NORTHERN STEAMSHIP COMPANY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 123, 26 May 1910, Page 9

NORTHERN STEAMSHIP COMPANY.

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the Northern Steamship Company, Ltd., was held at the Company's offices yesterday afternoon. Mr. M. A. Clark presided, in the unavoidable absence of the chairman of directors (Mr. C. Rhodes). The report and balance-sheet, as already published, were adopted. In moving the adoption of the report and balance- 1 sheet, the chairman read the following statement prepared by Mr. Rhodes: — '"You will see from the report and bal- j anct-shect in your hands that the opera-1 tions of the company during the past i year show a good result. We have i shared in the general revival in trade,! and our revenue has been well main-1 tamed. .As a result of this, and the fact that we have not found it necessary to add to our fleet or properties, we have been able to reduce our liabilities considerably, as a comparison of the figures in the present and last balancesheets wiil show. Should no untoward circumstances arise, we hope that a further reduction will be effected during the coming year, as we do not' anticipate any special outlay. While the volume of trade has increased, we have sufficient tonnage to do a much larger business. Our vessels have been efficiently mainta ncH. and the cost of special repairs and the annual overhauls has, as usual, been charged to the boiler and repairs | account. The customary provision for i depreciation has been made, and values I have been written down to figures that j we believe are sound and reliable. The I halance-sheet shows that our shipping I property now stands at considerably less than at our last meeting. The board is satisfied with the purchase of the trade! of the Settlers' Steamship Company, and J the manager, who has visited the dis-1 tricts served by the steamers, has found I that storekeepers and settlers are pleased with the way the services are being conducted. We had the misfortune to lose the Kapanui by fire in August last, while lying at Warkworth wharf, but the hoiler and machinery were salvaged, and are in first-class order. They have been taken into stock, and will be available for future use. The repairs to the Aupouri, which stranded on the Opot'iki bar in March last year, and to which reference was made in last annual meeting, cost more than was at first anticipated. These losses have been charged to our insurance account, but we have been able to reinstate almost the whole of the amount out of revenue, so that the account now stands at only £500 less than it did last year. The insurance account No. 2 now stands at £4160. This was opened to provide for claims arising under the Shipping and Seamen and Workers' Compensation Acts, contingencies that might be serious. The Wellington, which has been lying idle for Rome years, was sold in December last for dismantling purposes. The Ngapuhi has received a rrew boiler and an extensive overhaul in all departments, making the vessel almost equal to new. We hope it will do good service for the company for many years to come. We have found it necessary to lengthen the Claymore, to make her more suitable for the West Coast trade. The alterations Trill have the effect of reducing the draught of the vessel, so that she will be able to work the port of Waitara, the trade of which is at present carried on by the Albatross, an auxiliary vessel, under charter to the company. We hope that by this expendi- ; ture an economy in working expenses . will be effected, as the vessel will be able to combine the Waitaxa trade with her present services. The loss of passenger traffic in our New Plymouth service through the opening of the Main Trunk railway led to a conference at Wellington with the authorities of the Union Steam Ship Company in June last, at which the then chairman of the board, Mr. J. H. Upton, and the manager were present. It was then decided that, as theTe was not sufficient traffic to maintain two steamers in the service, one . should be withdrawn, and we should carry it on as a joint service on equitable terms. The arrangement so far has worked satisfactorily. I am pleased to say that the engineering workshop, in which we are equally interested with the same company, has been carried on successfully. The repairing work has been well done, and we believe that both companies are satisfied with the investment. During the year two of our oldest employees, Captain W. Farquhar and Mr. William Laird, who had been asso-1 ciat'ed with the company since its forma-! tion, and had served us faithfully and well, retired from active service. The relations of the company with its em- i ployees continue satisfactory, several agreements as to rates of wages having been arranged during the year. With the steady development of the resources of the province, the outlook for the future is promising, and with immunity from serious accident we hope to meet you next year with an equally satisfactory report." The motion for the adoption of the report and balance-sheet was carried Unanimously. The retiring directors (MessTS. C. Rhodes, M. A. Clark, and John Brown) were re-elected. The auditors (Messrs. G. O'Halloran, jun., and W. W. Bruce) were also re-elected. The meeting closed with votes of thanks to the chairman and directors, and to the manager and staff. The dividend will be payable to-morrow.