HALF-YEARLY MEETING OF COLONIAL BANK.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2293, 26 January 1882, Page 2

HALF-YEARLY MEETING OF COLONIAL BANK.

Dcnedin, Jan. 25. Tho half-yoarly mooting of tho shareholders m tho Colonial Bank was held this afternoon, tho Hon G. McLean, SI.L.C, presiding. The Chairman, m moving tho adoption of tho report and balance-sheet (which provides for jEIOOO being carried to tho resorvo fund and for tho payment of a dividend of 7 per cent, absorbing £1 WO) said: — Gentlemen, — I have very great pleasure m meeting yon this time. Tho Directors feel that they can moot you with a bettor grace becauso they havo given yon a little better dividend, and havo sot dono it without being assnred that tho position of tho Bank had gradually improved. Wo are gaining gronnd and wo aro going ahead m such a way that wo may now fairly seek to increase our dividends. Wo have, during tho last half-year, had a considerable increase of business m tho ghapo of new accounts, and wo havo been going on steadily spreading oar wings a little more. You will «co that wo have opened two further branches — one at Tiraaru and one at Cambridge. Wo conceived that there wore chances of success at thesa places, and it U the policy of the Directors to gradually Reread our winprs us wo can nee our way, and to increase our Business nntil we become, by gradual growth, surely and gxfely a large institution. Taking tho balance-sheet you will see that certain portion.H of tho business havo fairly increased with tbo exception, I may say, of tho deposits, which show a littlo lower this half-year than last. That m so, and there it ia, not through a falling- off 'in our general deposit bnaincHs, becanse our ordinary general business has increaood dnring tho half-year, but it is from the withdrawal of special deposits which it has not been onr interest to keep longer than wo could hejp, and the fact of theso Hpecial deposits finding employmont by tho gradual absorption of capital m tho colony at tho prcsont time. As I havo said, we have fairly increased oar goneral deposit business by steady deposits and have not encouraged thoso deposits which como for a, special purpose and aro taken away gradually. Wo havo also oar (nods fairly. enWged, »n4 I may lay that we

hare the prospect of good employment .for them, always bearing m mind that wa keep our position such that we are always ready to take up good account* whenever they are offered to ns. It will bo our interest to study that and to make trueiprogresß by accepting good business wherever wo can get it, and so ry and push tho Bank ahead. I would also, at this meeting, like to refer to tho special reserve fnnd. We had unfortunately to take some .£20,000 from tho reservo fund some timo a-o to meet special losses. lam sorry to say that by the next half-year that will duappear from tho balance-shoot, and I am sorry to Ray it will ull bo requirod. While we havo this year entered upon a course of payIng increased dividends, wo havo been careful, as you will Reo, to increase onr present reserve fund, so n-- to gradually creep np to what it was. Wo havo boon pretty froo from bad debts. Wo havo not beonuumradfnltoroviewthosopropcrtiesthatunfortnnatciy have boon thrown on onr hands, and so far a! thov havo gone thoy havo exceeded m sovera cases our expectation. It is difficult, of course, "to valuo thoso properties, and it does not do justice to the sharoholdors to ropresent thorn on tho faco of tho books altogether, so that some day thoy might come m a big lump. As I have said, wo havo not been unmindful to recover such things as these bofore increasing tho dividend, and I wish i to refor to this to remind shareholders of wha wo havo done. Gsntlemen, I do not need, I think, to say very much to you to-day. lam happy to say that if you look back fivo years m tho history of the Bank, n .very marked increase will bo noticed. During that timo our deposits havo been almost doubled, ami H wo ■»o on increasing m that ratio, wo may be satiefiod that onr property is a good one. Tho report and balanco-shcot wero unanimously adoptod. . Mr Geor<*o Gray Russell was eleoted to tho Diroctory m place of Mr A. W. Morns. Mr F. R. Chapman moved a vote of thanks to tho Direotors and officers, saying that the small attendance at tho mooting was a proot of tho satisfaction felt by tho .shareholders.