The forty-ni ing of the Shareholders of the: was held at th mon strest_ Hotel, Jordan, on 15th ult.. Mr. J. Howard Gwyther presiding. The manager (Mr. Caleb Lewis) having read the nutiew con:
ing the int seting. the Eh: id:
inks to the recent al articles of Association, done away with the n gatherings, it ix now twe we had the pleasure of ect holders, T wonder t not follow in o need for spewehes from the again able to present a satisfactory star ment, hut Tinust warn yen that the eon petition in the Far. to which spe referred is bocomin more and more The op tions of the foreign at Hongkon and Shai mainly confine to fit ternal trade of thos ports, and T may safely aver that the supply is greatly in excess of the lo This unfortunate red the alsenee of bon' fid an unwise tendency to exe tions between hanks, a very unsholeson procedure which will ultimately recall on the heads of those concerned. "What will he the eventual anteome no one can fore: seo, but in the meantime we are confront ed with the probability of dwindling profits and no possibility of Tosscnine expenses The cream of eir forcien stof must he conserved. and to do this effective! mist pay them on sich a seals as will prevent them from listening to the blandishments of our newer rivals. T have no special points in connection with trade to Awell upon. Our extended sphere of ions requires vigilant watching of dirkots and the polities of the world.
jai rivalry is very rampant. but provided we think we ser safety, we are at the disposal of all comers whatever he their nationality. To provide for the growing requirements of our American customers. we have established a ney Now York. which we trust will become eat no distant date. Our chief anxiety at the present junetare is; not that which ordinarily attache. to our Insinoss, We are confronted with econo: mie changes, actual and probable. of a reroachi acter, and T cannot help the authors thers it problems ina Tam not going fa weary yon with upon polities) ecaray matter which may hare note trad" and banking in the think: if well fo dwell upon son methods proposed You are well aware that efter the Mish ntries eanld be cantina Isis, each ae hed previously the Latin Thien maintained a fixed ratio. Yon k:.ow that the scheme through the refinsal of ud to, tothe proposal, and that thereupon Tndia closed her mints to the free coinage of silver, with a consequent accelerated shrinkage in the gold value of the white metal. Those who dwell in the Far East yes upon the world standard. why not we create a gold basis, and thus to conduct our business upon safer jinc~ than at present exist £" Siam and the Philippine 7 toh and China are wishful to follow ssu 1 these contemplated ch tended that the State shall from time to time coin ut qirintity of dollars to provide for the internal requirements of the community, and that these shi be full_le tender to an uni tent. Tt would. of course, be expected that the new coinage would start upon a ratio approxi: price of silver. and would naturally he exchanged for the current circulation. piece for pic thus preserving unimpaired the existing equities between creditor and debtor. and Jessening ax much as possible the friction necessarily caused by the change. Unfortunately. the United States Congress has adopted in the Philippines a different procedure. A coin has been Ie value of which, although intro same as the existing currency. is by a stroke of the pen to be increased 20 per cent. I fear great confusion and barrassment. will result. therefrom, and that the whole community will suffer from this ill-considered policy. But on the other hand I believe that' the Americans are fully alive to the fact that the chanze of standard necessitates a gold reserve, so that all comers can not only exchange silver for gold, but also gold for silver. This safeguard is especially neces: sir when the balance of trade is adverse, an attempt to pay such balance by the export of silver coins at present over-ied to an appreciable extent, and probably to a still greater degree in the future, would militate largely against the well-being of the country. Those who advocate a gold standard for China ean-not have the most elementary knowledge of her economic condition. "The annual adverse balance of trade is at least £10,000,000, and even suming that she could import gold to an important extent by means of a large foreign loan (at present i ble). that gold, if the standard was a rea ity and not a fiction. would a suredly leave the country. T do not think that the Bank, qua such, is called upon to express an opinion upon the policy of a State in respect to its standard. but T tain that we are fully justified in loising the manner of the change, 2 that our interests may he adversefected should crude and unjust meth-ads he employed. When a Government determines to abolish free coinage of silver. there are five points to be borne in mind Any loss occasioned by the change must be home by the State. The necessity for the maintenance of a efficient golia reserve to meet all probable demands. 3. The possibility of the natives becoming alive to the fictitious rame of the silver as measured in gold and demanding the latter in exchange for the former. 4. The incitement to private manufacture. seeing the great profit acerning therefrom. The article would be genuine and only the effigy fraudulent.
The temptation for impecunious States to profit by the coinage of silver beyond the reanirements of the comnmnity. Tu the middle ages princes frequently deb: ed the currency by the introduction of excessive alloy. Now the metal would correct Int the poliew vicious. With the probable and possible inereacing res-friction of free coinage the outlook for liver is very unpromising. Tt is difficult to judge the level to which the price must fall before there is a. marked decrease in production, secing that the metal is so largely a by-product to gold, copper, and lead. " Before sitting down I must advert to the great loss we have sustained since we last met. Mr. Main left us unexpectedly last May, only three years after the death of Mr. Forrest. His whole energy was devoted to our service; he was a sound banker and a firm believer in the conservative traditions of the bank. The directors, the staff, and the customers all equally deplore his absence. The board have appointed Mr.
T. H. Whitehead, formerly our man: kong, as coadjutor to Mr. Caleb Lewis, and that gentleman's past career fully justifies our belief that he will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor:
The Chairman then proposed dividend at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum (free of income-tax) for the half-year ended December 31st last be now declared, payable on and after 22nd inst.," which was seconded by Sir Henry S. Cun-am. K.C.LE., and carried unanim-
The Chairman then proposed that Sir E. F. Alford, one of the retiring directors, he reelected, which was seconded by Sir Alfred Dent, 1. and carried un-
Mr. J. Howard Gwyther, who also retired, was duly re-elected on the propos tion of Mr. B. Levita, seconded by' Si Cunningham, K.C-LO.
The auditors, Mr. Maurice Girdlestone and Mr. Magnus Mowat, were also. ro-
Sir William Robinson, G.C.M.G., then cweil that the best thanks of the holders be given to the directors and for their successful management the bank.
Mr. Benjamin Smyth seconded the proposition, and the proceedings terminated.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.