FARMERS' CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXI, Issue 12481, 19 September 1904, Page 4

FARMERS' CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL MEETING. . The., annual meeting of shareholders of th» Canterbury Farmers' Co-operative Association (the eleventh since the reorganisation of the Association), was held in the Assembly Rooms on Saturday afternoon. There.-was a good attendance when the itiieeting' commenced, and others came in until the Assembly Room was nearly filled. Mr. John Talbot, Chairman of Directors, presided, and all other direc:tors were present, except Mr. Barker, who is absent from the colony. '.: The minutes of the previous annual meeting having been read by,the manager, •Mr. J. P.. Newman, the directors' report •and balance sheet for the year ended July 31st, having been circulated, were taken •"as read. The following is the directors' report:— - "In presenting the eleventh annual re:port and balance sheet to shareholders, the directors have again great pleasure in announcing that the results of the past year's working are eminently satisfactory. Last year we were able to show a record balance sheet, and it is with pleasure that the directors.are able to advise another record as ' the outcome of the past year's work. The volume of business done in all the departments shows a healthy and steady progress, and it has been : the endeavour of the management to provide for all farmers' requirements as far as is ■practicable. . New and commodious prerttis'es,.*are nearing;completion at Waimate,. ■ wiA,. the directors Relieve* that j this, branch; will abt ; orily meet tHe .requirements of •shareholders,in the.diati ; ict,.rbut will also -proye/a. lucrative arid steadily increasing ac:cesshto to the Association's' business. Of .tne".2Qoo new shares at the'■ last annual meeting, 1500 have been allotted during the year, leaving only 500.shares available. •Youiwill, therefore, be asked to sanction ■the •creation of a further 3000 shares, bringing the nominal capital up to £125,•000. -. The allotment of shares made during the past-year-has resulted in 225 new shareholders joining the Association. The directors retiring this year are Messrs J.; Talbot. W. B. Howell, J. Anstey, J. Kellahd 5 , W: J. Hardie, and D. Shaw, all of .whom are eligible for without notice, and offer themselves accordingly, with' the exception of Mr D. Shaw, who has resigned, and will. not seek re-elect-tion.. The following nominations have .'haen received for seats on the Board : Messrs J. M. Barker, Kyran Brophy, W. Hayman, W. P. Studho'lms, R. Skinner. James ; Wright. The net amount available for distribution is £2i;il6 12s lid. : The' directors propose that eight per cent, dividend be paid.* On paid-up capital; six per cent, bonus be paid on purchases •by the shareholders; twenty-five per cent, be refunded-on grain and auction commissions earned (wool excepted),' and six per cent, bonus be paid to the staff on .salaries and wages, that £3OOO be added to the reserve fund, and that after allowing for ■ auditors' and stocktakers' ..fees, the bal-, ance be carried forward." ." The balance sheet showed 1 " that £52,58" had been paid np on 21.437 shares, leaving £54,601 uncalled. 112 shares were fullv paid up to £5 each, 2116 to £3 15s each. 16,091 to £2 10s each, the remainder to lesser amounts. The reserve funds amounted to £30,822 17s 6d. Other liabilities were:—Reserve for doubtful debts. £l3f lis. lid; unclaimed dividends, £409 19? Id;-:.fixed deposits, £77,554 Is 8d; sharefolders' current accounts, £37,642 10s Od; 'sundry creditors, £11,681 4s 2d; bills piyablej i£3o2 14s 6d; drafts against produce £22,056 15s 6d; Union' Bank of Australia. Ltd., £11,91915s 2df profit and loss, £2l, 116.12s lid j total, £266,230 2s sd. The assets were stated as follows:

