Southland Farmers' Co-Operate Association.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 20, 12 September 1905, Page 3

Southland Farmers' Co-Operate Association.

ANNUAL MEETING.

Tb* annual meeting of shareholders m tha above Assooia 1 ion wus held m the Town Hall, Gore, on Thursday, S*pt"mber 7th. About fifty were present, Mr A Murdoch (chairman of dir ctors) presiding. In moving the ad-">pt:o--i of the report and balßnce-sh?et. the chairman said the report spok- for itself. The dir ct»r« had thought it not only advisable to write off for d p-ocia tion of plant and fqrniturs, but al e o t'> set apart £200 for bad an.l doubtful d. bfc->. Strides had been made during the yt;ar i-i the stock sales d^parntjout, but little prifU had been made m grain,- cor sado, and twine, which Wi-r. 1 sold at su:h prioas to farmers that the Asaocia'ion ooukl not make any p'ofit; s ill, the indirect benefit m this rospsct was equ.il to a dividend. !3es de 3 this, as it was proposed to declare a 5 per cent dividend. A n«w procedure hal been adopted ot having the Association's assets valued by an outsider, who had approved of the values placed on the Association's stocks at both Invercargill and Gore. The auditor (Mr Scandrctt) had approved of the way m •which the books had been kept, balariea and wages were larger this yaar than last, but the cost of running the grocery store had been included. During the year the directors had purchased a section and erected new premises at Invercargill. In seconding the motion, Mr W. Roid, of Riversdale, said th.it be would liko to see thfl profit or lo's.on each branch or department of the Association's business.

The chairman said nothing was to ba made out of cornsncka, twine, or grain, and the e v/ero the principal commodities dealt with. Out of about £KiOO profits the grocery store was responsible for £750. The APBOc-iation must deal m farmers' requisities, and the farmers should patronise their own busineß^ concern and make it pay. In Oamaru, Timaru, and Christchurch, the farmers patronised iheir own associations, and left samples of f-rain for snl^. T iese associations only acted as agentP, and sold on commission, whereas their Association H<d at times, as mc'ch as i' lo,ooo advanced against grain. The Associa'i j» paid interest for this accommoditio'i and got nothing m return. It was necessary to b\iy the grain m order to get other business. -

Mr Heenan v.-onld like to Enow the expenses of rnnn ng t';B grocery, p.s ; w6ll 'us the auction ttud suck business. It deemethjto him the procery ;;aid th bes* of the lot. " ' "^

Th° Chairm 11 said iverything *vas run at the low sv ik)* ibl cost. Two men were appointed last .year to enquire as to whether trie work could he done cheaper, and th- y reported that it was impossible. Though the grocery dcp.rlmeiit was paying, a good deal of the clerical work \va.-> done at the other oflGce. At Invtrcargil. an Saturday 100 n w shares were iaken up. One man took 50, and that day anotber shareholder, who held 50 shares, took up other 25 shares.

Mr Mi'.nes said that tbe gross profits of the grocery were £1300, and the net profits £750. The cost of running it was the difference — £550.

Mr Heenan held (hat if the departments were carried on separately, shareholders would know exactly which was making a protit. The balance sheet should sbow the profit or loss on each department, and then they would know if it were wise to drop some of them.

The Chairman said that to do what Mr Heenan asked would necessitate two extra clerks. No similar association m tbe colony did it.

Mr Heenan said he wou'd like to s°e the grocery busines-J kept separate from the stock and station business.

Mr Carr Kaid the people m the town supported the givcery business, but the Association did not get as much from the farmers oa they might. There was no profit m sailing sacks and twine at cost price. Mr McQueen thought the dividends might well be loft for the Association to work on. He would like te see the whole of the profit and loss account carried forward.

Mr Watson 6aid that a dividend paying concern was the best inducement to get new capital into a concern , and for that reason a dividend ought to be paid. The Chairman said it was only fair that a man investing m 50 shares should get 5 per cent. It was no use trying to sell shares unlesa they paid a dividend. Mr McQueen preferred to see the whole of the capital provided by farmers, instead of putside investors. The Chairman said, m reply to MrHeenan, that the building and two sections at Invercargill were paid for, and the third section and building bad a £500 mortgage on it, the rent of which was double the amount of interest on the mortgage. — Motf on carried. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The following were elected to vacancies on the directorate : -Messrs Geo. Cbilton (Western Distriot). W. Scoullar (Pukerau), W. J. Johnston (Waikaka Valley), and H. Buxton ; auditor, Mr W. B. Soandrett (re-elected). A motion to change the day for holdtng the annual meeting from the last Thursday m September to the last Saturday, was defeated by a large majority. Mr Milnes gave notice of motion that the day be altered to the first Wednesday m September. A hearty vote of thanks was passed to the directors and staff, and the direotors were voted an honorarium of five guineas each. • The Chairman said all the members of the staff had been voted a bonus.

The meeting then adjourned.