The notice convening the meeting having been read by the Secretary, The Chairman said—Gentlemen, the! Directors' report and statement of accounts for the year 1895 have been before you for some time past, and the formality of read-them will, as usual, be dispensed with The report is a very full one, and the accounts are so clear and simple that they call for little, if any, explanation. They show that at the close of the first triennial period since its reconstruction, the company is in a sound and satisfactory position. Our investments, which were depressed in connection with the financial crisis in Australia, have now more than recovered their inal values, and the sum of Tls. 10,756 which was set aside from profits to meet the depression, being no longer required for that purpose, has been returned to the Working Account, in which is also included profit of Tls. 12,384 on London investments sold during the past year. Further, there is a substantial appreciation in the existing securities, amounting upon a moderate estimate to Tls. 25,000 in excess of the values now placed upon them in the balance sheet, and to shareholders with a knowledge of local affairs, it is hardly necessary to say that our property in Shanghai, which is stated separately, is very moderately valued among our assets. These are grounds upon which the position of the company may be regarded as satisfactory, and the Directors would also have been glad to have been able to lay before the Shareholders an equally favourable account of the past year's working. The income of the company exceeds that of the pre: vious year by Tls. 183,000, but one-third of this increase is due to' the difference (between 3s. 4d. and 3s. Od.) in the book rates of exchange for the years 1894 and 1895, and on the other side of the Working Account, the sterling losses and d are similarly affected; the apparent increase in the London expenses is due entirely to exchange, the sterling amount for 1895 being really £300 less than for 1894, The underwriting result is disappointing, not through any specially heavy individual losses, but owing to an unusually large number of minor casualties, the claims upon which have mounted up in the aggre-te, and it was only on the eve of the issue of the report that telegraphic advice reached us of our largest loss, by a vessel homeward bound from Calcutta, which compelled the Directors to reduce the contributors' bonus to 10 per cent instead of 15 per cent, which it had been formally decided to recommend. It is to be hoped that our experience of the past year may prove exceptional and that' next gent meeting there will be better results to lay before the shareholders. The first business of the meeting is to pass the report and accounts, but before putting the formal resolution to that effect, am questions you may have to submit T shall de glad to reply tos far as I may be able to do so.
Mr. B, J. Hogg said he presumed the sterling investments stood at what they cost, and the Tls. 12,000 odd appreciation was on the investments realised.
The Chairman said that was so.
Mr. Hogg said that of course they knew their property in Shanghai was worth considerably more than it stood at in the accounts, and he desired to know whether the Board had arrived at any idea of its value in the light of sales which had taken place in the immediate vicinity. He also enquired the value of the London property.
Mr. D. Brand said the value of the London property could only be ascertained by paying for it, the expense of which the directors had not thought fit to incur.
Mr. Hogg said it was expressly in view of an offer that he asked the value of the hanghai property.
'The Chairman replied with regard to the value of the Shanghai property, that had received the consideration of the Directors and when the question was under discussion the Directors' idea was the pro-pets was worth about Tis, 160,000. He egged to propose.—That the Report and Accounts as now presented, be adopted and passed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.