The NEW ZEALAND LOAN AND MERCANTILE AGENCY (LIMITED)

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1830, 29 March 1884, Page 4

The NEW ZEALAND LOAN AND MERCANTILE AGENCY (LIMITED)

+ - The eighteenth annual ordinary general meeting of the shareholders of this com pany was held on February 1, at thei. offices, Queen Victoria street, London MrT. Russell, C.M.G., who occupied the chair, said it gave the directois gre.it pleasuie to be able to come to them again with their customary dividend of 15 pei cent., adding £10,000 to the reserve fund, thereby inere.is.ing it to £220,000, and carrying forward £0543. Nor was there anything in the prevent position of affairs— for they had telegiaphic advicefrom the colony up to January 31— which would lead them to suppose that the} would be less prosperous in the future than in the past. It had been his pleasure since he last met them in that room to pay a lengthened visit to the colony. He had had the advantage of a residence of ten months in New Zealand, and he took the opportunity of making himself acquainted with the eharac ter of the business there. He had the advantage of frequent communications with the colony Board and of attending Board meetings, and he was phnsed to be able to tell them that all he learned and all he saw gave him the fullest confidence in the company' loperation there, lliey had a Lug,' body of colonial piopnetors, and money was always dealer tlieie, 7, 8, oi 9 per cent., as against 3, 4, or .5 here, shares frequently commanded a higher prices time that here. The gioup of countries known as the Australian colonies wore making rapid strides in wealth and importance, and he believed the most sangi i'io among us could not realise what would be the development and growth of those colonies dining the next 20 years. Besides their business in New Zealand, this compaay did a laigc amount of business iv Melbourne and Sydney. L- ls t year their sales of wool in Melbourne amounted to 27,980 bales, apart from those sold in this country. In 1882 their wool business, including that which they dealt with in this country amounted to 98,734 bales. This year they had dealt with 109,868 bales. Their business being so enlarged, they were about to propose an incraase in the capital of the company. They would call a meeting of the shareholders for the purpose, and give them full notice of it. They would ask them to increase tlie capitil by £500,000. They proposed to issue to the propiictors in this country one half of the new capital, win oh would be about one sha:e to each twelve shares now held, at a small premium, say abouc £1. That would give them a very handsome bonus. They proposed to deai with the other poition of the half million by issuing it in the Australian colonies. They had a large propnctaiy ;n; n Ndvv Zealand who weie of great use to them, hut they had no shareholder m the Austialian colonies, or only a few. The lecent impeiial legislation enabled l'im to establish colonial iec;isteis of shares They pio posed to take advantage of this, and to establish a shaie register in Melbourne, ni d perhaps in Sydney, and to cieatc theie a local pio prietaiy, and to issue to them the other half of the new cayital, and they proposed to issue it .it a considetable premium. The dnectors weie entitled, under the articles of association, to onefourth of the new issue of sliaies, but this piivilege they proposed to forego, and to give to the shareholders tlie lull benefit of the new issue, the diiectois only taking such portion as they weie entitled to as shareholders. In conclusion, he moved, "That the report and accounts be leceived and adopted." Mr Boutcher seconded the motion. In reply to Dr. Drysdale, who a iked for some infoimation about the fio/en meat trade, and whether it was a piofitable trade to the importeis, the chaiiman said the tiade, he believed, was paying, but the results wore not as satisfactoi y as they miyht be. Mr Lark worthy (the manager) said he believed there would he an impoi ration of between 400,000 and 500,000 cai cases of sheep this jear. He knew of one shipper who had conti acted to biingovei 200,000 carcases fiom New Zealand alone this year. A shaieholdcr observed that vhilc the expenditure had been increasing, tho profits had not been incieasing at all, and said he thought that the item of £182,874 for premises wnsan undue amount. Hie Chairman said the investment in premises included their '■tores. They had very fine premises in Melbourne, where they were doing a huge and pi ofi table business, and all theii piemiscs were put down at less than their actual value. The motion was then put and caincd, and the letiiing directois and the audi tors were re-elected. On the motion of Mr Norman, seconded by Dr Drysdale, a vote of thanks was given to the Board of Directois. Mr Mundella, who returned thanks on bshalf of the Board, said the shareholders who had moved tlie resolution expressed a desiie that the dividend should be 20 per cent. He considered a dividend of 15 per cent, was not a bad one, and he thought they ought to wait a little longer and put themselves into a still more solid position. If good management would bring them 20 per cent, he was sure they would get it. A vote of thanks was also passed to themanagersand staff nere and in the colonies, and the meeting then resolved itself into a special meeting, at which cci tain resolutions were passed to enable the directors to open registers of shares in the colonies.

Fresh, clean hog's laid nibbed thiee or four times on any kind of warts on horses or cattle will lvmove them. For bees alsike clover may be fovn with timothy. It is good on low, lic-h land, is fine pasture and is a good 1 o icy food. A curious seiies of statistics regarding actors and acties&e3 h.is been sent to a contemporaiy. Fiom them we gather that Mr B.ury Sullivan, dining the course of hi« diamatic caieer, has committed 17,000 murdcis, and has Iven killed in battle, slain in a duel, ] o'soned, or fatally 9000 times. MiHenry Trving's record is not qvnte c o full of blood ; but he has taken 15,000 lives, and on 7,00 oocas'ons has been violently done to death in the glare of the foot lights. Mrs Bancroft has been foully betrayed or abducted 3 200 times; MiNeville has 3,100 times been mined in consepuence of the teachery of lii-s friends ; Miss Ada Cavendibh lias been betrayed, deserted, or abducted .5,600 times, and is still suffering similar niisfor tunes ; Mr Charles Warner lias 2,000 times been killed by ardent liquors, and has nearly as often perished by accidents on sea and land ; Mrs Kendall has been 2000 times deseited or betrayed, and has, besides, been otherwise badly treated 11,000; Mr Kendall has 9.000 times fallen dead suddenly ; and Mr John Clayton had nobly befriended ISOO miseiable and deserted women, and has subseqently married half of them. Mr Charles Whyuham has been divorsed from 2,800 wives, Rats and Mick.— lf you wish to tie stroy them net a picket of Hill's M*gic Vi'Bmiv KiLU'R in paeket 1 ;, 06, Od, and Is, to be obt lined of all storekeepers, or from 1. \i. Hili by enclosing an extia stamp. One Shilling. — Francis J. Sbortts' Popular Art Union. — Ten first-class Oil Paintings by celebrated artist.-,. 5000 tickets, at Is. The prizes are magnificent and costly Country subscribers sending stamps or otherwise will have tickets by return post. Enclose stamped envelope for reply.— Fkavcis J. Shoutt, 140, Queen-street, Auckland. — [Anvr.] . Life in the Bush— Thex and Now. — It is generally supposed that in the bush we have to put up witn many discomforts and privations in the shape of food. Formerly it was so, but now, thanks to T. B. Hill, who has himself dwelt in the bush, if food docs consist chiefly of tinned mrats his Colonml Saocb gives to them a most delectable flavour, making them as well of the plainest food most enjoyable, and instead as bard biicuiti and indigestible damper his Impbovbd Colonial Baking Powder makes the very best bread, scone*, cakes, and pastry far superior and more wholesome than yeait or reive*,, SoWbyall'ttorfikcepers who can ob-