BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Mail, 21 February 1901, Page 19

BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

HALF-YEARLY MEETING. EXTENSIVE AND PROSPEROUS BUSINESS. The half-yearly general meeting of the shareholders of the Bank of New Zealand was held at the Chamber of Commerce o'n the 15th. The chairman of the board of directors (Mr : |jJ. R. Blair) was in the chair, and there was a very large attendance. The chairman said this was a- meeting in. terms of the statute. No accounts were presented for consideration, and he would confine his remarks to a few words as to the present condition of th© bank’s business, and, as far as he could, give them some hope for the future. They would recollect that at the annual meeting in August he remarked on the more hopeful prospect which the affairs of the bank presented. His remarks seemed to'liave given rise to a considerable movement for the purchase of shares. Large numbers of shares had. changed hands, and he sincerely hoped the buyers would meet with no disappointment. He did not say that with a view to depreciating anything that had been done, but he . certainly did not anticipate that his remarks would have led to a considerable buying of shares. His object bad been to give a hint- to those who : had bom© the burden and heat of the day not to throw away their shares. Hitherto no charge had been made for transfers, but owing to the amount of labour involved, tiro directors of the bank had come to the conclusion that the transfers should bear the usual burden, and that from to-day a charge of 2s 6d should be made on registration of each separate transfer of shares, on registration of prov bate of the will of a deceased proprietor, on registration of proof of death, on registration of proof of marriage of a female proprietor, and on registration of power of attorney enabling the alter, ney to deal with shares, receive dividends, etc., on behalf of his principal. With reference to the business of the .bank, so far as an estimate could he formed, he was glad to be able to say that pile anticipations and forecast which he placed before the annual meeting were likely to be realised. . Their business had been of an extensive ami prosperous character. Of course, he could not give them any definite figures, but he could assure them- that the affairs of the bank were in a satisfactory condition, taking all the circumstances into account. The deposits had increased by over £600,000 during the past year, and the increase in the advances would probably amount to close upon £300,000, so that they would see that the business was increasing and the public bad confidence in the \ auk. He thought that was -a satisfactory slate of things. Of course, the condition of the colony was prosperous* On tile other hand, they knew that wool, the staple commodity of the colony, had been at a very low price. That, how- ? ever, had been compensated for in other directions—the high price of stock, for instance—so that .circumstances were calculated in the bank. The in products was to ixfspire confidence in »bank and to place the colony SjjlijfPfiion a more stable basis. Every iT£w product placed on the market had an influence upon the stability of the colony, and it had also- an influupon. 1G stability of institutions which -dealt largely in products. He was . glad to be able to state that a considerable trade with South Africa, had been opened up in s ome of our products. Whether it would continue was more than he could say. It was probably doubtful, but circumstances would seem to point to the fact that there would be for some years to come % • for enterprise in that country. It this wretched war could be brought to a close, and our communication placed upon a proper basis, there would a great opportunity for producers, and he hoped they would take advantage of it. In his speech at the annual meeting, referring to the dairy industry he had expressed some doubt as to the land values, and as to the in' dustry being over-estimated. So far circumstances did not support his statement, and the industry appeared to bo still prosperous and advancing at a considerable rate—making great strides, in fact. Taking a review of the whole circumstances of the colony, he thought it could be said that the colony was on a more sound basis than it ever was before. They had evidence which pointed to the fact that a great many transactions were cash transactions which had hitherto been on a credit basis. There was a growing tendency for people to deal in cash instead of credit, and the result was that there were not nearly so many bills afloat as there had been in the past. The meeting would now proceed to elect a director in place of Mr W. Watson, whose term of office expired on March 31st.

Mr Harcourt urged that the poll should be kept open till, say, 1 or 2 o’clock, so as to enable some southern shareholders, who were on board a boat, even now entering the harbour, to record their votes. The Chairman said he could not wait for steax&ers. He would take votes as long as the meeting was open. Mr G. M. Kebbell proposed, and Mr F. Campbell seconded, the re-election of

Mr W. Watson as director. Mr J. B. Harcourt was proposed by Dr Newman and seconded by Mr Fair. On a show of hands being taken, 26 voted for Mr Watson and 18 for Mr Harcourt. A poll was demanded, which resulted in the return of Mr Watson, the figures being : Mr Watson ... ... 9813 Mr Harcourt ... ... 8987 Majority ... ... 826 Mr Watson said : I return my sincere thanks to the shareholders for my reelection. As I took a principal part in the reconstruction of the Bank, 1 naturally desire to remain in office as a director xmtil the full fruition of the altered state of things is seen. I have been favoured with many proxies from all parrs of this colony, as well as from Australia and England—far more, in fact, -than I could make use of, owing to the clause in the Act, limiting the voting of shareholders to 250 proxy votes each. To these absent shareholders, as well as to those present, I return my thanks for this expression of their renewed confidence. The proceedings then terminated.