so, as long as you do me the honour of electing me to be one of your representatives on the Bank's Board. As the chairman has informed you, the legislation which he mentioned was in prospect at the animal general meeting in June last, and which caused some keen feeling amongst us, has since become law, and, although differing from him in regard:< to some of the provisions of tho| Act, you will, I am sure, join with me in offering him our congratulations on the fact that the Bill was passed into law in a shape practically almost the same as that in wliiph it had been drafted in terms of his proposals. The shareholders' interests at stake in the proposed legislation were recognised by my colleague, Mr Watson, and myself as being so vital that we deemed it prudent to invite the co-operation and assistance of the shareholders. Accordingly, at a duly convened special genera! meeting a committee of shareholders, consisting of fifteen members, was appointed to co-operate with us. This committee rendered valuable a:d and advice in the negotiations, and we were fortunate in having as one of its members, C. P. Skerrett, Esq., K.C., whose assistance was of very great service to us. The result was a compromise between the shareholders committee and* the Board of the Bank, which compromise was adopted by the Hon. Mr Allen, Minister of Finance, who had charge of the Bill before Parliament. The compromise consisted in the following mutual concessions being made between the shareholders and the Government: — Your representatives agreed:— (1) That the Government would be entitled to take up one-third of the £3,000,000 new capital of the Bank, the other two-thirds going to holders of the ordinary shares, the terms ,of issue as to price, premiums, etc., and also the dividends payable on such new from time to time, to be the same both for the Oown and for the ordinary shareholders, but. the Crown's shares to be preference a-s to capital, ajjd to be paid for by the Government" issuing debentures or consolidated stock bearing 4 per cent interest-. " (2) That our claim for & re-conSti-tution of the Board, giving the shareholders additional representation on the directorate, would be relinquished, though we in no way acknowledged that tljQ demands of shareholders ought not to have been conceded. The Government, on its part, agreed:— (1) That the Bill would become a Government measure, thus preventing its mutilation in it-s perilous passage through bpth Houses of Parliament. (2) That the uncalled capital on the existing scares, namely £3 6s 8d per share (£500,000 in all), is to be called up, op 'the terms provided for in the Deed of Settlement, within seven year's from the date of the passage of the Act, or sooner, if in the opinifjp of the Board the position an<f earning powfer of the Bank justify such palling up. Any resolution of the Bpprd calling up the capital would, or pourse, be subject to J-lie approval of the Minister of Finance; and 1 trifiy here mention that, having that in view, T, on 25th September last, waited upon the Hon. Mr Allen and obtained!'his assurance that if the Board saw fit. to make the call earlier, than later in the period he would not offer any objpofton. This promise on his part was fallowed by an undertaking on my part that the shareholders would stasd to the agreement entered into oft 16th September; notwithstanding that"the Public Accounts Committee had deleted from the Bill, as submitted to Parliament, clause 10, which conferred upon you the whole imprest in the reserve fund of the banlf in event of winding up. Gentlemep, though not securing all we contended for, we have obtained a substantia^' advantage-in the undertaking to call up this £3 6a Sd per share of uncalled capital, and viewing all \he circumstances, I think the ordinary shareholders may congratulate themselves upon the terms of the settlement arrived at. And now, gentlemen, I hope I have made it to you that Mr Watson and myself, as your representatives, have done the very best we could in your throughout the negotiations. The loss which we most of all regret i 8 that of the increased representation for shareholders on the Board. This I say with all due regard and respect for past and present'members of the Board; but, notwithstanding, our regret, 1 affirm and rppeat my satisfaction with the past management of the Bank under the Board as hitherto constituted. I may add that 1 entertain every confidence that the Governor in Council of this Dominion (who appoints Government -representatives on the Board) will, so long as our' Parliamentary representation is maintained at its present rhigh level" appoint only capable and honourable men to be Directors of the BanlcV Nevertheless', I have the conviction that a greater proportion of shareholders' elected representatives on the Board would have been in the best interests of the Bank, giving greater stability in its control, and consequently a greater measure of public confidence. As regards the authority given to the Bank's Board to increase the capital of the Bank by ,an amount not exceeding. £3,000,000, .the cliaiirrian has informed you that the Board has decided to offer immediately £750,000 of - that amount, which, with the premium of 50 per cent, brings the amount- payable for each share of £6 13s 4-di up to £lO, making a total of £1,125,000, of which The Crown's share will be >£375,000