Freehold property—(cost £46,358 14s lOd——less written off £BOOO and unpaid balance on Beswick street property £2OOO) — £36,358 14s lOd; leasehold propwty," £422 10s Od; plant and furniture, £3,592 3s Id ;' advances on grain, wool, etc., £54,946 17s ■B'd; due on open accounts £33,318 12s sd; due on auction accounts. £45,554 0s 3d; due for grain sold, £15,933 14s 7d; bills receivable, £6,097 14s lid; investments. £753 13s 4d; goods on hand, £65,C91 3s 7d; cash on hand, £4,161 7s 9d; total, £266,230 2s sd. The. profit and logs account .was as fol- ; tows :—Expenditure—Preliminary expenses Waimate branch, £266 9s' 2d'; stamp? and telegrams, £795 10s 3d ; salaries and "wages £11,485 10s, 2d; directors' fees foattendance, and expenses, £392 15s Od; insurance premiums, £455 8s 7d; incidental expenses, £1,925 0s 6d; rates and taxes, £1,155-7s sd; books, stationery, printing, .and advertising, £561 Us lid; rent Wai•isate premises, £62 4s Od; rent railway sidings, £95 0s Od; Government license. £55 Ce Od; auctioneers' licenses, £BO 0s Od; cartage, £715 4s 4d; depreciation on leasehold properties, £153 10s Od; depreciation on auction property, £36 4s Od ; depreciation on furniture and plant, £378 19s 9d; . bad debts, £679 19s 2d ; carried iorirard from last year, £2,807 19s lOd; ■ bajange, nett profit for year, £18,308 13s . Id; total, £40,410 7s 2d.. : , Eeceipts:—By balance at 31st July, 1903—(£19,734 *4s lid—less dividends and bonuses paid, £12,628 19s 7d; auditors' and stocktakers' fees, £197 5s 6d; transfer to reserve fund, £3000; written o<f build irigs,.£looD; Silo plant, £looo)—nett balance, £2,807 19s lOd; commissions, £lO,069 7s 6d; interest and exchange, £2,120 r 18s 6d; discount, £1,333 13s 2d; dotage charges, £l, 31117s 9d ; yardages and dipping, £l6B 10s Od; profit on merchandise, £22,598 0s sd; total, £40,410 7s 2d. The auditors, Messrs Granger and Eraser, certified to the' correctness of . the - balance sheet. They remarked that the business was ever on, the upward grade, and' it was getting almost impossible to pomplete the audif by the advertised date -of the meeting. The office staff . was well-organised and directed: The books were kept in a very clear and satisfactory manner, and every facility had been afforded them in their work. The auditors heartily congratulated the i'sst'ciatipn. pn the" result of the year's tvansiirtions.; : Reports on stocks by professional stock takers, were read, as follows : Mr. John Clarke, Christchurch, iepo'ieo on the hardware, jute goods, etc., at 7i- " maru and branches. The Timarn stock ' was as usual well bought and well classed, ; and well cared for, and suitable to require- ■ ments. He noted that a start had been - made in saddlery by having a man repairing. He presumed more would follow. This would be a favourable time to start hoyse-cover making, with tarpaulins to follow later. The Waimate stock was clean and tidy. Practically all the best lines taken over from their predecessors had bgen cleared. The stock being small was easily kept, and the man in charge had the bump of order. A person with more technical knowledge would, however, be required when the new premises were open The stock at Geraldine.presented its usual neat appearance. The new additions had enabled a perfect classification to be made of different stocks, and there were no dust holes. Mr H. Quane, Christchurch, reported on the grocery, crockery, stationery, patent medicines,, and seeds departments. ' The several stocks at Timaru, Geraldine, and Waimate, were well kept, and in every way suited to the Association's, trade. Talcing the stock as a whole, it was everything that could be desired, and he had pleasure" in. certifying to the.values set .down in the stock sheets. Mr . ]?. S. Malcolm reported on the Timaru stock of soft goods, fancy goods and boots, that he found it exceptionally clean and thoroughly well kept, with the exception of four or five lines not in excess of immediate requirements. The rauuager had ordered sparingly of those excess lines for the coming seasons, so that things would right themselves. He had discounted several fashionable lines which should be got rid of before next stocktaking, but the deductions were very small considering the magnitude of the stock, about £SO in all. The Geraldine stocks were well assorted, clean, and considering the room at disposal, they were kept in good order and condition. Fe considered that it would be profitable to provide double the present floor and fixture space, and add a junior assistant. - _ The chairman, before moving the adoption of the reports and balance sheet, gave the meeting some information regarding the conduct of the election of the directors.

