N.Z. LOAN & MERCANTILE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10044, 3 February 1896, Page 6

N.Z. LOAN & MERCANTILE.

MEETING OP SHAREHOLDERS. [FROM our own CORRESPONDENT.] London, December 28. Noontide to-day witnessed a large assemblage of shareholders of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company in the Great Hall of Winchester House, Old Broad-street, to receive the first annual report of the directors of the new company which was formed last year upon the basis of the old one. Considerable sensation had been created by the directors' report, which I forwarded to you by last mail, and still more by the sting which it carried in its tail, in the shape of tho auditors' opinion that very large additional provision would have to be made for further deficits. The speech in which the Chairman, Mr. Edward Martin, moved the adoption of the report, was listened to with sympathetic respect. He adopted the plan of reading the report clause by clause, and of following up each clause with a very lucid and full explanatory statement. Every word had been carefully committed to writing. His speech was studiously guarded and went markedly in the way of discouraging the buoyant anticipations of an early recovering in the compauy's fortunes. The burden of his story was— patience, confidence, and hard work. "We are doing," he said in effect "all we can, all that any men could. Wo are striving our hardest to restore the fallen fortunes of the company, and to revive its bygone prosperity. But this must needs be a work of time, toil, and patience. And at present our chief care and effort must be to avoid the necessity of any further call." After the chairman's singularly plain and clearhoaded deliverauce, came another equally plain and clear-headed from Mr. Beaumont, the director who recently visited the colonies to report on the company's estates and to re organise its colonial staff. Mr. Beaumont, like Mr. Martiu, had carefully committed to writing every syllable that henttered. Mr.Beaumont waslucid,practical, and business-like and marvellously couoisecousideriug the extensive area over whioh his ! review travelled. He referred with regret to the task he had had to perform in the colony of retiring some officers who had been many years in the old company's service, and reducing others' salaries by 30 per cent., but he remarked that in nearly every instance the reductions were submitted to with a good grace, and with assurances of undiminished loyalty. He declared that in the new general manager for New Zealand, Mr. Malcolm Macpheriou, they had "a gentleman who has a good colonial record and sound judgment," and who was "ably supported by Mr. Douds as inspector,' will efficiently safeguard the company's interests in New Zealand, where already ho (Mr. Beaumont) had been able to reduce the expenditure in salaries by £5000 per annum. Mr. Beaumont explained that ho had deemed it advisable to close the Adelaide branch, and that more commodious premises were urgently needed in Sydney, those in Melbourne being ample. He said that the Brisbane and Rockliampton branches were well managed and paying handsomely. Finally, he cordially praised the inspectors for Australia and New Zealand, Messrs. Barker and Dodds, and testified to the liteh efficiency and loyalty of the company staff generally. He wound up by seconding the adoption of the report. Mr. James Worley was Ihe first shareholder to speak, but his speech was all blessing and not cursing. Next arose Admiral Field, who is assuredly a born orator. " Our chairman has appealed to us for patience and time," he said. " Let us give them both, and our confidence also without stint. The directors have all the hard work to do in building up the fortune of this company. It 1 is for us to do our part by giving thein our confidence and the time they ask for." This was greatly applauded "I believe in the future of New Zea- i land," cried the Admiral with fervour. " I have been there. I have travelled over it from one end to the other, and I have unbounded confidence in its resources. It is i the garden of the world. (Cheers.) Its inhabitants are the same race as ourselves, and if only they would listen to the counsels of the mother country, and take wiser Governmental acciou, than, unfortunately, lam able i to congratulate them upon at present, and would abstain from borrowing, there would be no fear for the colony's progress and pros- , perity." ! The report was adopted new. con., and next i came the question of electing auditors. Admiral Field began his second speech ' by offering most eloquent testimony to the great abilities and capacities, and efficiencies of the past year's auditors, Messrs. Turquaud, Youngs, and Co., who had prepared the scheme of re construction, and one of whom, Mr. Alexander Young, had acted as liquidator of the old company under the Official Receiver. " But we don't want such gilded luxuries as these very eminent auditors," cried the Admiral, " and we cannot afford them. What have the services of these distinguished gentlemen cost us already ? In the balance-sheet I find Receivership and re-construction expenses £41.4551 The re-construction scheme drawn up by Messrs. Turquand, Youngs, and Co. cost us no less than £15,000. We cannot afford to go on indulging in these gilt-edged auditors. Any firm ot accountants of goodstanding and members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants will do perfectly well all that we need now, even if tney are not so gilt-edged as the late auditors, and £100 a year is quite enough to pay them, and quite as much as we can afford." And so the Admiral proposed that Mr. James Worley and Messrs. Kemp, Ford, and Co. should be the auditors at that rate of remuneration. An amendment was immediately moved that Messrs. Turquand, Youngs, and Co. be reelected, and that the rate of remuneration be left to the Board. " All the fat was in the fire" now. One indignant shareholder, whose name I could not catch, jumped up and declared he would not have Mr. Worley. Then Mr. Young arose, but was forthwith met by an objection from Admiral Field, that lie had no light to speak, as he was not a shareholder. The moeting, however, determined to hear him in "personal explanation." He spoke with great skill and most temperately. In the end the amendment in favour of Messrs. Turquand, Youngs and Co.'s reelection being put, it was carried by a show of hands. Admiral Field demanded a poll, and several other shareholders warmly sup-1 ported him. After a good deal of discussion a shareholder asked that the meeting should be apprised of the views held by the directors on this question of auditors, Mr. Martin said the directors would greatly prefer to leave this question entirely to the shareholders uninfluenced by any opinion the Board may hold. But I may say that the directors have made up their minds to resign if Messrs. Turquand, Youngs and Co. are reappointed auditors to the company. " Why didn't you say so before?" rather indignantly shouted several voices. "We would not have voted for the amendment if you had told us what you wished." However, the chairman decided that the amendment might be withdrawn. This was done with almost frenzied eagerness, and tho chairman ruled the amendment to have been killed; and the motion carried—Messrs. Kemp, Lord, and Co., and Mr. James Worley thus being elected. Mr. Martin explained ; that the reason why the directors were so I strongly opposed to the re-appointment of • the auditors was, that it had. been almost itn-1 possible to get the balance-sheet, etc., from ] them in time for the meeting, which had i been delayed to the latest date legally pos- , sible. The directors had made frequent re- j presentations, and lie had wasted a very . large amount of time running after the audi- , tors to get their report, which only came at j the last moment. This would not suit him. , He desired to devoto as much time as pos- i sible to the affairs of the company, and could not afford to waste all that time running backward and forward to get auditors to do their work. The plain fact was that Messrs. Turquand, Youngs, and Co.had too large a business, and so had not time to attend in j due course to the affairs of this company. | Then the meeting ended, after the usual : votes of thanks. _ I The correspondence which has taken place | clearly proves in my opinion that the directors did not object to the publication of any statement that was accurate, but that they did object to the publication, as ascertained facts of estimates of the accuracy of which there was no substantial proof, and which were absolutely known to have been rendered in some degree untrustworthy and misleading through events which had arisen since those estimates wero trained. That, I think, is the gist of the whole ease—gathered j from the letters of both parties.