And the ordinary share- •. - holders' ...... £7a0,000 Whatever views may bo held regarding the amount of the premium, the Board has resolved to charge in this case, the terms of payment, namely, eight quarterly instalments of 25s each per share, will, I anticipate, be regarded as, liberal, especially considering the option given to applicants (that is, shareholders and Orown alike) So pay up in full, or m part, on Ist April or thereafter on any instalment day. Gentleman, I may just remark that while I would have preferred that the whole of this £lO per share should have been made capital, thereby ranking for dividends, there is some consolation in the knowledge that"* the £375,000 premium to swell thd already large reserve of the Bank, at present £1,375,000, which will no doubt continue increasing, and by the year. 1920. should reach at least £2,320,000. \ou will

HALF-YEARLY MEETING

THE CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS.

At the half-yearly .general meeting, held on Thursday, December 18th, at the head office of tho Bank, Lambton Quay, Wellington, Mr Harold Bcaucliamp, Chairman of Directors, prosiding, the chairman said: — Our half-year general meeting, at which, as you knc»w, there is no statement of accounts to bo submitted, usually takes place early in the mouth of December! The .lateness of the date fixed on this occasion was due to our desire to give ample time for the passage of legislation affecting the Bank which was in contemplation when last we met you. That legislation is now, as you are aware, an accomplished fact. Every shareholder, will shortly be furnished with a print of the Act. I do not, therefore, propose to take up your time by discussing the details of the measure. I will merely .refer to-tho more salient features of it, which are, that the £1,000,000 4 per cent. Guaranteed Stock maturing on July 18th next will be renewed for a further period of 20, years with the Government guuranteej and the board has authority, with the consent of the Minister of Finance, to raise new capital for the-Bank to tho extent of £3,000,000, of which £l,000,000 is to be B prefeTence shares which the Government is- to have tho optiota to take up; and £2,000,000 to be ordinary shares, which the ordinary shareholders are to have the option to take up in proportion to their existing holdings. s » Thug the new legislation has .satisfactorily defined and conserved the interests alike of the Bank, the shareholders, and the State, and I congratulate you on this result of Parliamentary action. The board proposes to issue, as soon as convenient, one-fourth of the £3,000,000 authorised, that is to &ay, £750,000, as follows: —£?50,000 in 37,'500 B preference shares of £6 13s 4d each, to the Crown ; and £500,000 in 75,000 ordinary shares of £6 13s ' 4-d' each, to the ordinary shareholders, at a premium of 50 per cent, in- each case. The B preference shares will be offered to the Government in accordance with the ■ provisions of, the Statute. The 75,000 oadißary shares will ~b© offered to the ordinary shareholders in the proportion of one new share for every two existing ordinary shares held, but no fractions of sharea will <bo issued. The capital arid ' premium will .b* payable in instalment©, asfolio ws:--