Mr G. Casey suggested, 1 or, rather defrauded thafc in future a Jirpper ballot box , : should be provided for thefjjjnrposes of the ' election, and the chairman' Said there could be no. objection to that. •'•_'?.._• Mr Talbot then read a statement which he had put into writing to save the time of the meeting. He began with tributes . of respect and appreciation to the memories of the late Mr E. P. Sealey, and Mr C. H. Inglis. The former had long served the Association as a director with ability and unswerving devotion to the duties he had undertaken, and he deserved to be remembered with feelings of respect and gratitude. Mr Ihglis jfrould be remembered by most of those present as their man- I aeer for many years, and later, and up to ' the time of his death, as their London agent. It would, no doubt, be too much to eay that he had succeeded in securing the complete satisfaction of every shareholder; it was not given to any inan in such a position to achieve so,much; but every one would concede to him a desire to do his duty honestly, faithfully, and to the best of his ability. He could bear testimony to the valuable services Mr Ingtw gave to the Association during times that called for the exercise of the highest qualities of business tact and ability. As their London, agent he carried out his duties most ably and conscientiously, and' ■narenplderg heard of his death with feeljngs of sincere regret. During the many

years he was in their service, he was, hardly ever oflf duty, and was actually at work to within a fortnight of his death. The directors were informed that his widow was left in somewhat straitened circumstances, largely due to the fact that when he entered their service, he. had - financial obligations due to business family affairs, which, though not responsible for them, he considered himself in honour bound to discharge, and until quite recently he had not freed himself from this incubus. Under these circumstances, and in view of the fact that the best years of his business life were spent in their service, the directors have under consideration a proposal to make some compassionate grant to Mrs Inglis, by way of assistance to help her in more easily meeting her heavy trouble. He sincerely trusted that the shareholders would accord to the directors their sympathy with this proposal.- (Hear, hear.) The chairman next referred to the recent somewhat heavy loss by fire, one of the worst accidents that has ever happened to the Asoeiation, pn account of the goods lost not being covered by insurance. He could say but little in extenuation of this fact. It was due solely to an unfortunate oversight on the part more or less of several persons. The policies had expired some short time previously, when the building contained nothing of an inflammable nature, and it was not deemed necessary to renew just then. Subsequently a quantity of grass seed had been hurriedly stored ; there, and when the Are happened they Vere unfortunately caught uninsured. The loss amounted.to between £l6ooand £I7OO. As the accident happened after the close of the books for thei. J financial year, : the loss did not appear in the present balance sheet. Provision to meet the loss had however been made, by a .proposal to carry forward; a substantial amount of profits -to next, year's account. Coming next to a few of the more salient features of the past year's business, substantial and most gratifying progress had been made in. all departments. ■ The total sales for the year amounted to £798,592, ns against £659,487 last .year. The general merchandise sales at Timaru had gone up to £144.760. from £135,794; and Ge-' raldine.to £19,584 from £17,985. The Waimate returns, for its first year were £22,104 for.general.merchandise and nearly £20,000. for grain. The auction sales totalled £446,760, against last year. The grain department showed a less amount of turnover, this including Waimate, being 5155.3J31, against.£l9l,473 last year. The higher prices ruling for. grain during most of the previous year and the large War Office order for South Africa during that period accounted chiefly no doubt for the falling off. In view of the fact that fairly . large stocks of grain were known to be held at date of last annual. meeting in anticipation of outside buying orders, considerable interest would no doubt be felt is to the results as affected by the col'apss of the wheat market towards the end of the year. He was now able to state that a loss of £1660 had resulted; the general merchandise profits being less by, 'mat':'.amount than would otherwnse have been the case. It was generally Vnown that a loss had been made, but rumour had greatly, exaggerated the imour,t. In connection "with this matter it was oroposel. to bring a few aspects of this Train trade under the notice of shareholders, as some .of them were of opinion that 3rain buying should not be undertaken by Association on account of ■ the risk involved, but that the Association should onfice. itself to acting- as selling brokers inly. Selling on account of farmers. on : commission, said Mr Talbot, was the line on which the directors were the most desirous of doing business ; but it must' be tpparent that if they were to confine themselves to that line only, the scope and usefulness of that branch of .their trade must be largely curtailed, or perhaps become • extinct altogether. Individual farmers cannot sell even through brokers to buyers in the. distant markets of South Africa, London, and other places. They may, of course, consign to brokers there ; but the practice is not in favour by farTiers for many good reasons, Combined however, through their Association farmers ire in a very favourable position indeed F or selling in these foreign markets, and the benefit to • shareholders of doing so must be apparent. They had succeeded in getting a considerable quantity of proluce, chiefly oats, into South Afreia, and Soped and believed that one of the resultant benefits would be that they had created i future demand. He thought they had •jiv«n satisfaction to buyers over there in lie matter of quality and condition. He had it on good authority that in. some cases In which they were passed on account of heir quotations being considered a little too hisrh, regret had been expressed that j Hieir offeT was not accepted, as when their rivals' shipments cams to ihand, the quaity and condition were not good. They were careful to supply equal to sample, of which they had standards in the hands it their agents. The result was that conIdenee was extended to them, to the gratifying extent that in most cases of sales, •fie condition of Bstablishing a bank credit here to meet the payment on shipment was r=adily conceded'. As showing the importance of this grain trade, he might state that from January 1900 to August 1904, they had sold "225,000 sacks o! wheat, and 23,224 sacks of oats for farmers 111 their own account on commission, and 'o supply buying orders they had in the ■■•ame period brought straight out nearly 1 02,000 sacks of wheat and 462.500 sack's >f oats, or a total of 812,700, independent of h large quantity of barley, peas, beats, bran, etc. "In order to show the trend 'nd volume of trade, he nii<rht say 'that ■since January Ist to August 31st, 1904. hey had sold on account of farmers on "•ommission 54,641 sacks wheat and 2937 of oats, and had bought for orders over ame period 34,345 sacks of wheat and 81,422 of oats. Oats very largely preponderate' in the buying for orders, this being due to the markets for wheaf being 'argely local and thus available to farmers 'irect. Over the period dealt with, that

