The eighth general meeting of the shareholders in the above Company was hold at 338, Nanking Road, yesterday, Mr. A.. McLeod in the chair.' The Secretary having read the notice convening the meeting, the Chairman said:—Gentlomen,—The Directors' Report and Statement of Accounts for the past year have been in your hands for some time st and I presume you will permit us to ispenso with the formality of reading them. Before however, asking you to pass them I shall be pleased to make a fow comments upon them. I think you will sll agree that the result of the year's working showing as it dos an amount of $65,356 at credit of Profit and Loss ao-count upon a paid up capital of $200,000, is eminently satisfactory. Taking the gures of the Balance Sheet, we have buildings, standing at a cost of $52,684.30 this represents not only the Mill and Engine House, but the Godowns, Miller's Residence for himself and assistants, and Chinese houses for our native employes, and to these we have added during the year two new rooms to the dwelling house, stables, and a boundary wall to our property. I think gentlemen I am safe in saying that it would to-day cost very nearly $100,000 to rebuild this property, and the Directors have therefore thought it unnecessary to write off anything beyond the odd $684.30, which will leave the book valuation of the building account at $52,000. I am able to say from personal inspection, con firmed by our architects, that the whol: of the buildings are in an excellent state of repair, and in first rate order. Machinery etc., stands in the books at $84,872.37; we from time to time written off con siderable sums from this account and when I mention that our machinery was imported at a time when exchange was 3/2 per tael and the cost of machinery was much cheaper than it is to-day, you will understand that this asset stands in our books at a figure very much less than its true value, and from the above amount we write off only $872.37 making at book value $84,000, as against an estimated value of $125,000. Property account stands in the balance sheet at $31,987.11, and the area we possess is about 25 mow, of well raised and solidly bunded ground, with a splendid river frontage and " substantially built jetty for landing and shipping of the cargo required by the Mill. Wo were fortunate enough to be able to purchase a plot of ground, measuring 64 mow which divided a portion of the Company's property and which we hare been anxious to secure for some time past, at 'a cost of $700 per mow, and we now po sess an excellently shaped plot of 25 mow, giving ample room to erect when necessary another Mill and Godowns of equal size to our present one. I need scarcely say gentlemen that we consider the value of our property very greatly in excess of the figure at which it steride in the Balance Sheet. With regard to our stocks of flour, wheat, ete., figuring at $67,337.39.
may soy, that the valuation is taken of the flour at actual sale price, (and it is all old for delivery this and next month), less 2)9% as interest for holding the wheat and stores, at actual cost price, 30 you will sea this asset is a thorough sound one. You will notice a sum of 22,325.58 in the Balance Sheet under the heading "Henry Simon, Ld.;" this, Gentlemen, is cost of a remittance made of £2,500 at 2/23, which we made, for payment in advance of the new machinery we have ordered; by sonding this money, which was laying idle in the Bank, as payment in advance we not only secured a very favourable rate of exchange, but we also secured from the manufacturers an extra discount on cost of the machinery. This new machinery will increase the output of the Mill 50%. Well, gentlemen, I think from the foregoing explanation regarding our assets, Fou will see, we have a very valuable property costing us a very moderate price.
We have deemed it prudent during the last year to call up the extra capital which has been authorised..I think, Gentle men, you will find that in the future we shall be able to muke a very satisfactory return from this extra capital. Wo shall I hope be able to be free from the bankers as we have been during the past year. T don't know that I can say much about our fulure pro-pects. We are in such a favourable position that we can defy competition from the United States.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.