The Chairman: You are dealing with the £25,000; please confine yourself to this.
Mr. Nelson: This rumour reached me.
asked the question of Mr, Maitland. "Oh," ho said, " nothing of the kind, there is no such commission." Later on he said, "1 meant that we did not, pay it."
Gulland or Mr. Dodwell would you that they know nothing about commission. "It only came to them Jater on.
The Chairman: This commission is not before the meeting.
Mr. Nelson: I am giving reasons why I think the directors should have known of this. In addition to all this, this £25,000 was arranged to be placed at the absolute disposition of the directors. No directors were named, and I think I am right and justified in saying that the question as to whether the directors could be included, and the advisability of sending. this before the judge to decide it, was mainly influenced by the fact that the directors were advised that they could mot touch this, and that they had put themselves out' of Court by accepting a position which disabled them from taking possession of any part of this money. I do not know what the position of the agents may be, but I presume it is the usual sort of thing in regard to agents in shipping matters; they are paid for the work they do, and they have absolutely no claim. What they do not get: from they get from somebody else. I do know as a matter of fact that not so very long ago, a considerable time after this circular was issued, the only claim made upon this fund by an agent was from the enterprising firm who had already bagged the sum of £12,000 or £13,000, and who wanted to get a little more. (Laughter.) That was withdrawn. The directors have sold our property against the advice of the [people who ought to have been consulted. They have accepted a price which I a astired and believe was very near £100,000 Tess than could have been got had it been known to have been in the market. (A laugh from one or two dir-ceters.) You may laugh, but the person who told me that a person in whom T would absolutely and entirely believe. So loosely did they carry on their business that they were not. asa board, aware of the Company was to take of money as commission.
Hwee taking steps to make a contract which would materially benefit themselves, and in addition to that they were keeving heir shareholders at arm's length. and j While they are dealing liberally with the 1 staff their purpose was to deal far more liberally vith themselves. The result, to he directors, if it is given them and [the money is not dissipated in costs. will be a very large sum of money to them. I have been told it was originally looked upon as fire years' purchase. The chairman has said, and quite rightly, that they have done very bank end have made great ecriicesS on the other hand as directors of the Company they have been very well paid: their emoluments have been very large, very much higher than the P. and 0.'s dir-actors get. Like the rest of us they have had the contingent advantages they had £80,000 of shares, on which, of course, there has been an enormous profit, as there has been to us. I say that they have not done the best they could for us. Mr. Weir tried to buy the fleet on more advantageous terms, and two or three days before they were bound to do it they closed with Mr. Holt, and it was impossible to go back, otherwise the shareholders would -haye benefited. Of course, Mr. Donald A. Stewart would not have got his commission, and of course this sum would not have gone to the directors, and none of the staff would have been dismissed. I think that that being the case it is not right for the directors to come here and ask us to give an expression of opinion in favour of their receiving this large sum of money. I move the following resolution:—That the Company should take legal advice as to whether they are entitled to claim from Mr. Donald A. Stewart payment of the commission received by him from Mr. Holt in connection with the recent purchase by Mr. Holt of the shares of certain of the shareholders of the Company, and that, if necessary, proceedings be instituted against Mr. Stewart to enforce such claim, and that the costs of prosecuting such claim shall be defrayed out of the fund of £25,000 paid by Mr. Tiahe Chairman Fefused to allow the re-to the Company.
solution on the ground that it was ate ison than put the following ro-solutely irrelevant.
That, subject to the application of £11,280 in payment of compensation to the officials and staff of the Company, as provided by the scheme of distribution, and to the provision for expenses referred to in the said scheme, the balance of the said fund of £25,000 be divided among the shareholders of the Company at the time when the sale of shares to Mr. Holt took place, in proportion to the number of shares respectively held by them.
This the Chairman also refused to have submitted to the meeting.
The Chairman then said: You have heard Mr. Nelson's long and eloquent speech, and certainly it is very evident he is very angry because the directors did not pay him sufficient attention. If we have offended him in that way, and I may be guilty, I apologise and am very sorry. It has evidently brought about a great deal of trouble. As to Mr. Nelson's statement with regard to the directors not having tried to get a better price for the Company, ho is entirely wrong. The directors took a great deal of trouble, and the directors saw Mr. Eiterman, they saw Sir Henry Jones (a voice "Sir Alfred Jones"), Messrs. Panmure Gordon and Ca., whose partner was going over to America to sco Mr. Morgan on other business, and he was to bring this before and the directors did everything in their power, and it was well known when Mr. Holt first made this offer and it was refused. There was an interval of some months, and the fact that Mr. Holt was negotiating for the purchase of the China Mutual Company was in all the Liverpool and shipping papers, and therefore it is perfectly absurd to say that no one knew that negotiations were going on for the sale of the Company—absolutely absurd.
Mr. Gulland: I did not know.
The Chairman: Mr. Nelson has spoken of Mr. Dodwell and Mr. Gulland in the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.