The ninth annual veneral meeting of shareholders in the above company was held at the offices of the Company, Hankow Road, on Thursday afternoon. "Mr. J. D. Thorburn presided and there were Iso present, Messrs. H. J. Such and A. McLeod (Directors), J. Findlay, P. H. Purcell, L. Moore, E. S. Perrott, C. A. Pullan, and Yuen Kee, representing 2,900 shares, The Secretary, Mr. E. O. Arbuthnot, having read the notice convening the meeting, The Chairman said—The report and accounts have been in your possession for some days now and I would therefore ask you to take them as read. Before asking you to pass the accounts I have only to draw your attention to the further reduction in the amount of interest which we have had to pay this year, and to express a hope of seeing this cut down still further during the current year, From the comparative figures given in the Report, as the results of the working of your business, year by year—during the past five years, you will see that there has been a dual progress from loss to profit, until your directors are now able to recommend the distribution of a dividend of taels two per share: thus absorbing Tls. 11,000 of the balance at credit of profit and loss account which you will have seen stands at Tis, 15,377.73. They also would ask your sanction to apply the sum of Tls. 4,000 to the renovation and alteration of the present printing plant of the Slom_ Pao, and to the changing of the premises in the Hankow Road here toa more suitable and less straggling arrangement, improvements which are much needed. Especially in the printing department, as the present Gas Engine has run its course. Touive you an idea of the work done in this departnient I would say that we printed and issued over four millions of copies of the newspaper last year, and hope to see an increase on this' figure during 1899 since the difficulties under which we laboured by the change in connection with Post Office Regulations have now been removed, and we are indebted to the Postal Administration for full facilities. The small balance on Profit and Loss Account, after the fore ing ap. plications, amounts to Tis, 377.73 and your Directsrs' propose to write thin off ax depreciation. While on the subject of depreciation I would refer you my remarks of last year, when I pointed out that a sweeping' reduction had been made on the book value placed on your plan, &e. The application of the Tls. 4,000 from Profit and Loss recount may be called an amount written off as depreciation, as when the alterations and improvements have been completed, no additional sum will be added to ' that already standing as the value of your plant and buildings, whereas these alterations and improvements will form an additional asset. Another point to be gained by these changes, is that a con siderable saving is anticipated in the working of the p.inting department. With further reference to the lum Pao I would mention that native made paper has again shown a considerable advance in price, and shareholders are therefore to be congratulated that the paper obtained from Europe has proved so satisfactory, that native made paper has been discarded entirely; and as the circulation of the newspaper has increased we have offered-to contract fora larger monthly supply from the paper makers at home, and on such increased contract we should hope for
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.