MEETINGS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 860, 24 August 1888, Page 33

MEETINGS.

WELLINGTON- MEAT EXPORT COMPANY.

ANNUAL MEETING,

The seventh annual meeting of the above ■Company was held in the Chamber of Commerce yesterday afternoon week. There were about a dozen shareholders present, and Mr W. C. Buchanan (Chairman' of Directors) presided; The and balancesheet (already published) were taken as read. In moving their adoption, the Chairman naid that the shareholders might be fairly •complimented on the satisfactory financial position of the Company, Some time .ago they would remember that the Directors had pointed out the necessity of increasing the capital .of the Company, so that.the ■ growing demands for freezing should be met, and at last annual meeting the shareholders were informed that a certain amount of • capital had been subscribed, and that addi■tionol buildings and machinery were being procured-: By these’ operations three things had been secured.. One important thing was this —If it bad not been for the effort made by the Company to provide increased freezing accommodation, settlers would have been left with a large amount of stock •on their hands, fie need scarcely point out the great importance of set lers getting lid •of their stock. The second result was that -they were able to declare a dividend of 8 per •cent., and the -Directors were to ask their ■ consent to give shippers of stock during last year a bonus of. 3d per head upon sheep and -a proportionate sum upon lambs and beef, the whole amounting to £1350 Is 6d ; also to set apart 10 per cent, for depreciation, amounting to £2282 Os 7cl, and to carry forward for next year’s balance-sheet the sum of £769 9s Sd. The third matter was that they had been able to reduce the freezing charges by not less.tban Is 3d per 'head.' He considered all these facts fully bore out the. wisdom of the step taken by the Directors in increasing the capital and He wished to say that these satis, factory results, had been, assisted in a great measure by their Secretary and Manager and Engineer. He need scarcely say. that both the-e gentlemen-had been mo.-t anxious to further the interests of the Company, and as Chairman, he could not sufficiently thank them for their able assistance ;to the Direc-

tors . during the- year. He would ' next refer to -the question of freight, which had been a burning question, since the 'beginning of the freezing trade. -In ISS2 it •was 2d, then it was reduced to lfd, and a • further reduction to lid had been secured through the combination of Hawkes Bay, In•vercargill, and other places. In these places the Companies had determined to •offer a certain quantity- of sheep, and the -■freight was reduced. Since this the New Zealand Shipping Company and the Shaw iSavill Company had reduced the freight for the current winter months to 1.-Jd, and latterly some freights hail been arranged at . Id. In Canterbury ISO,OOO sheep had been guaranteed'on-the: basis of aid freight. The position of the Company had greatly in•creased, for in 18S6 the exports were 47,000, and in ISB7 they were 100,000. TbeDirectors •were endeavouring to B:cure guarantees •from shippers, so as to enable them to get a of the freight, but he could not say yet whether their efforts were successful. He thought it was evident to;every business •man that stockowners throughout the district should endeavour to put themselves on the same footing that had been attained to .-.-some extent by . stockowners in other districts. -He.was aware that losses in the past ‘by shipments had been severe, and he ad.' mitted that there was every excuse forstoek- ’ owners .being careful-; but he would point •out . that these losses were incidental to-the commencement of every business. 'Every day their business was being ■put on a. sounder' basis ; charges were being reduced, and a -less range of prices ' would certainly be secured as month after •month went past. They must understand that combination was required,, aud that they could not get a reduction of the freight •to ald without guarantees. He went on to say that ir; mn3t be gratifying to them to -find. that their export of beef was so satisfactory. - Since Ist (January 1 st 1200 bead of cattle had been exported. He also wished •to point out that the export of dairy produce waß increasing very fast. For the six months ending 30th June the exports reached as much as in any previ-ua . year, and he -would point out'that the Company ’ had separate room at the disposal ,of dairy .produce exporters, so that if-they scut it there they could have it stored at a very low rate. He also wished to call attention to the very high freight on the West Coast, and be hoped -that the effort which was being made fora re. duction in this direction would succeed. He •• hoped that shareholders and shippers throughout the country would realise the importance of .supporting the Directors by : -timely- guarantees, • and in conclusion, he desired to point out that it was only by combination that they could expect to fight against the.competifcion which they had to meet. He formally moved the adoption of the report and balance-sheet. Hr C. Pharazvn seconded the motion, remarking that there Could, be no question that the balance-sheet , was a very- satisfactory one ; but at the same time he must saytliafc he did not consider the profit as any more than what should he made in a busine.-s of this kind, where risks were so very large. He went on to say that one of the principal reasons why stockowu-rs were unwilling to ship was because they thought they would get' better prices in the local market. .. This was a most unbusinesslike way .of looking at the matter,' and he would, point' out t hat'the local maikeb muA always bedependent upon the London prices. - Referring to the prospects of the Company, he said they ap peared to be most cheering as compan d with last year. That great bugbear, the! River Plate supply, which was going to swamp everything, was not going to drive them out of the market. Again, the American supply of beef bad fallen oft", and he . was convinced they would not suffer in that direction. He believed that the-tra-le was going to develop in an enormous manner, and that it Was, as 1 yet, only in its infancy'.

