ARBITRARY AND ILLEGAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 28 June 1913, Page 5

ARBITRARY AND ILLEGAL

BANK OF NEW ZEALAND MEETING.

BY TELEGRAPH —PEE PRESS ASSOCIATION. WELLINGTON, Juno 27. About twenty shareholders in the Bank of New Zealand attended the adjourned meeting, held at the head office this afternoon. ' - The only directors present were Messrs Martin Kennedy and William Watson, the two representatives of the shareholders of the Board. Mr Kennedy presided, and criticised the Chairman’s action on the previous day in closiub the meeting without asking if any shareholders had any further' business to be brought forward. He characterised the Chairman’s action as most arbitrary, unwarranted, and wholly illegal. The Object clearly was to deprive the shareholders of any opportunity of stating their opinion on the printed report of the proceedings which was sent out by the bank.

Mr S. Kirkcaldio said that the thanks of every one of the ordinary shareholders in the bank were due to Mr Kennedy for the action he had taken the previous day. Unless their directors wore fortified and strengthened by the shareholders the Government nominees on the hoard would do exactly as they liked with the shareholders’ capital, and the shareholders’ interests. Be was never more astonished than when he heard the Chairman of Directors say that the Board had furnished to the Government proposals for increasing the capital. This must have been done without the knowledge of the shareholders’ directors or in defiance of them. He moved that the directors of •he bank ho requested to furnish to the sh« .’eholders ,for consideration at their meeting on July 4th, a copy of the proposals submtted by the Board to t ii“ Government, relating to the proposed increase of capital. The motion was seconded by Mr J. Plummer, and carried without discussion. On the motion of Mr J. P. Skerrett seconded by Dr Knight, the meeting adjourned until July 4th.