from January 1900, the profits in con

nection with the grain trade were :—Commission on sales for farmers £2460, profits on charters £1438, profits on purchases of grain after providing for this vear's loss £1902, profit pn storages £6148>; or some £11,950 in all. Irrespective then of the benefits conferred on farmers indirectly in the way of maintaining prices, *he trade was worth fostering, even at f he expense of its inseparable risks. Be-

sides this, they were doing for the farmers in this trade pretty much what the meat companies were doing for them in nnother branch of their productions, namely grading and shipping in the best possible condition, to which end their storage facilities were most useful.

At the beginning of the year the directors entered into an agreement with the C'.bristchurch Association to send an agent *o South Africa, each to share half the "ost. -Sufficient business had been done to pay their share, and there appeared :o be sufficient justification for the coninuance of the agency. With regard to shipping facilities some adverse '. comment had been made in

reference to the arrangements with the federal line steamers, and it was a fact hat cheaper freights had been provided by another line. There were also comolaints of delays and loss by damage, on '•.he subsidised line. It would be only fair to say that the arrangement with the Federal line appeared to be a good one when it was made ,and probably, but for it they would not have had the lower r reights he hod mentioned. These also were not certain of continuance, and the federal steamers were bound to be fitted with refrigerating machinery, which the "ompeting steamers had not.. The com: plaints about delays appeared to refer to argo for the United Kingdom, not to those r or South Africa.

