COLONIAL BANK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2171, 3 October 1895, Page 14

COLONIAL BANK.

HALF-YEARLY MEETING. ADJOURNMENT FOR FIVE WEEKS. The half-yea ly meeting of the proprietors of the Colonial Bii.k of New Zealand was held in the banking laouae, Princes str.efc, on September 25. The Hon. G. M'Leau, M.L.0., president of the batik, occupied the chair, and there were about 100 shareholders prcenfr, including the fo'lowiug directors :— The Hou. W. Downie Stewart, M.L.C., Dr Hislop, and Mr P. C. NIM. „ RETORT AND BALANCE SHEBT. The forty-second report and b&lnuce sheet, submitted by the directors, were as follow :—: — The directoi-3 bep to submit to the Proprietors the accompai.yinc; balance sheet and statement of accounts for the lulf-joar ended 3lst August last. The net profits for the half-year, after deducting intcreai paid and accrued on fixed deposits, rebating bills under discount, and charging all expenbes of management, rent, &c, amount to *.. £12,035 11 2 To this has to be added balance from laatkalf-> ear 3,700 15 G £21,(88 6 8 And there must be deducted land, income, aud note tax I|CEG 3 10 Leaving available £19,»80 2 10 | Pending tlio result of negotiations opened hy the Bauk of New Zealand for tbepurohase of this ; bank as and from th« 31st August 1895, it id not the intention of the diuctors at present to deal ■with the balance, but to adjourn the general met ting on the 25th September until a date in i October, by which time the wishes of shareI holders as expressed at an emergency meeting (shortly to be culled, and of which due notice will l»i Rive-i) will be known. Ih-i directors regie' to announce the death since the last icport of Mr Ilemy Koße. JI I.A.N Z., one of the bank's auditors. To (ill the vacaucy until this meeting they (under clause 100 of the deed of settlement) appointed Mr G. L. Denuiston. The Pleasant Point agency was closed on the 27th March ISVS. | Geo. M'l.kan, Chairman. ! Balance Sheet of thk Colonial Isank of New ZkaIAND as atHlat August 1S!)3, including London Office at Dlst May 18.»5. Dr. Capital. £2 paid up on 2oo,ooo shares £40.1,000 0 0 Notes in cnvulai ion 17,3-7-7 0 0 Bills payable and other liabilities 457.857 14 7 Deposits 1 « 9l ?,-A?i J ? S BaUures clup to other banks ... -1 OSO 1 7 11-spivefnnd 65.0H0 0 0 ; Pivlit uml loss I'^,s'KO 2 10 [ £3,<i01,236 12 5 Or. Coin, bullion, and cash balances at bankers' £363,087 7 2 Money with London broker* ai* call and *ort notice ... *W±! £m *Z ? g Notes of and balances due by other Government securities, consols, 4c. 168,131 1 5 Remittances in tnuisitu and await* immaturity 548,762 4 4 Landed piopwty and bank premiHCS liO.oml 10 6 Bank furniture and stationery ... 9,717 1 2 Bills discounted, and all other debts due to the bank 1,731,540 8 7 £3,001.236 12 5 PItOFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT. Dr. To dividend at 6 per cent, per annum at 28th Februaiy 1895 £13,000 0 0 Charge.- for the half-year, including rent, taxes, salaries remuneration to directors anil auditors, and all other expenses at head oflioo, 30 branches, and 9 agencies £2,837 14 4 Land, income, and nota tax ... 1,656 310 Balance M.9SO 2 10 £56,174 1 0 Cr. ' By balance profit aud loss at 28th February 18P5 £20,700 15 6 Gross profit for half-year (after making provision, for bad and doubtful debts, interest paid and accrued on fixed deposits, and rebate on bills current) amounts to 36,773 5 6 £C6,47t 1 0 Reserve Fund. To balance >« .., -~ „,£CS,COO 0 0 £65,000 0 0 n~ By balance 28th February 1895 ...£65,000 0 0 £65,000 0 0 Geo. M'Lean, Chairman. H. MACKEf/.iE, General Manager. We have exaimued the cosh and bills on hand at head office, and compared the abstracts of balances from the varioiiß branches, and certify the foregoing statement to bo in accordance therewith a>>d correct. Walter Uistsp, M.1.A.N.Z., ll A uditora# G. L. Dunmston, J DunetHu, 17th September 18P5. "We have examined Uie abstract balance sboet of the? Lomlon branch for the half-year ending 31st May 1805, and, having compared the cumc with the books of the bank, find it to be in accordance there with. We have counted the cash and stamps and Rone over the bills on hand, and found the whole to be correct. We have aUo verified the securities held by your London bankers and compared the bank pass books, and found them to ngree. Thoms'.n, Jacksov, Gourlay, and Tailor, O.A. London, 13th July U95. The Chairman Baid : Gentlemen,— lt so happens that the deed of settlement of the b&uk requires us to hold a h*lf-jearly general meeting at a time when negotiations ace pending for the i-urohase of its business by. the Bank of New Zealand. Last year, as you will remember, rpgotiations took place between the repre&enta'ivei of both institutions for an amalgamation of the two banks, one of tbe conditions being that the Estates Company should ba entirely separated from the Bank of New