NEW TRUST COMPANY

New Zealand Tablet, 2 August 1917, Page 34

NEW TRUST COMPANY

THE DOMINION TRUST

Attention having been called to the issue of a prospectus by the Dominion Trust Company of New Zealand, the registered office of which is in Christchurch, a representative of this journal saw the broker, who gave the following information regarding the compafny and its objects: It has been the bitter experience of many in the past that the appointment of private persons as trustees is fraught with considerable risk. Many instances can be recalled of great hardship and loss befalling widows and orphans as the result of maladministration, and in some cases the- fradulent misappropriation of trust funds Inprivate trustees. In addition, the uncertainty of life and other causes make it a matter of some difficulty to secure the services of suitable persons to act as executors, trustees, liquidators, guardians, and to fill other similar offices. The promoters of the Dominion Trust Company of New Zealand, Limited, believe that owing to the growth of population, there is room for a local company to take up the business of executors and trustees, and financial advisers. The prospectus of the corporation, which has been registered with the Registrar of -Joint Stock Companies, has accordingly been issued. At the outset, it is noteworthy that no fully, or partly-paid, shares are to be allotted, and no cash is to be paid to any of the promoters of this company by way of remuneration for the promotion thereof. In fact, all shareholders stand on the same basis exactly. Moreover, one important provision in the articles of association is that the qualification of a director shall be that he is registered as the holder of not less than 500 shares. The provisional directorate consists of the following gentlemen, who are well known in Christchurch and indeed throughout Canterbury:— GEORGE THOMAS BOOTH, Manufacturer, Christchurch. WILLIAM HENRY CLARK, Director of Kaiapoi Woollen Company. WILLIAM JOHN COTTERILL, Company Manager, Timaru. JAMES COW, Director of the New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Association, Ashburton. WALTER HILL, Woolbroker, Christchurch, and EDGAR ERASER STEAD, Electrical Engineer, Christchurch. • The Company's Solicitor is MR. CHARLES S. THOMAS, a son of the late Mr. David Thomas, of Ashburton, and MR. JOHN OWEN JAMESON has been appointed as Broker on the Stock Exchange. Further, it may be added that the Dominion Trust Company was first mooted by the late Mr., I). D. Macfarlane, of Lyndon, Amuri, and would have been launched in 1914 but for the outbreak of the great European war. The onsets of thf company are- to provide a safe &wj

permanent body, having perpetual succession, to act as attorney, factor, and generally as agent; executor, and trustee under a will, either alone, or jointly; as trustee under marriage, or other settlements; as trustee in lieu of other trustees who may desire to be relieved and discharged from their trusts; and as liquidator, receiver, guardian, committee of the estates of lunatics, or as assignee, or supervisor in bankrupt estates. In brief, the company proposes to discharge all the duties imposed upon trustees of every nature whatsoever, and will give special attention to administration and management of the estates of widows, spinsters, orphans, and of men called up in the Second Division of the, Expeditionary Force, including the management of the properties of farmers and others, called up under the Military Service Act. The advantages of a company acting as agent or as trustee are generally admitted to be numerous. A company is a permanent institution, and, unlike an individual, neither dies nor leaves the country, nor becomes incapacitated by sickness, or other causes, from transacting the business entrusted to it; a company's position and financial condition is easily ascertained, and it has a fixed scale of charges. Furthermore, a company is subject to audit and to supervision of the Supremo Court, and a continuous audit of all trust and other accounts is made by auditors appointed by the shareholders in tho company. The capital of the Dominion Trust Company is £.50,000, divided into 100,000 shares of 10/- each, and 25,000 shares are now offered to tho public, one shilling per share on application, the same amount on allotment, and the balance, if required, in calls of sixpence per share at intervals of three mouths or longer. Two similar companies doing business in Dunedin are both paying dividends of 15 per cent., and recent Stock Exchange quotations indicate that the demand for their shares is keen. The prospectus further points out that as very little actual working capital is required to successfully carry on the business of a Trust Company, it is not anticipated that more than 2/- per share will be called up. The fact that industrial troubles are most unlikely to affect a Trust Company is also an attractive feature to those seeking an investment. It is claimed that the expense of carrying on the business for which the company is being formed will be small, and as the confidence of investors is secured tho revenue should soon become sufficiently large to ensure returns to shareholders. Applications for shares, together with the amount payable on application, may be sent to the. office of the Interim Secretary, 152 Hereford Street, Christchurch, or to any branch of the Bank of• New Zealand, or of the National Band-

settlement during our lifetime. We can only prepare and make the way for an Irish parliament in which we hope the sons of Michael Davitt and John Dillon and Sheehy-Skeffington will sit to guide and rule a united and autonomous Ireland !