ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13355, 8 December 1906, Page 4

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

[KnOM OUR OVfS CORRESPONDENT.]

London, November 3. DALGETYAND CO.

Next week, the annual meeting of Messrs. Dalgety and Co. will be held in London. The report and balance-sheet, just out, show the> results of the company's operations during the 12 months ended June 30 last. The balance-sheet shows that, after providing for bad and doubtful debts, depreciation in value of securities, interest on debenture stock, and debentures up to June 39, and payment of income tax, there remains to the credit of the profit and loss account, including the balance brought forward from last year, the sum of £155,380. In May last an interim dividend was paid at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum, for the halfyear ending December 51, amounting to £30,000, leaving a balanoe available of £135,380, which the directors recommend should be appropriated as follow*:£30,000 in payment of a dividend, at the rate of 6 per.cent, per annum, free of income tax, for the half-year, making, with the above payment, 6 per cent, for the year; £10,000 in payment of a. bonus of 1 per cent, for th« year euded June 30 last, free of income tax; £35,000 to the reserve fund, thereby raising it to £200,000; £5000 to ,the foundation of a staff benevolent fund;, and £55,330 to be carried forward. The retiring directors will bo Messrs. E. T. Doxat, W. O. Gilchrist, and the Hon. E. W. Parker, but all offer themselves for reelection. -

NEW ZEALAND RACING CLUBS. An English paper draws attention to the statement, by the chairman of the Wellington Racing Club to the effect that "no racing club in New Zealand paid a dividend to members. Every shilling earned by the totalisator was returned to the public in buildings and conveniences, and went to the advancement of eport."

CARGO BROACHING. Seventeen deck hands of the steamer Oswestry Grange, trading between Glasgow and New Zealand, were charged at Bristol on Saturday with the theft of whisky, cocoa, and cornflour, valued at about £20, from tho steamer. The men seemed to have had a wild orgy in the forecastle at night, several of , them being in a stupor for two or three days. One man had made a pillow of 56 packets of cocoa. Eight of the prisoners were sent to gaol for six weeks.

NEW ZEALAND'S LABOUR LAWS. Of the three days which have been spent by tho delegates to. tho Legal Minimum Wage Conference at tho Guildhall in considering the question in its relation to sweating the third and last day proved the most important. The meeting had the advantage of addresses descriptive of the means which had been adopted in some of the colonies to deal with the problem of sweating. Mrs. W. Pember Reeves was among those with seats on the platform. One of tho speakers was Mr. W. P. Reeves, High Commissioner for New Zealand, who spoke on " Legislative Experiments in New Zealand.'' Ho said that he did not hold that the New Zealand laws wore a final solution of the industrial problem, but they were successful attempts to do something. One of their objects was to strengthen trade unionism, and this object had been fulfilled. The Act had worked well for 11 years, and was never more active than now.