Zealand. These negotiations, for reasons which were explained to you at the time, we felt it necessary in the interests of oar ehareholdera to break off. If the conditions on which this bank then insisted had been agreed to, the difficulties which afterwards arose, and which have been dealt with duriDg the present session of Parliament, would have been avoided. Both parties during the present negotiations have, I believe, been anxious to come to a fair and equitable arrangement, but no agreement has been arrived at. It is not, at the present time at all events, desirable that the det%ils of these negotiations should be made public. Tbe provuions of " Tbe Bank of New Zealand and Banking Act 1895" have so iar ptcvcnUd such au agreement b ii.g came to between the two banks as we, iv your inUivnts, could agree to. Whilst the directors of this bauk and of the Bank of New Zealand may entfr into a preliminary contract for sale and purchase, the validity of Buch a contract rests upon its subsequent ratification by the shareholders. Whatever your directors may agree to in the meantime will therefore be of no validity unless approved of by you. At present your directors think that farther consideration of the report •u>4 the Doeitfoa of, the, bwk should be ootV

poned to a convenient date, by which time we hope to be in a position to Btite definitely what course we shall recommend the shareholders to adopt. I beg, therefore, (o move tho adjournment of this mteting until Wednesday, the 30th October, at 3 p.m. Mr P. C. Nnilt, : I beg to second the adjournment of tua nieHiutf. Tho Chairman : Has anyone anything to say to the adjournment of the meeting P Mr J. WALKF.n Bain (Invercargill) i I suppose that really prevents any discusjion of the general question ? The Chairman : Ob, yes. Mr Bain : A motion for adjournment cannot be debated ? . The Chairman : Ouly reasons for or against adjournment can be stated. Mr Bain : In connection with the matter of adjournment I would like to say that I hope that the directors will give ample time to the shareholders to consider any proposal they may wish to submit for consideration. The matter is a very serious one and a very important one bo far as the shareholders are concerned. I think that instead of calling an emergency meeting, as slated in the report (which can be convened at s«ven days' notice), it is as well thtvt the meeting should be adjourned to the 30th October, and I only ask, in tho interests of the Bhareholdera, that you put before them as early as possible the termß of the j agreement. I dimply wish to cay this, that so far as tbe shareholders I represent down iv i Southland ara concerned they have no objection ! to a sale to the Bank of Ntw Zealand so long aa tbe sale i 8 for casb, definite — (hear, bear)— §o long as we are relieved hotn fuither liability.— (Henr, hear.) That ie what they asked me to fct-ite here to-tfay, and I take the responsibility of laying that. Speaking for rr.ysc-lf, my own private opinion is that the bank bhould go on.— (Hear, hear.) From the statements you have made and from tbe report tb*t bavo beou issued to shareholders, I am perfectly aati-fied thai; the bank can continue to do a good and useful work in tbe community, bub if the directors think fit to bring about a ssvle and transfer that is a matter for the consideration of the shareholders. Tlio Chairman : I think, Mr Bain— >ou area parliamentary man — ,i ou should cot. fine yourself to tbe question. If the dtbite isp'olongfd it will not be in the interests of the institution. Mv Bain : It is a very important matter, Mr Chairman, to MOO shareholders of this bank to know the terms of tho sale and transfer, just a few minutes ago I got. tbe tetms from tlio act, whiili has been pupsed thib iwi'Hi, and you will not object to my roadiug them for tUe information of flhureholiii-rs. I know that the din ctor3 are anxious to curry the shareholders along with them, and thtt they will do their brat in tho inleie-ts of the shat elioHern, as they have done all along, so I am oure my friend, the president, will be glad that the greatest amouirt of i(.f->mr<t ; on should be giren to the shareholder. Ti.is -s wlmt the act B*ys, and it is as well tii«.t th.