MOSGIEL WOOLLEN FACTOR? COMPANY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2179, 28 November 1895, Page 59

MOSGIEL WOOLLEN FACTOR? COMPANY.

The annual meeting of the Mosgiel Woollen Factory Company (Limited) was held on the 19th in the company's premises, High street, and was attended by over 20 shareholders, among them beisg the Vcn. Archdeacon Edwards, Archdeacon Fenton, Drs Hocken and Davies, the Hon. W. D. Stewart, Messrs A. Bastleman, W. Hislop, J. Green, M.H.R, H. F. Hardy, J. Mitchell, R. Watson, P. G. Pryde, and Dr Hislop. Mr A. J. Burns (acting-chairman of directors) occupied the chair.

/he directors of the Mosgiel Woollen Factory Company, in submitting the twenty-second annual report and balance sheet of the company to the t-uareUolder3, state that a fair business has been done in the company's productions for the past year. The profit and loss account shows a balance of £6476 16s lid, from which the interim dividend of £2205 paid in April lias to ba deducted, leaviDg the sum of £4271 16s lid now to be dealt with. The directors recommend the payment of a further dividend of 4 per cent, for the last halfyear, absorbing £2940, making 7 per cent, for the year, and carrying forward the balance of £1331 to the new profit and loss account. The retiring directors are Dr Hislop and the Hon. W. D. Stewart. Both are eligible and offer .themselves for re election. tThe auditors, Messrs Walter Hislop and A. Bartl man, also retire, but aro eligible for reelection.

The Chairman said : In the abrence of cur respected cbairmaD, the duty devolves upon me to say a few words to you on the present occasion. Isuppose wo may take this, our tnoutysecond annual report, as read. I prtsume all of you have seen it, and it is no use spending time over it. Our reports and balance sheets have now become of a somewhat stereotyped cinracttr, particularly tho rt commendations cobts-ified therein auent the paying of a decent dividend — (Htar, hear.) I think it is unnecessary for me to refer to more tbaa one or two items of the balance sheet on tbe present occasion, and the directors feel assured that I can do so with some s.Uisfact:oa after the very anxious and dtpreibing times gone through during the pa3t year. SLsrelioMr i\s will have observed that in October 1894 tbe overdraft at the Colonial Bav:k s'ood at £23,388 17a lid. In October 1895 ife stood at £9463 3* lid, thus showing a reduction of £13,905 14s. I think no one will doubt for a moment but that thdt item, at all events, is very satisfactory. It may be remembered that at the last annual meetiDg of sharekolders it was intimated that the directors intended to work the mills to order only and as little as possible to stock, even supposing it should be ntcessary to reduce the working hours of the mills for a time. This course has been strictly adhered to. . The soundness of this policy is evident, as the profit and loss account for thia year shows a result of £1152 10s 2d better than last year — (hear, heur) — thus enabling tho dirtctors to safely recommend to shareholders tbe dividend of 4 \ct cent, for the past half-year and to carry forward £1331 16s lid to the new profit and lots account. These proposals, I think, may also be regarded as satisfactory. Shareholders will do well to accept them, for though trade is somewhat better and all the mills at present are in full work, yet it is a very safe; a. very comfortable thing to have something to fall b^ck upon in these trying times. This j.olicy has been the sa'vatkn of the company during its past history, and ao your directors strorgly recommend its continuance in future. At the last annual meeting a discussion arose regarding cheap goeds. Well, depressed times and Btroug competition forced us to sell goods at a veiy low rate ind£ed, but atill adhering to good quality — sound raw material. It will be a mistaken and a disastrous policy should this comp.'ny ever depart from tuch sound fuudamental principles. — (Hear, bear.) Gentlemen, in connection with this cheap goods business will you permit me, if I am not taking up too much of your time, to relate to you a little incident that happened to mjself some years ago in conr.eetion with this cbeap goods manufacture ? It was curing the t'me I was in the old country. I happenf-d to be staying with relatives in one of the Midland counties o£ Merry England, aud no doubt I was wandering about to see all I cculd sse, btiDg a sort of foreigner in a strange land. I dropped one day into a bomiie g'en, not surpassed, if equalled, by anything iv old Scotland or in this, our country, for beauty, and there in the midst of nature in all its loveliness stocd a shoddy mill. The contrast was a sad ore, although it was somewhat ludicrous. There on the one side of thebonnie litt!e_stream was Nature in all its beauty ; there on the other side was this wrttched erection of. poor human rature, with all its dirt and all its degradation. The first thing that attracted my attention in the bu'lding was an immense room, with a flooring space fully as large as that of the 100 mia which we are now assembled, filled with rags gathered from hospital?, lunatic asylums, gaols, the back slun>s, and the dust b'ns of great cities, it hoc gtiius omne. I followed this through its processes, but I am not going to ask ycuto go with me. Many of you would not understand }he technical terms, and all of you would ba tired out before I had done with it. Suffice it to say that there was no doubt ia my mind mind that the germs of disease were in that raw material, and that there was also not a single doubt' in my mind that the germs of disease were in the finished goods, perhaps in a more lively state than they were in the dirty rags. And there goods were issued to the v. orld es— what ? The best colonial tweeds and flannels.— (Laughter.) Now, gentlemeD, there in the midst of this big room were seated a lot of little children— boys and girls— sorting out this abominable mess — cutting off hooks anel eyes, buttons, ripping eeams, &c— preparing this delightful rubbish to clothe the ladies of our colonials in colonial tweeds. This is no overdrawn picture. It is one that any manufacturer knows something about. It is well known noith of the line, and, sorry am I to say it, that it is beginning to be known south of the lice too. Can it be possible that the general public are in ignorance of this ? If so, it i 3 time that, upon ssnitary grounds and scientific grounds alone, their eyes were opened to it. Is it possible that they do know it, and that they purchase thia foul rubbish of cloth •to clothe themselves and families ? Then I say that what is on their bodies is nothing but what will breed sorrow and trouble and disease, and peihap3 death. Ail for what ? Saving, perhaps the few pence in the difference between this awful rubbish and the original good, sound, clean stuff. Perhaps you will pardon me for this effusion. I have thought t>ver this subject for many years, and many a time I wished to say scmetbing about it to you, but my courage was lacking. I cannot, however, any longer resist telling you, aud there it is, and I trust that it may do some good, if not to ourselves, at all events lo poor humanity. I have a resolution to propose — " Resolved that the twenty-second annual report and balance sheet for the year ended sth October 1895 be adopted, and that £2940 be devoted to the payment of a dividend at the rate of 4 per cent, for the last half-year, together with a sum of £2205 paid as an interim dividend in April 1895, UiikltAg fv total dividend of, 7 per cent, for tbej^aELMdJ^ali Ihfl bllauce. of ,£1331 ISa lid

