The fiftieth annual general meeting of the above company was held on the 9th December, at the offices, Leadenhall street, Mr. Thomas Sutherland, M.P.,-presiding.
The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report and accounts, said, he thought he was fairly entitled to congratulate the shareholders on the report and: statement of accounts which the directors placed before them on this occasion, because, as they were aware, the past year, and more especially the past few uiouths, had not been altogether free from anxiety, and even disappointment, to there who had embarked their capital im the shipping trade in connection with the Far The great improvement in the rates which end of 1887, or about the beginning was niaintained for about. two years, and after that period it ensed and rates fell, until at the present time the company were carrying freights at the rates which prevailed during the unremunerative years of 1885 and 1886, They had also had another difficulty to. contend with-—namely, the irregularity in the Indian exchanges caused by the fuct nating value of silver, which had Fidia and. China—thet' inthe first ten redueed this effect upon the exports ut
of this year those exports were hed to the extent of between three and four millions sterling. When he reminded them that shipowners looked most= ly for profit to the return freights which they obtained from ports in those countries, they would easily imagine the paralysis effect which this advance in the rates ut exchange must have had, every now and then, on the freight market. He thou therefore, that they might fairly con; tulute themselves upon the fact" that the outturn of their business for the present year was equal to, and even better than for the. previous twelve months, which was a period of admittedly great progress. Another reason why it was especially satis: factory to the directors that they should be abie to present accounts of such a character was that the year under review was the first in which they were working under the now system of reduced capital, and stock converted into preferred and deferred. During the recent three days' financial panic, which was as severe as any of them had ever experienced while it Tasted, he was informed that the only stock which had shown any advance in market value was the P, avd O, Deferred. It had always deen satisfactory to him to show them that the directors had been able to avert ina great measure the consequence of those rapid transitions in the amount and volume of the trallic of their ships, It hud been possible for them by taking time by the forelock sv to control the business ut the company that while the differ in the trafic returns had been ay times as much as 10 per cent, they had not, during the last few" years, been compelled to vary the amount tributed by way of dividend by more por cent. The board proposed, with the approval of the shareholders, after payin, a dividend of 5 per cent. on the preferres and 13 per cent. on the deferred stock (or an avenge of 9 per cent, on the whole of their capital), to place £85,000 tu the re-Tererve up to £000,000—a policy which he eve fund, bringing the amount of their
was sure would be warmly approved, because it was one from which they' had derived great and important advantages in the past. This amount they hoped, as for as possible, to conserve and employ in cases of great emergency or similar misfortune only. hey had, happily, other reserves of ati iniportant character which he might describe as floating reserves, which were Hable to be touched at any and every movement of the business. They had a reserve fund at the credit of renewal account amounting to £264,000, and another at the credit of suspense account, reaching the Thereenua they lad treated, and would figure of £106,000, or a total of £360,000.
continue to treat, as reserve intended to maintain an equipoise in their business against exceptional disturbances or flue' ations either of revenue or expenditure. They would therefore perceive that the reserve funda at the credit of their undertaking amounted altogether to £860,000,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.