28rd August.
The Weather. wether, mercifully tempered by cool sr-eyes anda dry at-mosphere, has been youchssf dt" us during the whole of the past week. With the exception of a few gentle showers we have had no rain, and the typhoons last signalled passed harm-\ssly to. the south of the Colony. Ne doubt mora 4. pressions are forming rowl Pacific, but we are meantime g-ming time to repair gue roofs and get water-tight 0-ce more.
The Hongkong & Shanghai Bank and Sir Thomas Jackson.
The announcement made by the Chairman at the half-yearly meeting of shareholders in the Hongkong and Shanghai Bankins Corporation on Saturday last, that the Board hal decided to present the sate Chief Manager (Sir T. Jackson) with the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, and to erect a statue of him in the Colony to perpetuate his memory will, I am. sure, be hailed with pleasure throughout the Far East, The amount of the bonus sounds large, but melted into sterling it is really small, and I could have wished that it had been made £10,000. However, the worthy baronet is veil off, thanks to his unostentatious style of living which enabled him to save larzel from his sally, and also to gratify his generous instincts which kept his hand very constantly in hi Tt is satine factory to know that his well known featurs will be perpetuated in bro-z" (or marble) and I would suggest as a suitable site for the statue the square in front of the City Hall, and facing the Bank Wardley Street frontage, The struggling cottonwood tree which yearly makes such a moss of the square could he removed to make room for it.
The Hongkong and Whampao Dock Ca., Ld.
The half-yearly meeting of the shareholders of thix Compsny took place on Monday morning, the 18th inst., when there was a great roll up to secure an amendment of the report, a larger dividend having been looked for by the large majority of the shareholders. 'The Chairman (Mr. D. E. Brown) made a long speech in which he anticipated the attack by an elaborate defence of the policy of the Board, and proposed the adoption of the yep-at' and accounts. This was seconded by the Hon. C. 8. Sharp, An am-ridment was then proposed by Mr. J. R. Michnel in a long speech in which he clearly showed the inconsistency of th" policy adopted by the Directors in writing off less when they were paying much larger dividends, and ursing that though they had not earned more than the proposed dividend yet they brought forward a sum of $120,119.50, frm the previous ae count, which fully justified the payment of tha extra dollar per share asked for. He concluded by moving that the amount proposed to be written off the value of the Dock establishments, viz., $219,497.76 be reduced to $169,437.76, and that the difference of $50,000 be appropriated for an addition to the bonus at the rate of $1 por share, This was seconded by Mr. A. Ross, who said he had never been clamoured for large dividends, but he believed in the fair and impartial administration of the affairs of the Company, and he did not think the present accounts showed that. The Chairman then rose with another prepared speech, which ho said ha made in anticipation of something like the amend: n-ut, in which he dwelt on the folly of jaying more slit dend when they would have te draw on the B rik fr that aireed; declared. Mr. S. A. Jo-eph got up an knocked the bottom on: of this argument by asking if they had ever paid " dividend. with cash in hand. Mr. Michael said the reasons given by the Chairmin were not strony enough to induce him to withtruw his amendment, which was pu: and carried by a large majority on a show of ha ds, A poll was then demand! by the other side, whereupon the Chairman adjourned the meeting for three months la order, as he said, t9 enable absent share+
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.