No rebate will allowed on any amounts paid before , due date, but shareholders will have the option oi pre-paying all or any of th& above instalments in full on. any of the dates prescribed; and the capital amounts included in such pre-payments will rank for proportionate dividend as from the date of pre-payment, provided that the proportionate amount oi premium relating to such instalments as mentioned above, be feimultaneotasly paid. , * . All arrangements will be completed so that the new capital may be sub-/ scribed as at the commencement ot our succeeding financial year, viz•' April Ist next> and the amount then paid up will constitute additional capital as from that date. The liecea- ' sary documents in connection wim the subscription, of - the new capital will be furnished to shareholders in due course. • . The share registers will be olos-xi ■some time in March next, .and th shareholders then' upon the registers will be those entitled to participate m the proposed new capital issue Jo them the application papers will u<? sent, which must be returned on or before Ist April next, together with application money.-, as above mentionArrangements will ''B made by whicli proprietors who< do not propose to take up their quota of shares may assign their "rights" to otbeis. , The prospects of the Bank are extremely*good; and the settlement ©1 the< proprietary interests on what 1 believe to-be a fair and equitable basis constitutes! in my opinion a substantial addition to the value ot your P, ffo Money Market. -When last ; T had the pleasure of addressing you, 1.1 reviewed at some length the financial' situation 'and bitttebk. aiui iemarked that-1 was not sMi<.',uintvoi an early return- to easier monetary c < ditions. ■ The views I.then express Tiavo been justified by events, and the tightness;in,;tlie market then pro.ivailing still, continues. . The Bank of England rate, which had been reduced to 41, per cent., was a"-ain on October 2nd to : o,per cent., at which figure it still stands. J hfi l at 1 of the Imperial \Bank of Germany is 5 per cent., and that of tli* Bank of France' 4 per cent. You will tin!* that the deafness,of capital is not confined to London alone; it is the condition of the whole commercial world, and it is safe to 'V^t-» t there is little prospect of cpming "moro accessible /interms. 'l'hc; enormous expenditure on armament; shws 110 sign of diminution, the drain on capital ]tliereby< cre^fced; lpit. -s»#|fc £** the greatest causes of the clearness is the demand fr6ni fill countries for development .purpose;?; o 'The moment there appears to bei the least relaxation of tension, the. market i-J flooded - with-: jappfejitions, for loans literally from feyfTy ■quarter of; wo cannot, fceiore'; A expect'to find a marliet for our munidpay and other loans. This Bank fisif' been with th© of a large totaT of such, .to" be placed

as soon as circumstances admit, but ilio prospects of lavourablo flotations, for tho reasons already stated, do not seem at all encouraging. There is, however, little diAibt that money m reasonable amounts can bo obtained, provided that the borrower is prepared to pay the lender's price. \\ e shall have to choose the most favourable iiK/inetit to approach the market; and, as the unexpected sometimes happens, we may perhaps hope that it will oeeur in our near experience, in which case it will certainly be gratifying. Owing to the stringency during the whole of the half-year, we have effected no loan flotations in London for any local bodies during the period The market has latterly been in a most pessimistic mood, and those corporations whose finances would not admit of postponement of their applications have had to submit to onerous terms in order to raise the lunds they required. The general investing public appeal' to be shy of oversea securities, as the greater part of colonial mumrpal and other loans floated during the halfyear lias had to be taken up bv the underwriters, who at one time became so heavily loaded with stocks that they had to call a halt and absolutely decline to consider any further issues until they had been able to dispose of a- reasonable proportion of their burdens.

With conditions as thev stand today, I am bound to recommend New Zealand local bodies, having loan issues in prospect, to postpone any action in the meantime, "and to avoid making any commitments for outlay. The New Zealand Government placed a redemption loan of £3,500,000 at 4 per cent, in October last, in the shape ofl 10 yeajrs eonvei'fciblt* into Inscribed stock at £lOl. Tile, issue price was £9B 10s. In this Connection it is interesting to note the j terms on which other recent colonial , Government loans have floated: J New South Wales, £3,000,000 at 4 p.c. in March, 1913, issue price, £9B; New South Wales, £1*500,000 at 4 p.c. in" August, 1913, £97 10s; Victoria, £2,000,000 at 4 p.c. in September, 1913, £9B; . Canada, £3,000,000, at 4 p.c. in September, 1913, £9B; West Australia, £1,000,000, at 4 p.c. in November, 1913, £97; Canada, £4,000,000 at 4 p.c. in December, 1913 £97. It'will be seen that the New Zealand Government was able to obtain for its loan the highest price of the year. All things considered, theiefore, the Government of this Dominion may well be congratulate! on the success of the operation. Turning now to the nioi e lo ~c,. l as? pect of the matter and the money supply on this, side of the world, we find that Australia is anticipating a good season, and rates fo-r money are said to bo weakening there somewhat, lenders being prepared to advance on mortgage at fully one-half per cent, less than they were demanding a few months ago. In New Zealand .the season, owing to the excellent winter, promises to be perhaps the most bountiful ever experienced, and as prices are on the whole good, the net yield should be most satisfactory. In point of fact, I anticipate that at the end of the current produce season, covering a period df twelve months, our total exports will approximate £25,000,000. J Both in Australia and/New' Zenalnd, however, monetary ease resulting from the excess of exports is not likely to be experienced to any great extent, because, though exports have largely increased, imports have increased in even greater ratio. For permanent relief, therefore, we can look only to the central market of the world, and until London money becomes definitely cheaper, there seems small prospect of much ease in the Dominion.

