NORTH ISLAND BACON COMPANY

New Zealand Mail, 29 January 1902, Page 49

NORTH ISLAND BACON COMPANY

(From Our Special Keporter.) PALMEKSTON, January 23. r i 1 4 * mmal meeting of the North Islam! Co-operative Mild Cure Bacon j Company Limited, was held in the Fire I Pctpde Ilall to-day. A fair number ! shareholders attended, and Mr Samuel j -joiton, a director, presided. | The annual report showed that although the turnover had been consideri ably increased a loss had resulted on the j year s working of ,£774 10s Id, which inj eluded .£IOO written off preliminary ez- ! penses account. The losses had resulted j through storage of supplies and the hi"h j rateM fuW for pigs and through want I 9* capital and having to pay a large sum j foi interest. The cause of the unsatis- ! factory position cf the company is ex- • plained by the following paragraph of the ! report:—“As this company was started j on purely co-operative lines similar to i those adopted by the co-operative dairy , factories, your directors concluded that i the same principle would apply equally i to co-operative bacon factories, namely, advances to be paid on pork at current 1 rates, and paying out each month for pork received, but as many of our shareholders will not deliver on these lines although your board has always advanced over current rates, yet the shareholders have in a great many instances sold for prompt cash outside the company. Owing to indifferent siipport and the difficulty in getting a large number of our shareholders to pay their calls your board has not been in a position to meet the demand for prompt cash payments. You will notice that only 260 shares have been applied for during the last twelve months, and that <£6BB 4s 6d in overdue calls still remains unpaid, although every effort has been made to collect them.” Tho report explains that the works of the company are now one of the most complete in New Zealand and conchules by pointing out that it is imperative the company should be run on broader lines and placed on a sounder commercial footj ing, tho directors having recognised that : with sufficient capital they have every prospect of doing a large and profitable ! business. , Mr Knight (Eon go tea) said that a cer- ; tain buyer was out-buying the company. | The buyer in question would readily take j poor quality pigs which had been refused jby the company. He thought it would be advisable to give a bonus to suppliers instead of going in for so many improvements. They should strive to make it a co-operative company, i Mr McKibbon (YVoodvilie) was under the impression that the company rccotv-

ed a higher rate for bacon than other companies. Therefore, why snould they not k® J”- P ft y a higher price for pork? Mr W. G. Pearce (Colyton) pointed out that only for the company, shareholders would be getting much less for their pigs than they were now receiving—more than a farthing a pound.

Mr J. D. Anderson, managing director, said the products of the company had always topped the market. They had to contend against the fact that one-third of the pigs had not been up to quality. Pigs had been selling in Christchurch at Id a pound under their rates, and tho Canterbury people had been selling the product in their district and competing against them.

Mr Pearce said the company had handled a little over 5000 pigs, and if it had. handled 7000 the cost of management would have little more than it was now. Instead of a loss they would have shown, a profit. If shareholders had supported the company out and out it would have been in a sound financial position, and they would have a good balance and a feed their pigs up to the company’s standard they would get the best price ruling, and receive a bonus and not cripple their company. He did not know anything in the district which would give the same profit. If it was supported thoroughly the company could make more out of the pig by its system of cure than any other company. Mr Jarvis (Eongotea) pointed out that the company had to pay to the Christchurch Meat Company a royalty on each pig killed, and if a pig only weighed 1001 b instead of 1401 b, it was not so profitable. Mr J. D. Anderson stated that farmers ■ only received 3d a pound for their pigs : when the company started, and now they. ] were receiving 4d. The pigs offered to . the company by shareholders during the i last six months only averaged 901 b, ; dressed weight. The shareholders had been forcing the hands of .the company right through in not giving them the right quality of pigs. Through inability i to get the right class of pig and a consequent shortage of supply, they hacl been forced to sell as soon as they bought l . ! A shareholder said they should all breed half-bred Tamworths, as the com- '• P&ny advised them, and not study their own fancy. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. Messrs S. T. Hall, T. E. Hodder and S. W. Luxford were re-elected unopposed as directors. j In accordance with a previous notice, Mr MoKibbon (Woodville) . moved the following resolution“ That the name of the North Island Co-operative Mild Cure Bacon Company, Limited, be changed to the North Island Mild Cure Bacon Company.’’ Mr Knight (Eongotea) moved an amendment that the question be adjourned for twelve months. If they ran the con> pany on purely co-operative lines, he | .said, it must prove a success. ! Mr Knight standing alone in his opinion, his amendment was lost for want of a seconder. j Mr J. D. Anderson said the company had been run on co-operativ6 lines so, far as shareholders would allow, j The motion was unanimously carried.