Mr Matthews said there was one point which had been overlooked, and that was with regard to the quality of the mutton Bent Home. He would like all skipper* to be impressed with a desire to send the best meat, because if they sent inferior quality it was only to the detriment of the Company. : Mr Robert- ’Pharazyn, referring to the proposition by the Directors that a bonus should be given to shippers, thought it would be well for the Directors to consider, in view of the very probably large extension of the trade, whether it would-be'advisable to carry on such a principle as that. To was iiiore in the nature of a co-operative Sooiety, and not a large Company, and it appeared to be an infraction of a sound business principle. He fancied it would be better if in the future they would endeavour, by carrying- such sum to reserve fund, or increasing the plant, or in some other way to strengthen the Company. He thought it was rather’a waste of money to return it in this manner. The whole of the profits should belong to the whole of the shareholders. Ho was not prepared to contest the matter, but he trusted the Directors in future would reconsider the question, and adopt some other course.-’: ■■ . ■■ ; ’ ! - ■; The motion to adopt the report was then put arid carried. The ’ Cliairrr an then moved “That the Directors;be authorised to pay to shippers of meat during the past year a bonus at the rate of 3d per head upon sheep, 1 per head upon lambs, and 3d per 1001 bon beef.” In speaking to the motion, . the Chairman pointed out to Mr Pharazyn that companies in Duuedin, Timaiu and Chriatcliuich had returned bonuses in the same way as cow pro osed: o Mr It-)3sell seconded the resolution. J Mr C. Pharazyn, jun , said this was theonly matter the members of the Board of Directors were not unanimous u. oil. He had differed from it, as he considered it a mistake. It was like making a present of it to a few iudividual shippers. He did not think the Company would gain very much by it. No doubt it tended to make .the Company popular, but 'still the business of the Company.was a risky one. He was not going to op; ose the motion. - ; ; . .The Chairman said it was of the utmost importance that the Company should cultivate the confidence of the country shareholders and shippers, and he considered that the Directors could have taken no better steps to establish confidence. The motion was then put aud carried. On the motion- of Mr. C. Pharazyn,. seconded by Mr D. Fraser, it-was decidedteat the number of Directors should be in creased from nine to ten. On the motion of Mr J. T. Dalrytnple, seconded by ' r A. Matthews, Messrs. VV. Buchanan, G. Beetham, A. Todd (re-elected), and J. McLennan were elected,Directors. Mr. 0. P. Powles was’re-elected auditor at the same remuneration as at present, namely, £lO 10s. A A ;; * ’ , , • Mr W. H. Levin moved that a vote of thanks be awarded to the Directors, and in doing so he said that there was no company doing business in this city whose-iuterests were more assiduously looked after. He paid a high compliment to the Chairman (.Vlr Bnchanau) for his individual efforts in the interests of the Company. This was seconded by Mr P. Hume and carried. -~.'A The Chairman returned'thanks on behalf of the Board of Directors.; ,-rA On the motion of Mr Dalrymple, seconded by Mr Pharazyn, a hearty vote of thanks was awarded to the Secretary and,.Manager (Mr D. Sladden), and the Engineer (Mr McGuire, . both of whom were highly eulogised. . . ■ Mr .iSladden "returned- -thanks, and the meeting terminated. .i - —. .1. —— 3