I be carried forward to the new profit, and loss Recount."

Mr Melville had much pleasure in seconding the motion. After what tha chairman had stated, it simply strengthened the opinion he always entertained that tha company ehould always go in fcr manufacturing the very .best article. It would be a sorry day when the compauy went in for manufacturing shoddy. — (Hear, hear.) He hoped he would not be a shareholder when that policy was pursued. Meantime it w&s eatisfftctory to see the company paying 7 per cent, dividends these bad times. The Hon. W. D. Stewart observed that a very heavy responsibility rested on Mr Burns for not dif closing the state of things he referred to before. — (Laughter.) Mr Watson thought that the report was a very satisfactory one. He was pleased to see that the company's position financially was much improved compared with last year. The balance of the new profit and lof s account, after paying an interim dividend, was £1331 16s ; in 1894 it was £336. There was due in 1894- to the Colonial Bank £23,363. This year the amount was reduced to £9462. The goods manufactured, goods in process of manufacture, and raw material this year were valued at £46,436, as against £55,029 last year. The profit and loss account showed a balance of £6476, from which the interim dividend of £2205 paid in April bad to bo deducted, leaving the sum of £4271 now to be dtalt with. The charges and salaries this year were £4448, ami in 1894 they were £5106. The book deb's for 1894 were £11,058, while for 1895 they were £7180. Thetransfer fees last year were only £1 Is, while tbis year they were 18«, which showed that the shareholder?, knowing when they had hold of a gcol thing, stuck to it. Mr Mitchell aeked if the stock was taken in the u-u»l way this year, and at the usual low rates. This was an impoztaut matter. The Chairman : I will reply to that question as follows : — Some little time ago a softgoods man and a manufacturer paid a visit to our Mosgiel mill. They were received courteously by our mill manager, who took them through all the departments of the mill. At length the softgoods man asked: "Who takes the stock ?" "The mill manager: "I do, aince't a year." The softgoods man: "Who puts the price 3on it?" The mill manager: "Oh, Maister Morrison." The manufacturer :Ay ! And what prices does he pub on?" Our mill minager looked at them both for a moment, saying to himself, "Ah, aha, lads, I ken ye noo ! " Then with a twinkle iv his oye, and a shrewd smile on his face, said: "Weel, I'm ji-treal angry wi' Mr Morrison: he tak's in my ttock at naething ava." I think it will be acknowledged thai; our worthy mill manag.-r completely got the better of those two worthies. The report and balance sheet were then adopted. EJECTION OF DIRECTORS. On the motion of Mr Watson, seconded by Archdeacon Fenton, Dr Hislop and the Hon. W. D. Stewart were re-elected directors. Dr Hislop thanked the shareholders for their renewed expression of confidence in re-electing him a dire ctor. The directors of the company had had a very trying time of it for more than a year past, but matters had now taken a turn, and it was to be hoped that they would continue to improve. The Hon. W. D. Stewart also returned thanks for his re-elestion. On the motion of Mr Prvde, seconded by Mr Melville, Mr W. Hislop and Mr^k.. Bartleman were appointed auditors. Dr Hislop proposed, and the Chairman seconded, a vote of thanks to the staff, which Wflscrried. The Manager (Mr Mortis in), in reply, said they had a class of workers whose aim it had been to turn out the very best article — a class of workers who took a pride and satisfaction in doing so. Their factory had bsen a milch cow to the whole of (he faotories in tha colony in that respect, and the work they turned out was envied all ov^r the colony. In so far as the amount representing value of stock referred to by Mr Melville was concerned, his certificate as manager carried the key of the whole position. Whenever ho desired to buy new stock he did co as cheaply as possible, securing the very best material. Cheap goods and low prices had been the order of the day, but so long as he had anything to do with the matter he would never allow the quality to be depreciated. That had been his policy for the past 22 yea's, and he intended to continue it. The whoJe of the production up to the mon'hof May ! had been, sold, and they bad on more than one occasion to refuse oiders for delivery before that time. On behalf of the staff and officers of tbe company, he thanked the shareholders for their expression of confidence. He thought the prospects for next jcar were much brighter than they had been in the past.