- f barf holders should understand it— (bear, Ibh): •' It shall bo lawful and competent fr.r the Bank of New Zealand to purchase and talce over from any other bank cwiying on business iv tbe colony, and for Buch otbor bank to seU and m^ko over to the Bauk of New Zealand, the business aud assets of such ofci.or bai.k, excepting unch portions of the asset? of tho polling b^nk as tho directors of the Bank of N»w Zealand and tho auditor appointed by tho Governor under « The B*nk of New Zealand Share Guarantee Act 1891,' shall certify in wiiting to be in their opinion bad, doubtful, or valueless, and the directors of tho Bank of New Zealand and of the selling bank are heraby empowered to enter into a contraot for *uch salo and puichatQ accordingly." So tha-i the BbaieholdtiM will have an opportunity of kuowing the terms upon which this transfer is likely to be made — that is to say, that a winnowing process is to be gone through and the good business is to be taken over »ud the bad is to be left. Now, I would just like your leavp, Mr Chairnaan, to make one word of personal explanation. It bao appeared in the papers that a nietth>g was held io. luvercftrgill at which I presided, and it w.va al«o sUtod that the meeting had decided that tho Colonial Bank *hould tell to the B*ukof New Z«mland on the terms proposed and that the fh»reholdcrs were in favour of this »al«. Well, I may say, so far aa this meeting is concerned, that I bad tbe honour, as somi of you will renumber, of reprt-snutii g c.rtAin shareholders at the Usb meeting of tho bank, and I stated theu that if any fre*h development sfcould take place I would iuvite them to attend another mteting and discuss the proposals to be made to the shareholders. Accordingly I issued a, private circular to the shareholders, whose proxies I held lust year, to attend a meeting in my private office to coniidtr the proposal fer a sale. One gentle man came there whose name w%i not on tho fchare lint, and who did not receive a circular, aud he took *n important part in the meeting, telling the shareholders that they would have to seU, and that there was no alternative Mr J. Akkms (Palmerston) : Mr Chairman, I do not kno\y wh«t this mre'iog has got to do with a private mfiftiug in a private ofllco. It is all very well tor a aemi-poiitical mau to come here to adver»iee himf-elf. We aro hero for business purposes. When this gentleman has done I have something to Bay. The Chaibman : I o»nuot allow you, Mr Bain — - Mr Bain : Very well. I have come all the way from luvercargill, but if you rule The CiuittMAN : As a parliami ntary man you must know you are exceeding tbe limit. I do not wish to draw tbe reins tight, but I cannot allow you to go into thing* that m&y injure our interesta. You have done enough already. Mr Bain : If you refute to allow me to proceed I must sib down. I am parliamentary man enough to know that. Mr Abklb : Allow me to say this, that while it may be very desirable to sell to the B»nk of New Zealand under certain condition?, as one of the original shareholders and one ot the oldest customers of this bank, I should distinctly Btate that we are not piepared to chuck our bufsinefs away. I believe we have a good sound business, and I would uot, be prepared to sell it ab a sacrifice. I think we have thorough coßfidence in onr directors, and believe they will do their best in our interests, and it is not advisable at the present state of the negotiations to say much, but we leave the matter entirely in their bands. The Chairman : Just one word before I put the motion. Gentlemen, I would like to disabuse the minds of all the shareholders that there is to be anythiug else than a sale for cash. —(Hear, hear.) There is no other question at all. It is a question of purchase, and for cash. I allowed Mr Bain some latitude which probably I should not have allowed, but he has stated the terms of the act. It is thoee very terms of the act that have precluded the t« o sets of directors from comiDg to an agreement, and they have got to be altered if we are to come to terms. lam sorry that Mr Bain should have thought fib to call a meeting and get it into the London Times that (he shareholders of the Colonial Bank h«4 «UfoM»toed to sell the imfci - tutioa.

Mr Bain : No suoh thing. The Chairman: Well, it h*a got into th« London Times in that foira, and I think Mr Bain hns not done the institution any good bj acting in that way. Yon may trait the directors to wa'cn over the interests of tSxe shareholders. Wo havo had anxiooa times, very anxioua times, and the directors have never failed you. Mr Bain : Before the motion is pot I wish Co reply to a statement by the chairman. I *n»» plied nothing to the pre**.— (A Voiob t*• Bu& you did.") That paragraph wms inserted by a gmitlenmn who oime to the meeting and wbo had purchased recently into the bank. The Chairman : I only wank to point oat Hie harm that the indiscretion of sbsnsholdora la interfering in such basinet* may do. Mr Bain : I had nothing to do with it. I deny it. The Chairman : The directors are doing the best they can in the interesta of the institution and of everybody concerned. I hope all will come tight. The motion is for an adjournntenti until the 30th October, by which tima the directors hope to be in a position to lay something before you. As regards an exnuraeuoj meeting, the directors have no idea of stealing a march upon the shareholders. "We are going to have a deliberate vote of the shareholders. You need not be at all afraid of that. The motion for the adjournment of t&a meeting was the* put and carried.