The chairman commented adversely on 'he proposal to appoint Government Proluce Commissioners to report on markets, otc. No one could make any use of their reports. They would certainly be quite •seless to this r Association. Their experience showed that if they wanted to -ell anything they must be on the spot vith samples and quotations to sell at once ind cab!e for the goods. He knew of o practical results to be gained by either "he African or London appointments. With regard to the grading of grain by the Government, he was of opinion thafc ifc_ would have no useful results to farmers* if adopted. The only advantage that could be expected was graders' certificates might be of use in cases of dispute between merchants here and buyers in foreign markets,' and he did not think ■x certificate given at this end would be of much. use. as against the actual: .< on'lition of grain on delivery. So far as the farmers were concerned the results were less likely to be useful than vexations i and expensive. r--, Dealing with the proposed increase of capital, Mr Talbot mentioned the erection of new buildings at Waimate, and the addition to capital outlay there in land, buildings and stores, of about £20,000. j' had also been necessary to increase tl e stocks at Geraldine, and the dir«''ors were . about, to make some at' r iition to the buildings there. P side* these outlays they would soon I>called upon to take another step forwu ' nt Timaru, in the erection' of new store;.: c~

■'he block of freehold, 1§ acres, near ilt Commercial Hotel, as the lease of the Mi" street stores would soon expire. p.- r these reasons he recommended the prop s to present shareholders and investors.

During the year several changes hi' taken place in the staff. Mr Jams Bruce, for many years in charge of t!< Grain Department, had left them to go ;*- to business on his own -account, and Mr A. Shirtcliffe had taken this-place., , 3f" A., D, Henderson, for a long time tliei

Sydney agent, had been appointed to South Africa, and on the death of Mr Inglis was given the London appointment, and Mr Thomas Gray, a New ZeaLonder,_ was appointed in hia place in South Africa. Lastly, Mr A. Austin, so long and favourably known to shareholders, was to leave that djiv to take up farming. Mr Austin had been with them for upwards of twenty years, for many of them held the-po-sition of chief accountant, and he had been looked upon by directors, and he was sure by shareholders generally, as one of the most valued members of the staff. The directors were specially indebted to him for agreeing some months ago to hold over his resignation ,go as not to take affect until after this'meeting. Mr Wilson had -been appointed in Mr Austin's place, and, he believed, the appointment had been a popular one. From the highest to the lowest the Association was being served by a loyal and most capable staff, and whenever a chance of promotion occurred, those who had served them well were deserving of and received first consideration.

In conclusion, Mr Talbot congratulated the shareholders on their good prospects as farmers. Prices of all produce were above the merely payable level, and seemed likely to continue so. . The results of the wool sales in London were very satisfactory, account sales being accompanied by larger cheques than had been expected; the prices of stock were exceptionally high and those of grain good. It would be well to bear in mind in dealing with land that a check might' come at any time, either from weather or a collapse of prices. There was more risk of the former. Now that they were-relying so much upon fattening .lambs during the summer, a drought would \Jjft a very serious matter indeed. The prices of land might not have gone up more than was justified, but- a word of caution -just nowl -yras' not. out" «ff place. Finally, he appealed to the shareholders to give their institution all the support they possibly could. It was the .premier Association of New Zealand, and one of the best and most flourishing to be found anywhere ; they were receiving a large measure of support, and he asked that this be continued and increased. - Mr W. S. Maslin seconded the motion for adopting the documents, and congratulated the directors on being able to present so satisfactory a_ statement. He deprecated any great importance being attached to the loss by the fire through the absence of insurance. Such a mistake was easily made, and they misrht be sure that •t would never occur again. He said he would propose later on that the remuneration of the directors should be increased, lie £4OO they received being miserably inidequate to the valuable services they rendered to the shareholders, and it would be parsimony to allow it to continue. Mr G. Casey protested against, the pro-

posed distribution of profits. Year after vear it was suggested to the directors that the dividend on capital should be reduced, but they took no notice of the suggestions. Mr. Casey the meeting by complaining that too many of the directorswere men from one county of the old country, and he protested against the manner of electing the directors, insinuating that improper resorted to for the ourpose of returning the old directors, so that the Board ought to be called the "Continuous Directory."