The Labour Trouble. —In the midst of so much that was favourable in the circumstances of the people of this country—a, bountiful season -with a j large prospective export of wool, butter, cheese, mutton and other products; with good prices ruling in the markets of the world; with abund- < ance of work for our people at a high average of wages fixed by agreements made under the authority of our 1 courts—we were suddenly confronted last October with a strike,, at first only a small affair, but quickly turned by mischievous agitators into the most serious industrial upheavalHliat the country has ever experienced. What the trouble is all about, moist people have a difficulty in explaining < precisely. It is not wages, for that at one time fruitful cause of dispute ig not mentioned; it is not hours of i labo-ur, for no one has complained. The real question at issue appears to be whether the Federation of Labour | shall bo recognised as the controlling authority in labour questions. The employers say No<! because the Federation has declared itself as inimical to existing social conditions and a disregarder of industrial agreements and obligations. The employers claim that thev should lie expected to'treat only with labour- unions so constituted as to provide a means whereby the equitable settlement of any disp that may arise shall be assured. For this purpose tliey claim that the unions must register under ( the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, which provides the necessary tribunal for Rearing and adjudicating upon industrial disputes. This certainly, seems a rfeasoiiable attitude to take up in the - interests of all eoucerned;. but it does not suit the Federation of Labour, which aspires to being itself the sole arbiter of such questions. . - And sol the strikers, who are .under the domination of the executive of the Federation, remain on strike, and presumably will continue so until they throw off the

yoke of tlio Federation. in the meantime, the only certain things are that tho whole trade of the community has been disorganisrc? and upset, and that a systematic nttempt has been made to absolutely j destroy means of communication with 1 tho outside world. regard appears to be paid to the enormous low of wages to tho workmen, who, themselves, seem to forget that men who earn their living; by work paid by the hour can never overtake the hours j lost, that it is just so much' absolutely cut out of their lives. A merchant whoso business the strike throws out of gear does not suffer in a similar degree because, generally I speaking, he is able to sell to-moi'row I the goods which tho strike has prej vented him selling to-day ; but not so j the workman, who?o time is his capiJ (al. for with the waste of one goes the lass of the other . It is indeed a strange thing that tho workman can- • not see that in movements of this kind he must, on every occasion, be the greatest loser, and indeed "the most extraordinary as well as the most certain conclusions to be drawn from the circumstances of this senseless strike [ are, first, the astounding ignorance | of the workman of tho economic naj ture of his own valuable capital, viz., ( his labour; and, secondly, his equally I astounding credulity in listening, ob- | livious of tho most obvious lessons of his life, to the wicked and stupid representations of unscrupulous demagogues who, in order that they may be M{tared the necessity of doing any honest work themselves, sponge upon him for the means of leading an idle life, while they poison his mind with their Absurd, impracticable and revolutionary theories. It has been an encouraging feature of the strngiglo that the call of the Federation's executive 1 for a general strike was not uniformly responded to by the labour unions. This shows that a large proportion of the workers of the Dominion are not in. sym--1 pathy with the aims of the Federa- } tion, and are not disposed, _at the ' bidding of revolutionary Socialists, to voluntarily involve themselves and their families in needless sacrifices, and their country in serioua tosses. I believe, if the labour unions were to make it-a fiyed and invariable rule that no strike should ever be called until a secret ballot of the union or unions affected had been taken and had resulted in approval of a strike by at least one-fifth of tho votes polled, strike trouble.? would not loom as large as they at present do in the industrial landscape. It will be within your recollections that the secret ballot of the General Labourers' Union resulted in a vote of 3 to 1 against striking at the call of the Federation of Labour. As the strike developed, there naturally occurred a certain amount of disorder, at one time presenting a threatening appearance. But tho strike leaders very evidently under-, estimated the resources! of society for its self-preservation, and they entirely overlooked the fact that it was not in the least likely that the producers of more than nine-tenths of the exportable produce of the country, were going to sit idly by while their property was being held up or destroyed at the bidding of a small knot of irresponsible persons styling themselves the Executive of the Federation of Labour. Shareholders beyond New Zealand may bo interested to know that, shortly after the declaration of the strike)' new unions of waterside workers were formed and registered under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, and these unions, largely con?-: posed'of country hands, and known as the Arbitrationists, have been able to successfully cope with the loading . and discharging of produce and merchandise at the various ports throughout the Dominion. _ The farmer lias indeed proved him- j self to be not only the backbone of the country (as has long been recognised), but also the country's guardian and protector. If the present attitude of the leaders of the Federation of Labour is to be taken as an of labour's attitude generally, it evidence? & design to disintegrate the existing! social order ; and in that case the salvation of the State, as well as its prosperity, would seem to lie in the multiplication of the yeoman proprietary to the utmost extent possible. Thus/ the strike developments have furnished a fresh argument in favour of the encouragement of land settlement and the sub, division of our large estates. J The Government are to be compli- ' uiented on the firm way in which they have dealt with the disturbance and are now bringing to justice offenders against law and order and other ! charged with incitement to crime. Conduct of the kind must, of course, in the interests of society, be rigidI ly repressed and severely punished. ' The thanks of the community artduo to all the special constables who, at considerable inconvenience and bodily risk to themselves, placed their services at the disposal of the authorities.* «, They are also deserving of praise for the admirable self-control they displayed in the face of occasional extreme provocation from the lawless element among! the mob. Before passing from the subject, I feel that it devolves upon me, as representing an important section of / the financial interests of the country —interests' which really concern, the honest, well-doing worker as much as the employer—to stress most emphatically the exceeding folly of the : resort to strike methods with the object of righting a wrong—real or imaginary. Profit cannot result from the precipitation of loss. The waste involved in a .strike is simply deplorable, and the set-back which industry sustains is almost incalculable.

