Late Advertisements.

Otago Witness, Issue 1935, 26 March 1891, Page 19

Late Advertisements.

I In town lands sn even greater rlie in value bas taken place. Basinets siteß originally told by the Jompiny for £20 are now saleable at from £10 to £200 eaob ; and, in view of the great demand for building lots, further subdivisions have been made in proximity to the town, and are now available. The Company bat received many orders to prepare, plant and cultivate the holdings of absentees and others for the coming season* In this connection it may be remarked that the Nurseries at Mildura established by the Company are now showing good results Most of the vines and young stock required by settlers can now be prooured on the spot, thus saving the cost, delay, and risk of transit. The rapid march of settlement has necessitated a corresponding extension of the Irrigation Works. The main channels now extend for a length of nearly 9) miles, and the subsidiary channels l£o miles. Weirs and sluices have been put in where required, and several miles of fluming have been constructed. Main pipes for the reticulation of about 10 miles nave also been put down. Further Important channels and works fratf c" beon handed over to the Mildura Irrigation Company ( Limited), and the arrangements for the distribution of Water (under the superintendence of Mr Kjellburg) have'glven general ■atisfaction. Sine? the date of last report the Company's Cold Storage Works haye been opened. The Planing Mills have been completed, and are in full work. The wood working maohinery is of the most modern and effective type obtainable, and will be employed almost exclusively in the manufacture of the necessary appliances for drying and packing fruit. These can all now be prooured looilly at a reasonable cost, which' will assist materially to develop the industry of handling the raw produ6ts and preparing them for export. The difficulties which arose at Mildura with respect to timber reserves and the reservation of lands for public purposes have been satisfactorily solved by the passing of an Act of Parliament which wiil enable the Company, with the concurrence of the Shire Council, to set apart such land as may from time to time be necessary for forest reserves, firewood supply, shelter belts, commonage, roads, parks, gardent, or other public purposes, without an? large saorifice of the privileges originally granted to the Company (compensation lands being granted by the State), and an enormous public advantage is anticipated from this measure. The Act also removes a restriction which bad ceased to be of any effect aB a safeguard to the Government in enforcing the obiervanoe of the agreement with the Company, while it hampered its operations considerably. The enormous expenditure, in so short a time, ns certified to by the Government Auditor— viz., £226,000, upon the " Irrigation Works and substantial improve, ments" at Mildura, being so much in excess of the Company's obligation under the agreement, at once established in the eyes of Parliament the vastness of the work already done and the necessity for legislation in the direction sought. Evidence on the various lines of railway proposed is now being taken by the " Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways." It is expeoted that that body will visit Mildura before the next session, when the claims ot the town and district for railway communication will be placed before it. The available steamer accommodation this summer has but inadequately sufficed for the river traffic to the colonies. The Murray Navigation Company is, however, we are glad to find, making every effort to keep pace with the increasing requirements. The new steel steam Br Pearl, taken over from our company, and which will accommodate a large number of passengers, has just been completed, and will commence running next week, ahis boat is superior to any river vessel in Australia, and will be much appreciated by travellers. In the towns building operations have proceeded with much vigour. Hew places of business and residences have sprung up in all direction;, and the municipal values have greatly increased. At Mildura aa excellent system of sanitation has been adopted, and the efforts to preserve the health of the inhabitants are worthy of every commendation. It-is gratifying that the report of the Local Health Officer, submitted to the Department of Health on the 14th ult., recorded the death rate at Mildura for 1890 at 4*4 per 1000 only — perhaps the lowest in the world. This testimony bears out the opinions of leading medical authorities with regard to the advan* tages of the Irrigation Colonies as a health resort. The building of the Chaff ey College of Agrloulture is being pushed on. The oontraot for the ereotion of a local hospital at Mildura has been let, and tenders are being called for the ereotion of the Public Institute, Public Library, and Horticultural Museum. The school accommodation at Mildura is quite inadequate to meet the wants of the rapidly increasing population, and the Government, in order to carry out the Kducitlon Act, must erect additional schools without delay. Two or three sites are at the present time under consideration. The Horticultural Society and the Fruit Growers' Association are being well supported, and both bodies have greatly assisted the objects of the settlers. The annual show of fruits and general products will be held on 10th March, when visitors will be afforded praotical proof of the wonderful resources of the colonies. The plaoß of sub-division for Kenmark Crown grants have now passed the Titles Office of South Australia, and transfers of the lands of that colony will proceed without delay. Sir Samuel Davenport, KO.M.G., and Walter Eeynell, Eeq. (managing director of Elder, Smith, and Co., Limited), were recently appointed local directors for South Australia. I The directors can with every confidence congratulate the shareholders upon the accession of these gentlemen to the directorate. Curing the past half year the colonies were visited by many gentlemen of ii fluenco. Among these were His Excellency the Earl of Kiutore, the Hons. J. Graham and O. Young, Minister and ex-Minister of Watsr Supply and Agriculture* for Viotoria, Sir Samuel Davenport, K.G.M.G-., and several Ministers of the Crown and members of Parliament from adjoining colonies Their opinions have been pub lished in the dally press and otherwise, and are highly favourable as to the future success of the colonies and the manner in which the work of colonisation is being carried out by the Company. The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report and balance sheet, stated that in order to remove a misapprehension which appeared to exist, he desired to point out that the Company's operations were cou fined exclusively to the colonies of Benmark, in South Australia, and Mildura, in Victoria, lie thought it well to mention this, as he knew that there was confusion in the public mind upon the point, and that the Company had at times been placed at a disadvantage thereby. The balance sheet and statement of accounts showed that the Company's business was in a very satisfactory state The net profit for the past half-year amounted to £26,892 lls lid, or more than 12J per cent, per annum upon the paid up capital of the Company, which now stands at £458,436 7s 9d. The directors proposed, however, before paying any dividends, to still further strengthen the reserve fund, and to that end proposed to add the sum of £25 000, increasing It to £90,000, or making it equivalent to one-fifth of the -piid-up capital. Ample provision had been made in the accounts for writing off the cost of the irrigation works in respect of land sold, and £11,500 had beon appropriated for that purpose. The progress report submitted indicated the great strides which the Colonies were making. Tbeir population, now numbered by thou»ands, had within ittelf the elements of future success, and the directors, who at first stood alone, were now supported in their vast undertaking by thousands of earnest workers. The Company's land sales had bseu considerable, and the business of the Company generally bad been piofifcable. He congratulated the shareholders upon the accession to the directorate of Mr Walter Key nell and Sir Samuel Davenport as direotorsin South Australia They would bring to the board a large and valuable experience, of a character which he was confident would greatly advance the company's interests. Mr J. B. Buxtou seconded the adoption of the report. « The Chairman, in answer to questions, stated that the directors had increased the capital of the company by 2200 shared, which had been subscribed for out of an issue which had been authorised by the directors under the powers accorded to them by the articles of association. The shares were issued at par, less 5 per cent, discount for cash. . . . The authorised issue was 35,227, and it was quite probable that the remainder of the issue would be offered to the public through the press. Mr E. Wallen pointed out that the company had plenty of use for all the capital it could obtain.

The motion was then unanimously carried, and the meeting terminated with the re-eleotion of the Company's auditors. N.B. — Applications should be addressed to OHAFFBY BROTHBES (LIMITED). Melbourne.