COLONIAL NEWS.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7215, 28 November 1888, Page 3

COLONIAL NEWS.

WELLINGTON WOOLLEN COMPANY. WELLINGTON, November 8A meeting of the Woollen Company was held to consider the advisability of writing off j>l per shore for the purpose of wiping out preliminary expenses and creating a reserve fond. The Chairman, Mr Kennedy Macdonald, said these expenses, amounting to .£6651, had caused a good deal of expense to the Company, and the Directors had felt that the time had come when something should be done in the matter. It had been a puzzle for some time how to get shares up to what might be called their intrinsic value, and they were advised, until this dead weight was got rid of, and a dividend declared, shares would not reach a fair price. It was feH» also, that the operation now proposed would save property tax, and an annual charge, being the yearly proportion off preliminary expenses of .£3OO or .£4OO a year, and would place the Company in a sound financial position. The Company at present waa in as sound and satisfactory a condition as any similar enterprise in the colony, for they were full of orders; the mill was working day and night, and the general practical administration was excellent. The Bey. Van Staverein saidthey had to their credit last year £3600 odd, and they were now asked to strike off .£II,OOO. The meaning of this, he conj sidered, was that the < ompany was losing money. The £3500 was nothing and they were virtually asked to wipe off a bip sum now as a sheer loss. He moved an amend ment—"That the £3577 carried forward on the balance-sheet of May last be applied to wiping off the preliminary expenses, and that in addition 5s per share be written off for the same purpose, which would mean a saving of £2786 (or a grand total of .£6364) which would all but suffice to wipe off the preliminary expenses, and £1000 besides." Mr Menteath seconded the amendment, which would put the Company on a sounder footing than the resolution. The ( hairxnan regretted the time had mot gone by when the Company washed its dirty linen in public. The Company's position bad been unique, for organised efforts had been made to ruin it, and those efforts only had' been nullified by the management and Directors. A gentleman in business in this city had stated not lone ago that a number of shareholders had waited upon him to urge him to join with tht>m in mining the Company, and, if n ceesary, he would give the name of that gentleman. Be charged Mr Staverein with making statements that were incorrect, and charged him with being one of several men in the city who were anxious to wreck the Company. For himself, he would no longer allow the Company to be dragged through the dirt in this manner. Several speakers deprecated the extreme views held by the opponents of the motion. The Eev. Mr Staverein held to the truth of his statements. : ' Eventually it was decided to write off 12s per share, which, it was estimated, wonld be sufficient to get rid of the preiminary expenses.