'The eleventh annual general meeting of shareholders was held on Wednesday, the 18th March, 1891, at the office of the Secretaries, Messrs. lo, Ris Ca., when' there were present Messrs. A. McLeod (Chairman), R. Mackenzie, H.R. Hearn, T. Woot (Director), J. been read," ate The niotite convening the meeting havi The Cuarmmax said—Gentlemen, the report, and accounts for the past year as presented by the Directors have now been in your hands for some days and with your permission I presume we may as usual take them as read: Before asking you to bu, that, the accounts be excepted and a motion whicl propose later I ask your make a few remarks with to them and also the general affairs of Company. As regards accounts T have very little to say. They are stated in precisely the same manner in which they were presented to you last year, and on the debit side of the account the items are almost identical with those of last year, the only exception being the amount chai 89 for coal, which this your bore is Soar is Tis. rises against Tls. 5,659.78 last year, the increase being something like Tls. 1,500. This does not arise from any larger consumption of coal, but merely from the enhanced market price we had to pay. Iam happy to say that this year we have succeeded in making a contract for the supplies required at a rate which will save us from is. 500 to Tls. 600 of this amount. On the other side of the Working account you will seo that the income received from all sources amounts
year, an increase of Tis, 4,000. 'T might to Mis. 90,606 as against Tis, 86,600 mention that the increase in the Revenue received from Water supplied is more than this, it amounts to somer! over Tls. 6,000, but in the revenue account for 1889 was included a sum of about Ts. 3,500, the cost of sundry extensions to mains which had deen erroneously charged to Dr. of Fittings account, and which was then written back to income. Therefore the increase this year is more satisfactory than would appear from the actual accounts. You will see on furni tothe balance sheet that the final call £5 per share on the 1,200 new shares has been paid, and the capital of the company is now, fully paid up, £144,000. The extensions to our property during the year consist mainly of the new engines and boilers ordered from home. The cost is in the neighbourhood of Tls. 23,000 or Tls. 24,000. With regard to the general working of the Company's business during the year, I think it will be satisfactory to shareholders to know that the service has been carried on without the slightest interry {ruption during the whole course of the year:
have had no mishaps of any kind, and although we have had to undertake a work of some magnitude in cleaning out the Water Tower it was done without any interruption or inconvenience to consumers. and gradual increase in the number of Tam happy also to say that there is a steady
Chinese houses that are water through fittings. The total number supplied with our was 4,968, an increase of something like 1,000 houses during the year. It must be borne in mind, however, that as we already supply the larger description of houses, any additional ones we take in will be of the poorer description and the return per
still increasing the number of houses sup-house will not be so lange. While we are plied through fittings I am also glad to say there is no diminution in the number of houses supplied from the hydrants; and during the year we have been in the habit December of supplying regularly some 1,330 houses Soasnere The. works "throughout, Tam told by our Engineer-in-chief, have been maintained in the very highest state of efficiency during the whole -year. As mentioned in the last report the engines which were ordered have been received from England, the boilers have been erected and tested and the erection of the engines is almost completed. I think the holders have reason to congratulate themselves on the satisfactory mamer in which the work was carried out at home under the superintendence of Mr. Hart. The Board of Directors feel greatly indebted to' him forthe care he has. bestowed he upon. this" work, It is also satisfactory to know that the engines and. boilers. were contracted for at a very favourable..time and were financed for when exchange here was very high, so that the cost to the Company is very reasonable. During the year it is quite possible that we may receive from the Municipal: Council some proj with regard to the acquisition by them of to the Waterworks under the agreement. Until we receive some definite information from them on the subject it is not' our intention to move in the matter. The first, of course must come from them," and we have no official intimation as yet, beyond the notice given at the annual meeting of ratepayers, that this matter might up during the present year. When it does come up of course the Board will take every care that the interests of the shareholders are. protected eres way. Lam hoppy to: say that, during the present year, 1891, the Company's business has been' progressing very favourably and we have a satisfactory increase in the revenue for the first two months of this as compared with last On behalf of the Directors I should like to express our thanks to the staff. generally for the zeal and energy, with which they have attended to their duties inet during the year. (Hear, hear.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.