And to crown all, the strike usually fails to achieve the end for which u was planned. Therefore, when considered calmly and dispassionately, resort to the ntriko can only be regarded as little short of insanity ou the part of the workers. As showing tho enormous loss that may be entailed by strike action, some interesting statistics are given in "Tho Economist" newspaper of '27 th September and 4th October. It appears that in tho year 1900 there wore in England 6-18 industrial disputes, affecting 188,500 workers and involving a loss of 3,150,000 working days. In 191.1 and 1912 there were 1724 strikes and lockouts, affecting 2,400,000 workers and involving a loss of 50,600,000 working days. Other countries have suffered similarly ; but I have only available the details relating to France, where, during 1912, there were no less than 1,116 strikes, affecting 267,000 workers ,with a loss of 2,318,000 working days: an improvement, however, on tho previous year, when the loss through strikes was equivalent to 4,096,000 working days. These are significant figures. They show that these struggles are imperilling national prosperity, and indicate that, if allowed to go on unchecked, they will almost certainly lead to national disaster. Every true patriot must feel that they emphasise the urgent need for careful consideration of the difficult problems involved, with the object of discovering a satisfactory solution. STAFF.—In the course of. the discussion which took place in Parliament when the Bank's Bill was under debate, reference was made by some of the speakers to the pay of ouf staff, which is apparently considered inadequate. In view of this 1 have, had some comparisons made between the position in 1900 and 1913, and I quote them below for your information ::

Number of officers employed: 1900, 553; 1913, 957. Average salary paid: 1900, £l7l lis; 1913, £195 2s. Total of Provident Funds: 1900, £148,163; 1913, £293,747. Maximum pension payable: 1900, £350; 1913, £SOO. Minimum pension payable: 1900, £100; *1913, £l5O. Bank's subsidy: 1900, nil; 1913, £10,522. Staff's contribution: 1900, £2610; 1913, £4965.

