A SUCCESSFUL CONCERN.

Evening Star, Issue 7340, 12 October 1887, Page 1

A SUCCESSFUL CONCERN.

The Harbor Steam Company began their I existence in 1861 with a squadron of one, | personified by the little paddle steamer the j Golden Age. The increased trade coni sequent upon the opening of the Otagd gold- ! fields soon induced the proprietary to purI chase five additional Steamers, and to ex- [ tend operations, hitherto confined to the local trade in the neighborhood of Dunedin, to the more distant New Zealand ports. On Mr Jones's death in 1869 Mr Japes Mills became a large proprietor, and indertook the active management of the Company. This marked an epoch in its history, and may be looked upon as the starting point of the Company, which, in .187:5, developed into what is now the extensive Union Steam Ship Company.. The necessity for providing increased freight and passenger accommodation to meet : the demand arising for it induced Mr Mills to visit Great Britain in 1874, and while there he ' arranged for the building of two new' steamers, the Hawea. and the Taupo. By this time the trade of the Company had grown so considerable that it was felt that, in order to give it full: scope for the possible development that lay; before it, the proprietary must be extended r so as to enlist the interest of the more influential men in the community; and accordingly in 1875 the Harbor, Steam Company was merged into the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Limited), with a. powerful proprietary and an influential directory. The three steamers of theHarborCompany—the Bruce, Maori, and Beautiful Star—were for the purposes of the memorandum of association valued at the sum of L 34,500, whilst capital to the extent of L 64,000 was allotted to the incoming proprietary in respect of the Hawea and Taupo, built to their order, the former of which bad arrived at Port Chalmers, and the otherjwks on its way out. The comparison between these figures and those of last year is sufficiently striking, the fleet of the Company ; now numbering thirty-seven, instead of fiv* vessels; and being valued at L 717,400 instead of L 98,500. The nominal capital of the Company was originally only L25p,000 in 25,000 LlO shares. Now it totals half a million, of which L 400,000 has been subscribed and fully paid up. It is due to.the enterprise of those who pioneered this powerful, combination to give their names'as they appeared upon the memorandum ancl articles of association in 1875. They were: Messrs Edward Bpwes Cargill, Hugh Macneil, Henry Tewsley, John Richard Jones, James Mills, Julius Hyman, and William Langlands, all described as of Dunedin, and each taking IGO> shares. Until 1878 the operations of the Company were confined to the carrying out of services between the coastal ports ! of New Zealand and between New Zealand and Sydney, but in November of 'that year the intercolonial fleet of Messrs M'Meckan, Blackwood, and Co. was purchased, and the entire intercolonial and New Zealand coastal trade thus passed into the hands of the Company. Since that time the progress of the Company has been continuous and steady. Steamer after constructed from the designs and I under the supervision of Mr John Barling, who, as marine superintendent'of the Company, had been associated with Mr James Mills since its initiation—each more luxuriously fitted up than its predecessor, has been added to' the fleet. Every scientific improvement, either in the machinery or the fittings of vessels, has been brought into requisition for their construction, until, from small beginnings, the fleet of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, has grown to be the largest and most powerful in the Southern Hemisphere. It comprises thirtyseven steamers of an aggregate tonnage of 35,000 tons and 33,305 i.h.p. 'As further showing the magnitude of the Company's operations, it may be interesting to mention that, in the course of the past year (1885-86), the Bteamers travelled" in their regular services 1,095,089 miles, entailing a consumption of 113,391 tons of coal.

Despite serious drawbacks the Company were able to pay a dividend last year at the rate of 8 per cent., or practically *9 per cent, per annum if we include the extra bonus of 2s per share, . , . The London Board is a small but exceptionally strong one, which will be admitted when we cite the names of. the chairman, Mr William Macandrew, one of the leading financial autboritiesin .the city : b'f Mr Peter Denny, the eminent shipbuilder:;, and of Mr J. A. Ewen, the latest addition to the Board, and who brings to iteideiiberations a mercantile experience of the highest value as one of the partners of-J the* well-known colonial house of Sargood, Son,- tad Ewes. , i . With all the advantages ot&prestige. based on sound 1 management' irfi steady progress, it seems safe to' predict that an organisation which weathered", the .'extreme depression of last year wa» virtually a 9 per cent, float its flag not less proudly on > j«ib#i are sanguine enough to think U at lagt&e rising tide of Australasian and Imperial trade.— 1 BriLi.li Australasian,' > "-•'■'■ ••'•*'