Commercial.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 224, 30 January 1869, Page 2

Commercial.

▼ The Star Office, This Day. The Customs revenue collected to-day amounted to £80 17s lld. The following were the items :— Spirits, 123 gallons, £73 17s 7a ; tea, 2501b5, £6 5s ;• stationery, 1 case, 13s 4d ; saddlery, 1 pkge, 2s. A special general meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held yesterday afternoon, lor the purpose of considering a communication received from the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, in reference to the proposed arrangements by the General Government for the conveyance of the mails between Melbourne and New Zealaud — namely, direct to and from Wellington. Sixteen members Attended, and Mr H. P. Murray- Aynsley occupied the chair. Mr William Montgomery -proposed the following resolution, which is precisely the same as that adopted by Hhe Dunedin Chamber of Commerce : — "That in the opinion of this Chamber •any postal arrangement or contract for conveying the mail betwixt this colony and Melbourne which does not provide for delivery of the mails at the ports of Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, as heretofore, and whioh does not make the Bluff the first port of call of the inward mail and the last port of departure of the outward mail, will fail to meet the requirements of the public, and will he prejudicial to the commercial interests of these provinces; and, also, inasmuch as the subsidy required would be much less if the route suggested were adopted, the Chamber desires to remonstrate against the proposal for a direct mail between Wellington and Melbourne." Mr Hennah seconded the resolution, which was •iman_moußly carried without further discussion. Mr Palmer moved, Mr Walton seconded, and it was carried—" That the foregoing resolution be transmitted to the Post-master-General, and also that the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce be advised to the same effect." y We understand that the establishment of & company for the export of our surplus stock is in contemplation. At the Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Mr Palmer said it was probable that a meeting having that object in view would be held most probably on Friday next, and leave was given for the .use of the room belonging to the Chamber. The annual general meeting of the shareholders of the Provincial Investment and Loan Association was held in the lectureroom of the Literary Institute last night, Mr George Gould, chairman of the Board of Directors, presiding. Mr Lews read the sixth annual report of the Directors, wliich was adopted on the motion of Mr John King. A ballot for three directors in the room of Messrs Hawkes, Heywood, and Turner, who retired by rotation, resulted in the election of Messrs Turner, Hawkes, and Peacock. The following are the most important extracts from the Directors' report : — " Your directors are happy to state that, notwithstanding the great depreciation in the value of property generally in the province, and particularly in and around Christchurch, the Association has only had to sustain loss on three securities, the total amount of which is £481 2s. These loans were made to shareholders at an early stage in the history of the Association, and have been in suspense for some time, the Board having only recently ascertained the actual loss resulting from them. The total receipts for the year amount £o £28,820 19s 3d— namely, ordinary revenue, £20J341 7s Id; amount received on deposit, £1425, and the sum of £7054 12s 2d ■■ advanced Htyyour bankers. The arrears on the last, day of the rear were as follows: — £1129 ls 2d; name' \ on realised shares, £936 9b 5d,. on v. : realised shares, £192 lis 9d.' ( The nun.'ar of shares on the books of tlu? A*- ciation yielding in-

come are 2853 ;— namely, realised shares] 1571, and unrealised shares, . 1282. During the year 74 unrealised shares have been withdrawn, 54 realised shares have been paid off, and 24 realised shares have been written off in connection with the losses above referred to; these figures make up the 3005 shares shown in theabstract annexed to the last annual report, as being in existence at that date. Your directors have determined, for the present, to give the sum of £26 18s 6d net, as the price per share for the withdrawal of unrealised shaves, and they have fixed the sum of £24 Is 6d per share as the price for which realised shareholders can redeem their securities. Your directors have to report that until lately they have been enabled to invest the whole income of the A ssociation, but during the last few months very few securities have offered, and the receipts have been principally employed in paying off your bankers, and those who had left money with the manager on deposit. These debts have now been wholly liquidated by tbe income, and your directors have in future, in the absence of auy further application for loans, to rely solely on the effect of the compulsory ballot, so as to prevent the funds of the Association from being. unproductive."