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before we part, and it is that I hope our shareholders will give some attention now to the value of the shares. People can pretty well tell the position of the debenture-issue, founded as it is both upon the railway and the landed property of the company. I think, therefore, the shareholders might give a little more attention to the shares, and if they examine their position properly they will, in all probability, find there is a very fine prospect before them. I cannot, as Chairman, now say more, because one has to be very cautious in these matters, but I am very anxious that the shareholders should not be disposed to part with property which eventually will be very valuable. (Applause.) The meeting then separated.

Extract from Report of Midland Railway Company, dated 22nd November, 1889, presented at General Meeting of Shareholders held 29th November, 1889. Further capital to enable the company to proceed with the works was, during the past year, successfully raised by an issue of £745,000 5-per-cent. first-mortgage debentures on the 18th April, for which a Stock Exchange quotation has since been obtained. Contracts Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are now completed; a further contract (No. 4) to extend the line to Ahaura has been let, and tenders have been invited for the construction of the railway to Eeefton, and the section at Springfield. The section from Ngahere, or Nelson Creek, to Brunnerton was opened for traffic on the Ist August. The directors have recently received a telegram from the general manager, stating that the first sale by auction of about 15,000 acres of land, earned by the company, has realised prices 41 per cent, above the Government valuation. The head of the company's land department in New Zealand reports that the land earned on behalf of the debenture-holders will be readily saleable as the grant becomes due. Note.—The date of the balance-sheet attached to this report is June, 1889, which states that £355,000 had been spent.

Extract from Report of the General Manager of the Midland Railway, dated 30th June, 1890, and appended to the Report, dated 14th November, 1890, presented to General Meeting of Shareholders held 21st November, 1890. Land Gkant. The value of the land grant earned up to date by the completed and opened sections of railway, based upon the Government valuation, amounts to £51,650. The block selections made to meet these earnings and authorised by the Government are 70,950 acres, which at Government value amounts to £45,750, plus selections of town lands made and authorised to the value of £2,237, making a total value of grant received £47,987. Upon resurvey of the blocks it is estimated that the correct area will amount to 80,099 acres, increasing the Government value to £50,631 instead of £45,750. This new figure, plus town sections £2,237, gives a total of £52,868, or £1,218 more than at present earned. This excess will be adjusted in future selections. Of the corrected area, 80,099 acres, valued at £50,631, 78,698 acres have been sold to various purchasers for £59,478, leaving a balance in hand of 1,401 acres, which can be sold for about £1,631. The sales have been, in some cases, for cash payments, and in others one-third cash and two-thirds left on mortgage at 5-J per cent, interest per annum, the balance to be paid off in five years. Most of the town sections are being let on lease for various periods, at rentals which show a return of at least 15 per cent, on the Government valuation! Besides the eastern lands selected and dealt with, sales have been made under clause 33 of the contract, which enables the company to sell western lands before they have been earned by construction. The proceeds of such sales are paid into a Government Suspense Account, which the company can draw on when the earnings by construction allow of, if then advisable. Under this clause of the contract 924 acres of rural lands on the West Coast have been sold for £1,060 10s., the Government valuation being £595. Selections in the Town of Eeefton, under a special arrangement with the Government, have been sold for £1,700 —the Government valuation being £1,149 10s.—and 1,800 acres have been let on coal and other leases or timber licenses. The coal and timber areas will yield large returns. The coal lands are let on a royalty of 6d. per ton, and the timber on a royalty of from 6d. to Is. per 100 superficial feet. I may point out that there are several hundred thousand acres upon which the timber alone, on the basis of these royalties, will yield from £3 to £6 per acre when cut out, leaving the freehold as a further asset for the company. So far the sales of the company's " eastern lands " show an average increase of about 20 per cent, over the Government valuation. I must, however, draw attention to the fact that the lands sold are so situated that the opening of the company's line will not affect their future value ; the increase is due to the improvement of trade in the colony alone. It has hitherto been estimated that these eastern lands would only bring the Government valuation prices.

Copy of Circular issued to the Shareholders. 79, Gracechurch Street, London, E.G., 23rd October, 1891. To the shareholders of the New Zealand Midland Railway Company (Limited). In anticipation of the annual general meeting, the following facts, extracted from recent reports of the general manager and land-manager of the company, may be of interest to the shareholders: — Construction. —Details of the construction, which has advanced satisfactorily, will appear in the annual report.