COLONIAL BANK.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 116, 27 September 1895, Page 3

COLONIAL BANK.

THE NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO BANKS.

Dunedin, Sept. 24. The Colonial Bank meeting has been adjourned till the 30th October. The Hon 0. McLean, speaking at the meeting, thus referred tc the banking negotiat ons: —These negotiations, for reasons we explained at the time, we felt it necessary, in the interests of the shareholders, to break off. If the conditions on which this Bank then insisted had been agreed to, the difficulties which were dealt with during the present session would have been avoided. Both parties during the present negotiations have, I believe, been anxious to come to fair and equitable arrangements, but mrangoment has been arrived at. It is not at present desirable that the details of those negotiators should be made public. The provisions of the Act of this session have so far prevented such an agreement being cora« to between the two Banks an in your interests we could agree to. Whilst the directors of this Bank and of tbe Bank of New Zealand may enter into a preliminary contract for sale or puicbase. the vnlidity of such contract rests on the subsequent ratification) by the share holders. Whatever the directors may agree to in tbe meantime will be of no vnlidity unless approved by you. At present the directors think that further consideration of the report and the Bank’s position should be postponed to a convenient date, when we hope to bo in a position to state definitely wbat course we recommend the shareholders to alopt. After the motion toadjourn the meeting had been seconded, Mr J, W. Bain (Invercargill) said thatthe sliarpholderswhoui he represented had no objection to a sale so long ns it whs. a sale for cash, clear of any further liability. They had no objectionmany of them, at anyrate —to such a sale. Bis own opinion was that the Bank should go on. It was important for the shareholders to know the ccnditions and the terms on which the sale and transfer were to be made.

Mr Lairg read the clause of the Act which authorises the sale, and was abom to explain, what had been done at i' e meeting at Invercargill when a pc-int of order was raised. After some further remarks, the chairman said that, before putting the motion, he should like to disabuse the minds of the shareholders of the notion that there was to be something else than a salo for cash. There was no other question at all. It was a question of purchase and for cash. He had allowed Mr Bain some latitude, and that gentleman had read to the meeting the.terms that had prevented the two sets of directors from coming to an agreement, and they must be altered if they were to come to terms. Tbc chairman added that as regards the emergency meeting there was no idea of the directors stealing a march upon the shareholders. The shareholders were going to have a deliberate vote: there was no need to be afraid of that. The motion was then carried unanimously.