An extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders ji the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China was held on the 16th October, at the Cannon-street Hotel, London, for the purpose of declaring an interim dividend for the half-year ended June 30th last, Mr. John Howard Gwyther (the chairman) presided.
The Manager having read the notice contening the meeting, The Chairman said: Before moving a resolution regarding the interim dividend, I desire to inform the shareholders that we are pursuing our customary conserrative policy of quiet progress. I think I may safely say that our customers are content with our ral treatment, and that our credit is entirely satisfactory. As I have mentioned before, our profits are earned with difficulty. We have to be vigilantly alive to all the movements of exchange, and endeavour to constantly
rapid turnover of ur money that we can ensure success, as the margin on j any individual transaction is generally infinitesimal. Competition from foreign banks is constantly on the increase, and the struggle to maintain our position is difficult, "as those institutions, in various indirect ways, are materially assisted by their respective Governments. We must all regret to notice that the. weekly telegrams from India indicate a deficient, rainfall in certain districts. This repetition of such a grave misfortune is much to be deplored. The Government, even with the most heroic efforts to ward off death and not grapple with the evil in 'y, and in addition to the suffer-of the people in those poverty-stricken districts. the country as a whole will suffer through a shrunken land revenue and lange outlay on the purchase of food. Since we last met business in North China, has improved, the stocks of goods at Shanghai have diminished, and further shipments are going forward from Lancashire. We may hope to see Tientsin gradually resume its normal condition when the Court has returned to Peking and the recently-devastated districts are repeopled and replanted. The country gene-j rally will fect the burden of the indemnity demanded by the Allied Powers, and this grievance will naturally not lessen the bitter feelings existing in the minds of the gold from Japan has happily ceased, a people towans foreigners. The drain of bumper rice crop is assured, and the excessive imports of last: y lly subdued the insurgents, and the when they feel that peace can be re-Tied, upon, will resume their ordinary ave ions. "Meanwhile, of course, trade has stagnated through the difficulty' of bringing produce down to the seahoird from the disaffected districts. The present position of the external trade of England has been much discussed of Into, and the subject xceatly interests us as an Eastern bank. For the greater part of the last century the world's demand for manufactured goods was mainly supplied by this country, but now we must face the unpleasant truth that other nations not only provide. for their own wants. but successfully rival us in both the East and West. Germany, thanks to the consolidation brought about by Bismarck after the Into war, has made wonderful strides. Factories have arisen throughout the length and breadth of the land, and now we are confronted by a nation, Itighly educated, methodical, patient, and' economical, fully equipped for the struggle. The United States will in the future be even a more formidable rival. Through protection they have built up in: dustries whereby the raw products lying at their doors can be. utilised on the spot. With indigenous coal, iron, and cotton, plus marked intelligence and conspicuous inventive powers, they are bound more and more to seek outlying markets for their varied. manufactures. "We must not only realise that our virtual monopoly has vanished, but that to retain a reasonable proportion of the world's trade we must keep pace with the times, and by adaptability, industry, and frugality show that we can, when. put to the test, successfully compete with our neighbours. I think that the wise words uttered by Lord Rosebery at Birmingham last night—"The nation that is satified is lost "should be seriously taken to heart by those who carry on the export trade of this country. I have now to move "That an interim dividend for the half-year ended June 30th last, at the rate of 10 per cent per annum, free of income-tax, be now declared, payable on and after the 98rd inst."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.