THE CLINTON MEAT PRESERVING COMPANY.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1869, 10 February 1892, Page 3

THE CLINTON MEAT PRESERVING COMPANY.

The first annual meeting of the Clinton Meat Preserving Company has just been held. The report of the year's work is not a very cheering one, looked at from a shareholder's standpoint ; it is, nevertheless, a valuable one, and contains much that should be useful to those whose thoughts run in the direction of going into a similar venture. It demonstrates that without ample capital success in an undertaking of this kind is an absolute impossibility; and that unless that essential requisite can be secured, it had better be left alone. That is the primary lesson the first year's experience of the Clinton factory teaches.

The report, read a^ the meeting states that there has been a considerable loss on the first year's working. The company was very much disappointed in the matter of plant, and had to get it piecemeal here and there from what ever part of the colony they could. They also had little or no money until calls came in, and as they could only issue one call per month, the money did not come in as fast as it went out ; at times they had barely cnongh to pay freight on the timber arriving, and, when they commenced, in order to meet the first month's wages and rabbits, they had to arrange to borrow money. The best offer they could secure was from the National Bank.Balclntha, wherefrom they borrowed £500, giving building, plant, and uncalled capital as security, on the understanding that all moneys coming in from the 4tb call upwards were to be paid to the bank to reduce this loan of £500, and every pound so paid in also reduced the interest. In November they had paid into this account, £251 45, thus reducing their loan by one-half. But engagements coming due before that date (which they thought to have met with the balance over advances on their produce) they overdrew their working account something £240. In order to reduce this overdraft, with the bank's consent they drew this £251 from the loan account and placed it to the credit of their working account, thus leaving them still with a loan of £500. After commencing work tin plates rose from 21s per box to 25s and 27s in Dunedin, and were very scarce at that price. In all they used 507 boxes of tin plates at an average cost of 25s 3d per box. For the present season they had made arrangements to indent a better quality of tin plates from 18s 9d, with 5 per cent, added, on trucks at Dunedin, say, 20 per cent, on each box ; this means a saving on 500 boxes of £131. Their output for the season was 3,138 cases of three dozen 21b tins and eighty bales of skins. Their preserved meats did cot arrive in London in as good order as they should have done. Four per cent, of them ouly realized an average of 5s 3d per dozen, while three per cent, realised nothing ; and as preserved rabbits had fallen considerably when their produce reached home, their calculations on getting a substantial balance over advances wtere not realised. As stated in their report they had secured the services of Mr Heath as manager of the works, and they firmly hplinvprl that if a good article was manufactured ■rq»i working expenses cut down that next year they would be able to show a gain.

A shareholder present said that the Gore and Woodlands factories had lost even more than the Clinton factory during the past year owing to tinned meat being at so low a price in the London market. He understood £131 on tin plates, on wages £'150, and a penny a tin rise on the meats was contemplated, which would, after paying off loss, give a balance of over £170. By fifteen shareholders becoming guarantors for £20 each, another start would be made, and an understanding was come to by the Gore and Woodlands factories that it would be advisable to start on the Ist March.