THE DAIRY COMPANY.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13595, 15 May 1908, Page 6

THE DAIRY COMPANY.

MKETINC AT TKMt'KA. In Tespoiase to ;i notice calling the suppliers together about ;i do'/.ui fciiaiehoidei'S attended itt the Temnka L-httrse Factory yesterday morning to discuss the position ot the company. .Mr William .Stewart was voted to the chair. He stated in his opening remarks that he was sorry there was not a larger attendance. Dairying had come to stay anil he was of opinion that it would be wise to continue it on co-operative linen. If that wa« not done it would' fall into private hands and they would have no say in the matter. If j>uch happened the purchaser would have to pay interest on the amount «>f the mortgage, and that was only what was now required to kee]» the bti-.dne.vs going, which war. a good t»ne. There was no doubt that to put the lame plant into positi'ui wottkl a good £7OOO. (A voice: And more.) No doubt many wero conversant with

the catts£ of tlk" .s-t back, and it was not neLvss-ary for him to go into details again : it w;u% contained in the circular issued. Mr Stewart then read the circular which had been sent out for the meeting on 16th in,-it. He .-tated that when the mortgagee took the mortgag-.- ov*-r the s--enries there was on deposit at the bank £ISOO. which was afterwards increased to £2200. He then submitted the scheme proposed, namely, that t ;uh n am-iy guarantee a certain group on the following basis. £3OO from each rr.am-iy :ind £bGO from Teinuka.

Mr M. O'Connor said h- thought that each on.- should not only guaianl - the amount, but abo take additional i-hai>s. In reply to a question the chairman said the money raised on the grouping t-ytsteni would need to be paid by 30th .)un<-. The chairman also referred to the question of meeting the difficulty by the tak "nig up of £2OOO .»f pretVtvntiaf shar.s to be paid in full by 30th June, a diivik'lid of 10 p-.-r cent, to lie paid out. of pn.tit.s and they ;•!>• to be a first, claim. Mr O'Connor said the latter scheme would !*• a good one if the suppliers were

to take them -up. It was not good enough U> let outsideis come in and get 10 per cent. The. chairman said some, inducement must be offered to persons who are willing li> put in their capital. Mr Philp wanted to know what difference would bo made, with a man who was supplying •only 4 or 5 cows compared with a -supplier from 40 to 50 cows. The chairman: This cannot be done pro rata. Mr Ife-ck : The bank would not accept a. guaranue on Unit*- conditions. The guarantee must be collective. The chairman thought that the market, ami outlook wro most promising; speaking as a supplier lu- was willing to take his shaiv of the guarantee, and would like to 5..-e the industry revived. Mr Heck then explained th- grouping bV.-lem, and why he had brought- it forward. He went into the. matU-.v of "cooperation," pointing out that the suppliers had a chance of a life time. At pre-M-nt interest had to be paid to Mr Melville Gray on £77 CO. This proposal would swnii awav the undergrowtli, and for approximate'ly £BOOO they would commence a company which has cost about £16,000, everything being in tip-top order. —(A Voice.: A g°°il idea.) Mr Heck said he had been accused of being one t'» make n syndicate to take «.vrr°the concern. This he gave a firm d..nial to. The only syndicate he would be in was with the suppliers. (Hear, h.ar.) Mr Stewart raid he was informed that Mr Melville Gray was satisfied with his eeenritv.

Mr \V. Tarrant said he was in favour of reconstruction. For his own part he did not bring anything like the milk lastyear that he had done previously, owing to lack of feed last season. The suppliers appeared to lie satisfied that Mr Gray had treated the company very fairly. Mr Preston asked that if only six suppliers i>ut of 23 came forward, would tbeyneed to guarantee the whole £500? He wanted to know the exact position. Mr Beck: The responsibility will fall on those who come forward. The chairman: J am satisfied that the position and outlook in spite of the pret*?nt difficulty was most promising. Our product at Home was never at a better price. Even with the bad year the progress shows an increase in position of about £SOO, said Mr Beet. Mr Macdonald said the improvements in ch«ese making -were assisting to keep expenses down, and there was a steady market at Home for it.

Tin? chairman, after a long discussion, asked for a resolution. Mr Beck 6aid at Geraldine liquidation was favoured, but. ho could not get the suppliers to express their opinion. They were as far as he could gather in favour of "co-operative" principles, and liquidation meant losing all. Mr Dobson: Would there be any dry suppliers under the "pruning" or "cooperation" system. Mr Beck replied that he thought not;

thev would get all the profits. Mr John Murphy: Does Mr Melville Gray's mortgage cover all -the South Canterbury properties. Thechairman replied in the affirmative, and pointed out that shareholders were not getting anything for their capital, and that there was only at, present interest 2>nid on about £6OOO, which includes the mortgage. Mr --irmitage. said he was sorry he could not do anything. His lease was up in 11 months) but he would, if possible in the future, continue to be a supplier. It would be a bad thing for the district if the matter was allowed to fall through. Mx D. Heston proposed that it be. a recommendation to the directors to reconstruct the company on the " grouping system," as outlined by the chairman and Mr Beck. This was seconded by Mr M. O'Connor. The motion was carried unanimously, and the meeting concluded with votes of thanks to the chairman and Mr Beck.