WELLINGTON GAS COMPANY.

Evening Post, Volume VIII, Issue 310, 4 February 1873, Page 2

WELLINGTON GAS COMPANY.

The third annual general meeting of tha slinreh^tlers of this company ,wm held ) ? ?. « -ny afternoon at four o'clock, at the , »o quay's offices. Present — Messrs, Pha* roz' (m the chair}, Anderson, Burne, Bau u atyne, George (manager), Kunter, Kebble,Ollivier, Port, Prenderga»t, Rhodes, Schultzo, Wilson, and Major Paul. The Manager read the following . f s report ; * I i In presenting the annual statement of accounts to 31st December, 1872, the directors have much plcwmre in congratulating the shareholders on the satisfactory progress of the company. Since the : last report tho nett price of gas has been reduced to 16s per 1,000 feet ; a much lower rate than "was charged by ivny otJher company in the colony, so short a time after its establishment. During the past year the -Work!* 'ntvi been extended by Adding a new benoh^ol three retorts, &ttd enlnrgiug the ' Coal atoTeV* and a new gas-holderis rapidly approaching completion }' tbemainshave been lengthened in several directions, and nearly six miles we now laid ; the number of private' HJOfc* sumers has increased to 205, and the total number of lights fitted exceeds 3,700, of which 2,20U are divided among private consumers ; 34 miles of main pipetk for future extensions have been ordered,- and are in course of shipment from England, The amount available for distribution ia £2,428 16s sd, and the directors propose to pay a dividend ftt tho rate of 10 per cent on the original shares, and interest at the same rate on the second issue,- calculated from the date on which calls were paid to the 31st December, 1872,—this will absorb the sum of £1,320 13s Id. As the. position of the company now warrants some remuneration to the direct* ors, it is proposed to divide the sum of £250 among the members of the board for their services since its formation, a period of more than three years. The directors also propose that a sum of £50 be.presented to tho manager, Mr, George, as an honorarium. These appropriations will absorb the sum of £1,620 13b Id, leaving £808 3s 4d to the credit of profit and losb, with* £500 of which it is intended to com* mewce a reserve fund, and carry forward n balance of £308 3s 4d, Two of the directors, via., Messrs. S G. J, Pharnzyn and A. P, Stuart, retife b> rotation, and being eligible, again offei themselves for re«eleotion. For the directors, C. J, Pharazyn, - Chairman. The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report, said he had very few remarks to make, It wan a question last yeax whether a dividend should be paid, partly out of capital aujd partly- out of profits. Some had objected to this then, Baying that it would always boi so, < but, ho had thought otherwise ; he liad faith' in the company, and the results of the past yeai had B&ewn he was right'/ There was oti« thing he noticed, that the number of con< feUmcrs was small Thure was no prospect of their being increased more than at the j&*-q of ih'fe t>r; six ataonth, andjbhereforc r* (1 iot think there waß any chance of i f cM\,u in the price this year, but tht t \ .. »«j jaight hope for it next. Then there Wu he coal question, and it was likely tc be , a serious d&e. They hhA. jiiot < nion than two months' supply on* hand, and from advices from Newcastle he fear'ec none would be obtainable there. If the) could not get New Zealand coal, tbej might be placed in a difficulty that woulc seriously affect their profits. They wen in a peculiar position, not being able ft keep large . supplies on band, as old c|a did not produce nearly so much gas as new Mr, Levtk read the auditors' report which very briefly announced that tb< vouchers had been found oorreoV .*nd al in accordance with , the Joint Stock ;Uom panics' Act. „< ;,--. Mr. Pjrendergast understood thatthi debt due ,to Mr. Pharazyn had been re ducedfrom £3,000 to £1,500, and yet i( saw no mention in the balance sheet of payment of £1,500. The v Chairma.n and others explained that such a statement would not be mad« in a balance sheet, but would be found ir the books of the company that were always 6peh to shareholders ; but still Mr, Preirder. gast did not une^Btand it. ( ,'J- c Mr. SchtJlWß asked whether fiharebold' ers could pay up their shares, and receive 8 per cent upon them, the same interest that Mr, Pharazyn was receiving upon" his debt. . . , It was explained by Mr. Gbobgb and the Chairman tha> at the time Mr, Pharaeya lent the money at 8 per cent, 10 was the usual price, and that the debt could' be paid off at any time j also, that the shares could not be all paid up and interest thereon paid, as such a course might put the company in the position of paying interest on more capitalthan it required. The adoption of the report being seconded by Mr. Burns, was put and carried. The question of the honorarium to the directors evoked a long discussion, and the result was that the sum recommended in the report was agreed to as regards the past, and that for the future a lump sum of £75 per annum should be voted to ba divided by the directors among themselves. The election of two directors was the next business, and after a ballot being taken, the retiring directors, Messrs. Pha» r&zyn and A. P. Stuart, were 1 re-elected. The auditors, Messrs. Nathan and Levin, were re-elected. It was also decided that their remuneration should be the same as last year. The proceedings then terminated.