During the period ufidei' l'6vie\V, i.e., from 1900 to 1913 (both inclusive), the Board has contributed to the Provident Fund an aggregate of £71,732, whilst tHe concurrent contributions of the staff themselves have amounted to £49,396. In addition to the improvement which tlie above figures evidence, the Bank Has paid a steady annual bonus commencing with, and including the year 1904. The rate of the bonus has been 5 per cent of salaries, except in 1911—the Bank's jubilee year—when 10 per cent was paid. The actual amount of bonuses distributed year

JNo bonus was paid as at 31st March last, tho, staff-having been informed on the occasipi* of the last distribution in 1912 that it would piol/ably .be discontinued andi that tho Board w<yild, in all likelihood, prefer to;: make more liberal increases in. the . salaries of deserving officers rath'er tiiari pay a bonus in which de.Berving and undeserving share equally. The current year is the first on which the bonus has been missed, but 1 may mention on the other hand that the salary increases granted as atx3lst Mardh, 1912, were unusually liberal.

Some ago, a scheme for improving the position of the junior staff was formulated, and adopted by the. Board. Under this scheme, youths, entering the Bank's service at say 17 years of age, after completing their six months' probation, commence at a salary of £6O per annum, and rise by yearly increases increases until, in their seventh year of service, they receive remuneration at the rate of £l5O per annum. Thereafter, further steady annual increases, if merited, are granted.

The Bank lias also established a fund for the pension of its aged messengers, and is gradually endowing another fund, which "will eventually be availably for relief of specially nfice&iiiioua '&&&< From the foregoing, it would b? seen that the position of the Bank's employees is an improving one: that the Board is-not unmindful of the interests of its deserving. servants, and that the advantages offering in the Bank's employ should attract to its service men of a satisfactory and efficient class.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS—We now come to the actual business of the meeting, the first of which is the election of a, representative' on the Board. Mr Martin Kennedy is the retiring Director on this occasion and, being eligible, has ofFeerd himself for re-election. As there is no Other candidate for the appointment, I have much pleasure in declaring him duly elected. INTERIM DIVIDEND.—The next business is the interim dividend. The profits lor the half-year ended 30th September last, while somewhat below those of the corresponding half of 1912, are still very ample, and we have every reason to expect that those for the current half-year will prove satisfactory. The Board lias therefore docided upon making the customary distribution. A dividend at the rate of 6 per cent is declared dfccoi'dinglv, and will he payable in Wellington to-morrow, 19th instant, and at branches on receipt of advice. 1 do not think there is anything more calling for remark by me, and, as Christmas is at hand, I will conclude Uy wishing you all the Compliments of the Season.

Mr Martin Kennedy said: i rise to express my grateful thanks to shareholders for the honour they have done me in again reelecting me unopposed as one of their two representatives on the Board* of the Bank for the ensuing l .two years. If, after my nineteen years of service in that capacity, any incentive were wanting to lead, me to use my best efforts in your behalf, this renewal of your confidence would supply it. But, gentlemen, no' incentive is needed, and 1 can unreservedly say that, as a Director, I have at nil times done my best in the interests of the Batik as a whole, and I need hardly assure yon that you may rely

On" application, not * pthan « 1st ., April,. July, 1914 - 1st October, 1914 . ' ; lsf. January, 1915 ist> April, 1915 . July, 1 - 1915 - 1st October, 1915 . IstS January, 1916 . later 1914 Arnoun £1 5 £1 5 £1 o £1 5 £1 5 £1 5 £1. 5 l r 0 ,D 0 0 ' 0 0 0 0 .. To be allocated, ro Capital. ' To Premium £0 7o .8 £0 8 4 ? 16:\|8 '4 16 ; .8 8 4 10 8 V 8 4 10 8 8 4 16 '8 - 8 1 16 8 8 4 1Q 8 - 8,4 £10 0 ■Q £6 1-3 4 £3 6 8'

by year has been as follows:— £ Year ended 31st March, 1904 5,534 „ 1905 5,793 j f ]906 6,146 " 1907 6,717 7} " 1908 .7,077 1909 7,280 n " 1910 7,485 1911 15,491 *) 1912 8,415 £69,938