Mr A. C. Thompson, who acted as a

scrutineer two years ago, assured the meeting th*t the count of votes was scrupulous'y. correct. Mr Murphy asked some explanation of the item "incidentals £1925," wlvicb, he thought, out of all proportion to the business rules. He agreed with Mr Casey that -the opinion prevailed that some lof the directors were elected in a hole-and-corner way. Mr Brophy asked why the number of votes was not published last year* and he was supported by "hear, hears," when he asked that it be done this year. The chairman replied to the comments made. He could not explain why 4a many directors came from one county; it must be due to some quality in men from that county that was recognised by the shareholders. It was entirely in the hands of the shareholders to give other counties a turn. He added to Mr Thompson's remarks that the directors had never taken any part in the elections beyond signing ballot papers like the rest of the shareholders. With regard to Mr Casey's remarks about the dividend, shareholders must recognise that without capital they could do no business, and it would be no use having ten thousand customers if they had not capital to obtain goods to supply them. The purchasers of goods were having £BOOO distributed among them, and that really represented the total profits of the merchandise business, so that they got their goods at cost price. That was possible because the profits of other branches paid the dividend on capital and other distributions. He read out a list oi items making up the £1925 of incidentals, these including painting, repairs, law costs, travelling expenses, insurances, exchange, stamps, or the several departments "and branches. Mr Casey asked that in' future the items be given in the balance sheet, and ethers cried " No."

The report and balance sheet were then put and adopted -unanimously. The chairman then moved a resolution to increase the capital by £15,000. In reply to a question, he said the directors must fix the premium, but he was certain they would not sell at less V -■:' the present premium, 7s 6d per slw. ■:' ' The motion was carried, two or three hands being held-up &< ;is .•'

A second resolution it ...it; n 1.1 ?. so as to make both auditois e.'igibie for reelection each year, was also carried. Mr Howell thought that at least one fresh auditor should be appointed each year, and Mr Casey that the Government should appoint auditors for all joint stock companies.

This resolution was followed by a third, ordering a special meeting to b-e held in October, to confirm the resolutions re increase of capital and alteration of rule.

Mr Maslin rose to move that the remuneration of the directors be increased, but the chairman begged him not to press it; the directors were quite willing to go on as at present. They were not looking for personal gain. The next question was the appointment of scrutineers for the ballots for directors and auditors.

Messrs J. Campbell and D. Angland proposed Messrs Maslin and Casey, and Mr Guild propose,! Messrs-T. D. Young and A. Austin.

The chairman said they must have Mr Austin as one of the scrutineers, because he knew the share list and the number of votes each man was entitled to. Mr Maslin declined to act.

After a discussion which caused a good deal of amusement, it was decided to appoint three scrutineers, Messrs Austin, Young, and Casey.

The remuneration of the auditors was fixed at the same rate as last year, and a vote of thanks to the directors and staff was moved ;by Mr Maslin and carried by applause, aimd the noise of the meeting breaking up at 2.30 p.m. The voting papers for the •election of six 'Hrecfcors and two auditors were handed to shareholders as they entered the room, and were collected as they left in hats and bags. The scrutineers immediately commenced their task of counting the votes (which vary with the number of shares held), and ißey did not finish it till 5.40 p.m. The following was the result of- the poll, as certified by Messrs G. Casey, T." D. Young, and A. Austin:— For the directors : J. Talbot 736 W. B. Howell 667 J. M. Barker 580 . J. Kelland 573 J. Anstey 514 W. P. Studholme 437 W. J. Hardie 263 B. Skinner 244 K. Brpphy 208' J, Wright 54 , W. Hayman 36 Informal votes 39 The first six in the list are therefore elected. For the auditorships—- ' A. Montgomery 475 J. Granger 394 ' W. G. Dunsford 310 Informal votes 78 ' Messrs Montgomery and Granger are here-fore the auditors for the current year.